Scan barcode
elleyena_rose'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
4.5
Honestly (ending spoiler under the tag)
Graphic: Blood, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Murder
starsmakenoise'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? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Child death, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, and War
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
kharlan3's review against another edition
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Outing, Alcohol, and Dysphoria
Minor: Excrement and Vomit
k_aro'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and War
Moderate: Child death, Outing, and Abandonment
Minor: Ableism and Animal death
Many questions around these content warnings exist because it's a historical fiction book that pretty violently diverges from real life. Is it transphobia if he's a eunuch?amberreadsgood's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
While I did feel compelled by Zhu's character and her ambitions, I also found her oddly emotionally detached for someone who wants so much. By comparison, all the supporting characters felt extremely emotional - which is not a bad thing, in fact I think it was probably necessary given how Zhu was written. She is not meant to be portrayed as a "good" person; she knows she is not, and she is not trying to be, or saying that she is better than anyone else. She identifies what she needs to do to survive, and then thrive, and then pursues it with her whole heart. I think what's better than writing a character that is (morally) good is writing one that is understood. Besides the emotional detachedness (which I think I will chalk up to an adolescence spent in the monastery, in which they practice detachedness from the material world, etc), I completely got why she did/said the things she did, the conclusions she came to even if it hurt the people she loved, and what drove her.
This reminded me a lot of The Poppy Wars, but on a much less horrifying level. Terrible things still happen and awful choices have to be made - war is war, after all - but it's not as frighteningly descriptive. If you had trouble reading The Poppy Wars for the graphic depictions of war and war crimes, but still want to read something like it, you might do better with this. The depictions of war are matter-of-fact and vaguely described rather than going into extreme detail. This book is also labelled as fantasy however, and I didn't find the fantasy element particularly strong in my opinion. It portrays the idea of fate as something somewhat tangible, proof of the right to rule that you can see with your own eyes. But that is about the extent of it, in this book at least. I think maybe "light supernatural" would have been a better genre tag for She Who Became the Sun, personally.
The queer rep in this book was nice, and done in a way that I didn't think was inauthentic. Zhu and Ma were surprisingly sweet at times, I enjoyed their banter and general interactions, and I could see why they would be drawn to each other as they were. I think their chemistry could have definitely been stronger somehow, but I don't believe that they were chemistry-less either. Also, since everyone is bringing it up as a dislike, I'll weigh in and say I had no issues with
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Minor: Child death and Torture
alexbirdreads'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
5.0
I liked that there was room for joyful queer love and joyful gender exploration amid the queer tragedy, because we have a lot of stories of queer suffering. I get that it's important and that there's a place for it (and it certainly had it's place in this book!) but it's nice to have some GOOD. It feels more authentic when a whole spectrum of experiences is represented, and, if anything, the moments of joy make the moments of tragedy feel that much worse afterwards.
It's a little long and convoluted, and the story is really more about character exploration than direct action, so it might not be for everyone, but I really enjoyed it for some reason.
It really was kind of crazy, though. Like, 'one-armed dingo ate my heaven-ordained baby' crazy. You gotta love Zhu. But someone get Ouyang a therapist, my god.
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Murder, and War
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexism, and Transphobia
Minor: Child abuse and Child death
librarymouse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Misogyny and Medical content
Minor: Pedophilia
branthegremblin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Misogyny, Violence, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
crystalisreading's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Homophobia, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
chelseanaylor'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Dysphoria, and War
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death