The Poppy War: Book Review
It had been ages since I read a good book that wasn’t a new Stephen King. I was wallowing in my own book despair, rereading my favorites and lamenting finding anything fresh that was actually fun. But then I kept seeing a book reviewer I follow on twitter (shout out to @bookdragonism!) talking about how much she loved this story, and something about the description appealed to me so I gave it a whirl. It had almost everything I wanted. The realism of war. Fantasy. Magic. A Hogwartians school where people develop fighting skills and learn warcraft and statecraft. Characters developing from enemies to allies. Complicated villains and heroes. A rich backdrop. A wacky mentor. A strong female character who’s actually strong in a realistic way, complete with believable character flaws. The only thing I didn’t get was the conclusion to this trilogy injected straight into my eyeballs for the fastest consumption possible, because well, it hasn’t been written yet. That might sound like hyperbole, but I read this book like a five year old tripping on pixy stix for the first time and searching for more neon sugar to drop straight down my throat, leaving me tweaking and wide-eyed, heart racing as I frantically try to get to the ending. What I’m trying to say, is that this book is f’ing good.
The Poppy War is the story of Rin, an orphan who is being fostered by the worst people since the Garbage Dursleys. Sure, they don’t try to kick her out to get killed by Voldemort, but they plan on selling her off like cattle to a local old man to get her out of their hair. Rin, because I stan a heroine who gets shit done, goes to extreme measures to study for an exam that will free her from a lifetime of servitude to a man she doesn’t even know to gain admittance to a prestigious military academy and rise above her predetermined lot in life.
It’s here our story takes another turn for the mildly Harry Potter, which is, of course, one of my favorite things ever, and Rin joins the academy as a misfit poor orphan outcast determined to prove herself. I won’t spoil the plot because I hate that, but I will say there were a few things about this book’s style that surprised and impressed me.
It’s often in literature we find the trope of the “good girl” main character and the “bad boy” love interest, and here we’ve got a tough as nails female character who barely notices the male characters in her orbit… the male characters who I weirdly kept shipping her with as every new one popped up. Don’t ask me why, but as Rin only vaguely noticed her highly intelligent and kind best friend, the boy who is the Draco Malfoy of her school, and the boy who is the secret Kylo Ren of her school I kept doing this at each pairing
I don’t even like romance! I find this a testament to the author’s talent that I cared enough about Rin I started randomly pairing her off in my mind with people she didn’t express interest in herself just due to literary chemistry.
Kuang doesn’t shy away from the violent and graphic nature of war, and I will warn readers that there is disturbing stuff here, and if you don’t like this in your books to perhaps steer clear to avoid triggers.
While my stomach turned at times it was meant to, and I applaud Kuang for this unique, bold, and fresh new addition to the fantasy genre.
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