literalottie's reviews
133 reviews
- 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
Graphic: Violence, Rape, and War
Moderate: Genocide
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Poppy War feels like a book made up of two halves. Technically, the book is actually made up of three parts, but to me there were two distinct sections of story that are pretty separate in tone. The first half deals with Rin's schooling at elite military academy Sinegard, which is very straightforward in its writing and feels very much like a YA story. The second half, in the interest of remaining as spoiler-free as possible, I will just say follows what comes after Rin's schooling, and takes on a much darker tone.
Some of the major events in this book are heavily based off of historical events during the Second Sino-Japanese War, particularly the Nanjing Massacre. I knew about this historical influence before reading, but didn't really know much about the history itself - reading this got me to look into and educate myself further on these events. Obviously as a non-expert on the history I'm not in much of a position to fully critique her representation of these events, but from a writing perspective I have to commend R.F. Kuang on how she handled the difficult subject matter. Parts of this book were uncomfortable to read, but it never crossed the line into gratuitous or sensationalistic.
Another high point of this book is the characterisation, particularly of the protagonist Rin. She is strong and determined, but also impulsive and ruthless. As the story progresses, she is increasingly driven by anger and blinded by rage, making increasingly destructive decisions. The surrounding cast are equally complex - some of the characters are firmly aligned with her worldview, while others fundamentally disagree. I really loved the complexity of the morality in this story - the ending took me completely by shock and I'm now left wondering whether Rin will ultimately become a hero, a villain, or something in between.
My only sizable issue with The Poppy War is the pacing. I'm not sure what the next two books are like with regard to this, but it seems like a lot of ground is covered here and I can't help but think that the story could have been better served had this first book been split in two. As I mentioned, this book feels like two halves with different stories placed into one. Especially in the first half, it feels at times like several months worth of tension and plot development occurs in the span of a few pages or paragraphs and the tone shifts rather quickly. I can appreciate that there's a fine line to walk before readers complain about a book's pace being too slow, but personally I don't mind a book that takes its time and so I would not have complained if this book was split into two so that the plot and characters could have had more time to breathe.
Graphic: Death, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, War, and Genocide
Moderate: Racism, Rape, and Sexism
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Much of what made Never Let Me Go brilliant also makes this brilliant, despite them also being so different and distinct from each other. To borrow a phrase I used in my review of the formed, The Remains of the Day is a similarly "quietly heartbreaking" novel. The voice of our main character, Stevens, feels so authentic and compelling, and despite me not being an aging English butler, I found him strangely relatable. I felt like I learnt a lot from Stevens, and also learnt a lot beside him.
I love how Ishiguro frames the story around memories and the recollection of them - how one moment can inspire recollection of another, which in turn leads to another. Despite it being incredibly genuine to how people think and feel, you'd think it would make for unruly and messy storytelling, but Ishiguro pulls it off expertly. I already have my next book of choice of his on order, and I look forward to seeing more of what he has to offer.
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Antisemitism
Minor: War
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Death
Minor: Addiction and Drug abuse
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
As expected of a YA contemporary, the writing of this book is very "current", with modern teen references and slang sprinkled in, however unlike many of the YA books I read this one manages to be believable and avoids coming across as cringeworthy or "how do you do fellow kids". I think this is a book that will age very well compared to some of its peers.
Also, I really felt like this was a well-plotted thriller, with an adequate trail being laid for the reader to work things out, while also creating plenty of ambiguity and confusion to keep us guessing. Some of the twists I felt became clear to me a bit too early on due to the hints that I picked up on, however that's better than the alternative where authors just pull revelations out of their ass.
I did feel a few of the "breadcrumbs", so to speak, were not adequately revisited - I think this might have been a deliberate choice by the author to not treat the reader like an idiot and allow them to make connections by themselves, but a couple of things I feel could've at least been mentioned in the text for the sake of tying them up in a satisfying way For example, I felt that
Spoiler
Belle mentioning she's good at picking locks was an obvious hint that she was involved and was likely the one who stole the science supplies, but unless it was a blink-and-I-missed-it moment this never actually gets brought up again once her true nature is revealedOverall, I believe this is a debut worthy of the hype its receiving, and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for future works from Àbíké-Íyímídé.
Graphic: Bullying, Car accident, Homophobia, and Racism
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Blood, Rape, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
The diverse cast is nice to see, but that alone isn't enough to carry the book, and the commentary on societal issues was very simplistic and on occasion a bit too on the nose for my liking (though this isn't an uncommon trend in YA books). Overall, this wasn't terrible, but I struggle to think of anything here that I haven't seen done before, and better
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Death, Body horror, and Sexism
Moderate: Rape, Racism, and War
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I'll start with the positive - without a doubt, Murakami's writing style is beautiful. What finally encouraged me to pick up this book was seeing the above quote out of context, and I can say that there were many moments that this book really captured the feeling of being lost at that age, the feeling of being stuck while others around you seem to move through life effortlessly. That's something that really resonates with me, and I really appreciated how Murakami captured it so well. I found the characters to all feel very believable and human - although there is definite room for improvement in how Murakami writes women... from what I've heard though, this is a prevalant issue in his work.
However, I disliked the way this book handled sex. Sex, of course, is a natural and healthy part of life, and given that this book could be boiled down in simplest terms to a "love triangle" romance, sex is somewhat of a given, but this book seemed to hyperfocus on it to a fault, and presented sex as an inevitable or necessary part of any male-female relationship or friendship. This particularly came into play at the end, which I won't elaborate on because of spoilers, but suffice to say I felt disappointed at what happened in that last chapter.
And while we're on the topic of sex, there is also a strange, highly disturbing passage in the middle of the book (view spoiler). It was just so unnecessary, had it not been there my rating could have very well been a whole star higher.
This isn't to say I would never want to read a Murakami again - again, he writes beautifully. I do feel like there was a lot to love about Norwegian Wood, but unfortunately it was held back by some more unsavoury aspects that I struggled to look past. I know this is somewhat of an outlier in his bibliography, as he's known for more "surreal" works, which I would definitely be interested in.
Graphic: Sexual content, Pedophilia, Rape, Death, Suicide, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, and Mental illness
Moderate: Grief and Terminal illness
Minor: Misogyny and Sexism
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The setting of this book is executed brilliantly - you can really feel the growing tension on the ship as the rumours of a devil grow and become more frantic. The characters are all also really well written - I particularly really enjoyed the companionship that Sammy and Arent had. I also liked how Arent was the main "investigator" due to Sammy being imprisoned, it was an interesting subversion of the usual "detective & sidekick" trope.
I'm still trying to work out exactly how I feel about the ending - it was good but there were maybe a couple of details that I didn't quite pick up on throughout the book that I really should have in order for the reveals to have their intended impact. However, I will say that I did love how it kept me guessing, and how there were a number of little things that were slowly tied together as the truth came to be revealed. Overall, this was a great read, and I'll definitely be looking out for future books by Stuart Turton
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Gore, and Vomit
Minor: Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual violence
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
There's just so much about Looking for Alaska that resonates with me. The characters are all so flawed and yet so real, their actions and interactions throughout this book are equal parts heartbreaking, heartwarming, and, sometimes, hilarious. I watched the miniseries last year and absolutely loved it. I'm so grateful they got it right, because this story deserves it.
Whenever I think about this book, I think about the overarching motifs - the labyrinth of suffering, and the "Great Perhaps". The idea that we ultimately don't get out of the labyrinth, but we have to choose to be in it, always in search of our next "Great Perhaps". There are plenty of people who deride this book, along with John Green's other works, as "fake deep". I'm not going to say I adore all of his work (see my 2 star review of Paper Towns I posted a mere few hours ago), nor will I say anyone who dislikes his books are "wrong". But this book speaks to me in a matter that's, at least to me, real. And that's what matters in the end.
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, and Grief
Moderate: Car accident and Alcohol
Minor: Bullying