Poppy War, The : R. F. Kuang

A Novel | Paperback | FICTION/Fantasy / Historical Peasant. Student. Soldier. Goddess. When war orphan Rin aced the Kejuthe Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academiesshe surprised everyone: test officials, the guardians who wanted to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise, and even herself. But being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not easy at Sinegard, the most elite military school in Nikan. Targeted by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers that gods long thought dead are very much alive, and that she possesses a lethal, unearthly power aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism that could be the weapon the empire desperately needs.