Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - Wink Poppy Midnight

Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke

5 reviews

ainsleyexe's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

The Bookshelf Unhaul Series, Book 2(?)
Not gonna lie, I'm pretty impressed that this book stuck it out on my bookshelf for as long as it did. I has always been there, as I bought it, as I moved bedrooms, and as I cleared out my bookshelf in preparation for the Christmas books I was gonna buy but didn't. It's a decent staple, I guess- not so good that it is going to get lost in the rolodex of my favourite books, but not so bad it gets the boot.

This book was very middling. I think it was an issue of a really good idea with a mediocre execution. I really love the idea of subverting and twisting YA tropes, and upending readers expectations. In a lot of ways, it did that.

I liked the idea of the unexpected love triangle; I liked the ambiguous ending; I though Buttercup, Zoe and the Yellows were interesting (let's take a brief sidenote to contemplate the use of "The Yellow Peril" in reference to a gang of white kids, when in reality it was a deeply traumatic, racist event for all asians in america); I especially really liked the subversion of the mean girl with Poppy.

. Poppy really was the highlight of the book for me. I already have a soft spot for a mean girl with secret mental health issues, and I think her development was so interesting and cruel and unexpected. I generally liked the direction the plot took, and I think that the element of mystery and the twist were generally successful. I think this book kind of led me on: the beginning was so interesting, and weird, and deeply committed, and then it just...petered out. My main issue with this book was the character of Wink. I started out a little irritated by her, but in a charming way, the way you befriend someone who is a little irritating, but it is endearing enough you keep them around- by the end she was insufferable. It felt like the author really liked Wink, and really wanted us to like Wink, so she was afraid to really go all the way and turn her into what might be perceived as a bad person. The irony is that this is what made me hate Wink.

I get what the author was trying to do with her- subvert the manic pixie dream girl- but in doing that, she turned her into another YA trope- the not-like-other-girls girl. And that was what was so bothersome.

. Wink just felt like another huge cliche, and therein lies the danger of cliche-subversion books: if done wrong, you can end up creating another version of the same cliche. I'm surprised I'm saying this; I think the author overdid it with the weird. It was just laid on so thickly that it almost became a parody of itself. I also wish Wink and Poppy as a pair were more developed, and Wink as an individual was developed more too.

Why were her and Poppy drawn to each other? When did Wink get so cunning? Why does it have to be midnight? What is with her reliance on fairytales, and why does she want to create her own fairytale so badly (that isn't a total cop out?)

. I'm ambivalent about Midnight; I liked him, and I though he was interesting, but I wish he got a little more solo development outside of Wink and Poppy.

The most intriguing part about him for me was his wildly toxic, codependent relationship with Poppy- let's talk about that way more.

. Overall, it felt like the author was pulling punches with her story. It felt like she was afraid to GO THERE-

make Wink into a full-blown controlling puppetmaster! Make Midnight into a secretly cruel, hateful not-like-other-boys boy! Turn the Poppy-Wink-Midnight love triangle into a toxic cesspool! Let's explore all this!

. Also, that ending. It was really didactic, and underwhelming, and kind of lazy. It felt like she created a story with great potential, didn't know what to do with it, and then ended up fumbling because she was pulling her punches. The ideas here were great, but the execution left a lot to be desired.

Content Warnings

sssssoup's review

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious 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

3.25

I don’t even know what to say. I read the whole thing and I can’t really explain any of it because I have no idea what this was supposed to be.

I can’t give any compliments to the plot because I didn’t know what was going on half the time, but the characters were interesting and well written, even though the only one I actually liked was Midnight. Also I really liked the writing style and that might’ve been my favorite part of the whole thing.

Overall, it wasn’t bad, but you definitely shouldn’t read it unless you want to be confused.

Content Warnings

azyef's review

Go to review page

emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

horationelson's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark slow-paced

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

2.0

Content Warnings

sarah984's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious 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

This book sounded really cool but I just didn't like it all. It's got a barely-there plot and thin stereotypical characters who feel like extras from some 90s era mean-girl movie.

Content Warnings

More...