A review by sarahm_strss
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.75

it started off as the weirdest book i have ever read, and ended with it being the most tragic and horrific book i have ever read. i have never felt such strong and compelling emotions towards a book before, and had such vivid images of the story. the storytelling was beautiful, and perfectly captured the world and every minor detailing within it. all the scenes where i had previously disliked or thought odd were perfectly intertwined and explored with the ending - everything was intentional and gruesome. the characters within were all so morally grey, and it really was hard to truly love or hate a character. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism