Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Girls by Emma Cline

60 reviews

reneetrinket's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Pedophilia, Rape, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Hate crime, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

grboph's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

This was the first book I finished in 2022, and it was a very good one!! I have been very fascinated with cults recently, and this was a good deviation from a lot of the nonfiction things I have been using to learn about them (the cult in this book is clearly based on the Manson Family). Emma Cline is a wonderful writer, and it is somewhat hard to believe that this was the first book she ever wrote. I found Evie to be a very interesting character, and I think she had a good arc. The thing I liked the most about this book was that Evie felt very relatable, which was nice for me since I hadn't really encountered many teenage-girl characters like that in adult novels before. Then that scared me a little because I realized that maybe I could have fallen into something like Evie did if I had found myself in the wrong place at the wrong time when I was that age. I don't know if this was something Cline did on purpose, but either way, it made the book all the more thought-provoking. Overall, The Girls was a unique and engaging book and I enjoyed every second I spent reading it. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in cults or the 1960s as a time period, or anyone looking to read a unique story of any kind.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Child death

Moderate: Cursing, Excrement, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

Minor: Bullying, Confinement, and Blood

This is a book about a violent, manipulative cult that culminates with a relatively graphic description of the murders of four people, one of whom is a young child. Also, the whole reason that the main character is drawn into the cult in the first place is because of someone she has an obsession with who is quite manipulative and cruel.

callikat's review against another edition

dark reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.0

It was okay! Basically a generic-brand version of the Manson gang, and not a lot of twists that made it interesting. I did think the writing was really good though, she's really great with metaphors and her descriptions! Not a terrible read, but I thought it had a lot more potential especially

with the LGBT elements. I was so excited for Evie and Suzanne to develop more of a relationship/angst surrounding their attraction to each other, and it just felt half-baked.

. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Drug use, Murder, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

readingrainbow_butmakeitspoopy's review against another edition

dark sad tense

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Addiction, Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, and Violence

rachel_glenn's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence

cboll's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Eating disorder, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, and Sexual assault

anb2300's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Pedophilia, and Murder

lavieenrose's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Rape, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Ableism, and Body shaming

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Sexual content

hannakutlu's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Murder, and Toxic relationship

poppyseedbagel's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, and Violence