Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

357 reviews

jaz_apples's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

I found the writing to be a bit juvenile and the pacing to vary wildly. It has an excellent premise and I think could have been something great. The execution lacked however. This was very nearly a dnf for me due to the lack of cohesion and flow within the plot. The character interactions were engaging however the character development and the development of the relationships between them were rushed, forced, underdeveloped, on several occasions did complete 180s, and overall were hard to follow. The lack of effective character development made it very hard to relate to the characters and even like them in some cases. 

This book was incredibly graphic. It goes into heavy detail of body horror, death, murder and SA. The author did a good job of painting the picture of the scene but could have done so in a more tactful and effective way. 

“The bigger the issue, the smaller you write. Remember that. You don’t write about the horrors of war. No. You write about a kid’s burnt socks lying on the road. You pick the smallest manageable part of the big thing, and you work off the resonance.” -Richard Price

The author could have elicited an even greater emotional response from the reader, without being quite as triggering by using metaphors and focusing on a smaller, seemingly inconsequential aspect.  

Another thing to be wary of is the heavy drug use and abuse within this book. 


I believe that the most triggering chapter is chapter 21 and I’ll have a general description of the events for those who wish to skip it under a spoiler. This chapter covers exceptionally graphic and detailed descriptions of: murder, genocide, torture, body horror/mutilation, the postmortem state of bodies, SA, sexual violence, miscarriage/forced abortion/violence towards a pregnant women, and drug abuse. With that said, here is the general description of the chapter: 

The Cike travel to Golyn Niis and find that the Federation soldiers had already reached the city. They had brutally killed almost every citizen and Nikan soldier within. There were very few survivors, of which two were students Rin went to school with: Kitay, Rin’s friend who suffered no lasting injuries, and Venka, a girl Rin shared a dorm with. Venka had suffered from repeated SA and explains to Rin the details of what happened to her and to other women and Rin swears to get revenge for them. Afterwards Rin goes to find Altan and finds him practically incapacitated from smoking mass amounts of opium.

See the content warnings for the rest of possible triggers

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Genocide, Child death, Gore, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Blood, Grief, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Drug use, Violence, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Murder, Slavery, and War

Moderate: Racism, Classism, Cursing, Misogyny, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Abortion, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Miscarriage, and Religious bigotry

ehrycyna's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Classism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Torture, Addiction, Colonisation, Death, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, War, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

mktraxel's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Classism, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Self harm, Torture, Vomit, Violence, War, Colonisation, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Abortion, Child abuse, Death of parent, Addiction, Body horror, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Excrement, Racism, Suicide, Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, Drug abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders

BRUTAL

alex_salamander's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Addiction, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Vomit, Rape, War, Grief, Death, Kidnapping, Xenophobia, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Violence, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Body horror, Gore, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Child death, and Racism

Moderate: Confinement, Body shaming, Cursing, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse

bookswithgracie's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Blood, Body horror, War, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Drug abuse, Death, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Grief, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Torture, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Abortion, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Rape, Cursing, and Animal death

n_mutanu16's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Grief, Classism, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Genocide, Violence, Death, Drug use, Sexual assault, Bullying, Gore, Child death, Blood, and War

Moderate: Murder, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Cursing, Grief, Abandonment, Torture, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Medical content and Infertility

lorendia's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Death, Violence, Gore, War, and Domestic abuse

taque's review against another edition

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Child abuse, Blood, Torture, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, Rape, War, Xenophobia, Violence, Death, Child death, Sexual assault, Racism, Physical abuse, Bullying, Murder, Drug abuse, Abortion, Medical content, Grief, Gore, Genocide, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Animal death, and Addiction

Minor: Vomit and Excrement

hearkenheretic's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Self harm, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Blood, Grief, Child death, Xenophobia, War, Violence, Torture, Addiction, Gore, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Medical content and Infertility

might_be_may's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Murder, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Bullying, Drug use, Vomit, Racism, Death, War, Child death, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Classism, Sexual violence, Violence, Genocide, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, and Addiction

Minor: Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Body horror, Medical trauma, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, and Gore