bekahzabel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
The Poppy War was on a completely different plane than most books I’ve read this year, in a good way. This was a heart wrenching literary masterpiece to me. A 6 star book. Military fantasy meets magic & the spiritual realm. Not sure I can put into words how much I loved this entire storyline, but I am BROKEN.
Imma have to give myself a break in between to heal before I start Dragon Republic because my world just got ROCKED. If you heard this was good they lied, it’s great.
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Drug use, Abandonment, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Genocide, and Grief
Moderate: Hate crime, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, War, and Rape
remasm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
like, when the author went on for 200 pages about the academy and rin's life there and then 30 pages later a new set of characters is introduced with little to no knowledge about them?? and also, in terms of East Asian history, i've heard mixed opinions.
like, the depiction of the speerlys (or taiwanese people) being considered evil and inhuman, and the author even reinforcing these stereotypes with the main character
Spoiler
when it's revealed that she's a speerly?and the rape of Nanjing being used as a gotcha! moment to further enhance the plot, and in the end when rin SUFFOCATES the people of mugen (japan) in the name of revenge for the genocide of Speer??
anyways, if this book wasn't based on the sino-japanese wars and was purely fictional, or was just chinese inspired, it could've been something great. i don't understand claiming the book as "more than fantasy" bc it references modern chinese history when you've changed the names of the nations, added a fanciful element that contradicts the history, and have watered down a few historical events.
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Grief, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Drug abuse, Gore, Rape, War, Eating disorder, Racism, Trafficking, Body horror, Addiction, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Genocide, Child abuse, Blood, Violence, Slavery, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, and Bullying
Moderate: Trafficking and Suicide
dennyiii's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, War, Drug use, Abandonment, Addiction, Animal death, Classism, Emotional abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Violence, Gore, Racism, Sexual assault, and Body horror
marinasjd's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Blood, Classism, Colonisation, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Misogyny, Abandonment, Addiction, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, War, Body horror, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Vomit, Death, Genocide, Gore, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
cowboylikestoread43's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Colonisation, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Addiction, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Genocide, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Child abuse, Classism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Child death, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and War
jessicaludden's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Oh this was insane. I feel like I’ve lived so many lives with Rin in one book. This book destroyed the idea of destiny in favor of this idea that we make decisions that lead us to where we are and Rin embraces that entirely. It starts with Rin’s coming of age and as the story progresses it turns into her loss of innocence. I loved the war and politics in this combined with elements of shamanism and divine entities. It kept me on the edge of my seat and surprised me in many ways. It’s also interesting to see the power dynamics in different relationships within this story and how they impact the characters and shift as time goes on. Overall, I will be thinking about this for a while and I’m excited for the next one.
Moderate: Blood, Gore, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexism, Vomit, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Physical abuse, Violence, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Body horror, Child death, Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Torture, and War
greciamj1958's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Slavery, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Gore, Grief, Racism, War, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Addiction, Violence, Blood, Child death, Mental illness, Body horror, Child abuse, Genocide, Sexual violence, and Murder
questionabletaste's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Violence, War, and Death
Moderate: Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Xenophobia, Rape, Forced institutionalization, and Torture
Minor: Bullying and Abandonment
tammykuffo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Child death, Colonisation, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Torture, Genocide, Abandonment, Addiction, Hate crime, Classism, Gore, War, Sexual violence, Blood, Child abuse, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Sexism, Sexual assault, Rape, and Grief
crinkledmochi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Definitely not gonna cry… yet. I’m just gonna be delusional as hell; pretend like what happened didn’t and all is well. 😀
Graphic: Torture, Trafficking, Abandonment, Addiction, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Animal death, Body horror, Vomit, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Death, Classism, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, War, and Xenophobia