Hi everyone!
Welcome to my most chaotic and all-over-the-place post ever. I've been wanting to read The Poppy War for soo long, yet something always held me back. Maybe it was the hype that made me skeptical. But ironically, it is the hype that made me read it now.
I won't give you a spoiler and say if I liked this book or not. You'll have to read till the end to know that. What I will say is that I had a LOT of feelings about this book, which is why I made a reactions post rather than a review.
For people who have read the book, they'll know just how difficult it was to write this post without giving any spoilers. I have tried my best honestly, but there might be a few names and characters that you will know are going to appear, but there will no details as to what their role is or what happens.
Note- If you are wondering about page numbers, they corroborate to the UK paperback edition of The Poppy War.
Let's begin!
Page 22- Oh my god, this is brutal. And it's like only the second chapter right now. I don't know if the whole sequence of Keju preparation is giving me motivation or dread. And I'm in 10th grade. Page 36- I don't know why but I'm just getting this little nudge of a good feeling when I see the word 'rickshaw' in a book. Like, not a lot of books are set in this kind of local settings or that period, especially fantasy, where you see these kind of... vehicles? I'm not explaining it properly, but it's just a good feeling of "Oh wait, I know what this is!". The first time I saw it, it was in These Violent Delights and I was like, 'Oh, I didn't know they have rickshaws in Shanghai. That's so cool. We still have rickshaws here.' Page 49- We're barely like, 50 pages in and Rin has run her sassy mouth twice and already made a Draco Malfoy-vibe enemy at the academy. Great. I love heroes who have no sense of self-preservation. I'm being sarcastic here obviously because there is no way I've ever come across a character with more determination to not just live, but thrive, than Rin.
Well, fuck the heavenly order of things. If getting married to a gross old man was her preordained role on this earth, then Rin was determined to rewrite it.
Page 60- I think it's amazing how in such a short amount of pages how solidly R.F. Kuang just established everything. Like she nailed down Rin's character and her situation and the situation of where she's living. I'm already in awe of her because Rin is just so strong. Her character voice shouts at you across the page. Out of everything, her most dominant quality that I've seen until now is a determination to survive. Like she is fighting tooth and nail and pushing herself to the extreme just to be at this school. and I'm saying this only 60 pages in now. I don't care what people might say. Nezha seems to have so much potential and I just know he's going to be important. I also kind of don't completely hate him. Ok, so people warn you about the blood and the gore and the sad things but why did nobody tell me about the EFFIN' CRAZY ACADEMIC HUSTLE CULTURE THAT IS MAKING ME FEEL SO INADEQUATE. Page 207- Jiang is so intriguing. Like even it's a small scene with him, you know his character has so much history and there's always a question in your mind of what the deal with him truly is. R. F. Kuang has written so many characters this way, as if they could have a whole book dedicated to them as well. I'm so sure he is hiding something. And right now, the way the whole country is stirring with tension and restlessness. His reaction is making me so sus. But I still like him. Page 271- I LOVE this contrast. The way R.F. Kuang has fleshed out these two characters that are complete contradictions to each other in their ideologies but also similar in the way that they are equally set in stone in their personalities. They can't change. They have been forged into what they are now, and it can't be undone. Poor Rin is stuck in the middle. (Not really though. She's making all the autonomous, stupid choices herself.) Page 361- Ok, I know this scene is supposed to be terrifying and sad, but I can't help the warm feeling seeing these two characters work together gives me.
When man begins to think that he is responsible for writing the script of the world, he forgets the forces that dream up our reality.
Page 383- If you would've told me that I would be this sad about this particular character dying, I wouldn't have believed you. BUT THIS IS NOT UNFAIR, OKAY. I WAS ALMOST COMPLETELY TO IN LOVE WITH HIM.
Page 390- You know, I don't hate Altan, but he isn't exactly a ray of sunshine. He would be the definition of the dark, broody guy in YA stories, except he can burst into flames and kill you without losing his breath.
I think Chaghan is also so interesting because somehow he is another insight into Altan's character as well as his own person.
Page 401- This WHOLE SCENE OMG. I am internally throwing up. (Don't hate me but this whole interrogation scene reminds me of Kaz Brekker and the eye scene even though the motivations aren't remotely similar ðŸ˜)
Page 413- ...... Page 413- 👀 Page 413- . Page 413- That was a Sanderson level twist. The sheer level of political genius and heartlessness- holy shit. Page 424- Poppy War is a book of unspeakable things.
Page 450- Okay, putting the book down to stop reading and write this was so difficult. My heart stopped for a minute there. SO MUCH HAPPENS IN 5 PAGES, are you serious??!!
I don't want to classify this as a bad ending necessarily, but if if nothing good happens and it kinds makes you want to cry, is it really a good ending. You know what, forget my rant. It really was an awesome ending.
Like god-tier, truly. No questions.
BUT it was a lot of intense stakes and violence (graphic) for my frail YA rom-com loving soul to read right now. Nevertheless, I really, really enjoyed it and am definitely going to continue the series. (Not right now, of course) Because even though this one ends on a sort-of cliffhanger but not as big that I can't stop myself from picking up the next one immediately.
So most likely I'll just read the rest of the two books one after the other after my Board exams get over in May.
Time to Chat!
Thank you for reading the post till here! I hope you liked it. That was a lot of meandering chit-chat and chaotic reactions than usual, buti hope you chose to stick with my blog after this 😂.
Moving on, I'd love to know your thoughts. Are you a Poppy War fan as well, or are you planning to read it?
Until next time,
Bye!