Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Solitaire by Alice Oseman

120 reviews

onamoonbeam's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

so i read this after all of alice osemans other books which is to say i think her writing has improved and my astronomically high expectations of this book were let down. that being said it's still a time. it baffles me that nick and charlie were just side characters here at first. this book is about mental health and emotions and therefore it has to been sort of intangible. im not sure of any other way it could have been done. i thought it was clear from jump

tori was struggling with depression so maybe that's why the end didn't hit as hard?

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Homophobia

tiredtori's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Eating disorder, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Bullying, Cursing, Homophobia, Infidelity, Stalking, and Alcohol

val_theburrowofstories's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Vomit, Medical content, Stalking, and Toxic friendship

lilshelly's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I see you, Tori Spring. 

This clearly does read as a debut novel. But, in that, I see a very real, raw character in Tori. Everyone is saying how melodramatic and over the top and selfish this book is. But to that I say, this is the world when you are a teenager. I see so much of myself in Tori. I found myself struggling to connect with people my age. I felt like I didn't belong. I felt deeply, deeply sad. I felt selfish that I was sad when I "had no reason" and needed to do other more important things. I felt passive in every aspect of my life. I felt suffocated. I felt like I was constantly waiting for something to change. 

Tori is a very real, very troubled character. All the characters alongside her are too. People like to say this isn't real, not all teens like this. And to that I say, have you ever paid attention? 


Also, I loathe the Spring parents so deeply. Telling your mentally ill and desperate children to stop being sarcastic and to stop being sad and basically telling them there's nothing wrong is the exact opposite way of providing good support. And they just let the grandparents talk so shittily about Tori and Charlie. These kids need support and love, and their family genuinely seems to give no cares.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

theespressoedition's review against another edition

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Abandonment

readerette's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

Well written, and some genuinely funny and sweet moments. While the characters came to life decently, they ended up feeling too much like teenage tropes to me, particularly Tori. 

I'm not sure I would suggest that someone going through depression/suicidal tendencies read this book because Tori has shockingly few resources and hardly anyone looking out for her, which is not exactly realistic, nor would it be encouraging to someone in a dark place.

I also wouldn't recommend it to someone currently successfully managing their depression or who had never experienced it. It paints a bleak picture of the common stereotypes of both teenagers and people with depression, where characters' internal processes vacillate between selfishness, sheer nothingness, and melodrama. I do not enjoy stories that reinforce stereotypes.

I wish this book had been more about Tori and Charlie and how they figured things out together. There were some moments of this, and those moments represented most of the high points of the story.

I could also really have done without the Solitaire pranks and blog, which were quite over-the-top and transparent, and served no purpose in the plot or character development. Also, though the book is advertised as Michael and Tori figuring out the Solitaire mystery together, this particular aspect of their partnership hardly comes up except in the last few chapters. 

There's character overlap with Heartstoppers, but Tori (thankfully) gets retconned in that series to be a much more well-rounded, believable, and relatable version of what's in this book. This book did not add anything I needed or wanted to the Heartstoppers universe, which deals with mental health challenges and coming of age far more realistically and touchingly than Solitaire. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Homophobia, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Toxic friendship

v1l25's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

elaa0907's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Eating disorder and Homophobia

grizzlysnack's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• 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

As someone who relates to Tori Spring, and has since been out of high school for a couple years, I felt a truck hit me when I was looking through the eyes of our 16 year-old protagonist.

I do understand the reviews with an opposite rating I’ve given (reading the updated August 2020 edit,) could be from the different edition of text. To those who said it was trying too hard to be edgy and dark, I think they missed the whole point of Tori’s narrated world view. She’s not supposed to be a likable character. You’re not meant to make Tori a role model. You’re meant to see that mental illness can slowly kill you, regardless of how old you are when you start feeling ‘off’ or ‘wrong’. 

Overall I feel Oseman was able to portray mental illness in a realistic way. Distancing yourself from others because it’s easier than explaining what’s going on in your head. Getting bouts of anxiety, anger, and hopelessness seemingly out of nowhere. Even seeing forms of media in a completely different light than your peers.

This story resonated so deeply for me. I hope it does for others as well. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Mental illness, and Self harm

Moderate: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

s1effe's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Eating disorder and Suicide attempt

Minor: Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Toxic friendship