The Poppy War and Diverse Fantasy

*This review may contain spoilers.

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Overview

• Average Rating: ​4.27 stars from The StoryGraph
• My Rating: 5.0 stars
• Genres: Fiction, fantasy, historical
• Descriptors: Adventurous, dark
• Pace: Slow-paced
• CW/TW: Graphic: Genocide, violence, rape

Summary

When Rin aced the Keju — the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies — it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard — the most elite military school in Nikan — was even more surprising.

But surprises aren’t always good.

Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly…