Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Normal People by Sally Rooney

94 reviews

komiification's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

Completely devastating how people can love each other so much yet can continue to hurt each other. Can never really talk to each other. Alongside this theme, as well as other points relating to genocide (which is still, upsettingly, relevant to today), and the way people now engage with literature without this political edge, this is, easily a modern classic. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Alcohol, and Suicide

Moderate: Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Abortion, Classism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Genocide, Mass/school shootings, Racism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Xenophobia, and War

emilyvictoria_'s review against another edition

emotional reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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 book captures humanity and love so beautifully, leaving my heart aching. I love Sally Rooney’s writing style, the attention to detail is incredible yet so easy to read. She simultaneously creates relatable and shocking circumstances which leave me questioning everything I already know about the world. I love it 💖

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, and Blood

katelyn_stark's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad

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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content

Moderate: Sexual assault, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Toxic friendship, Bullying, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Antisemitism, Injury/Injury detail, Eating disorder, Infidelity, and Death of parent

court3sy's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Abandonment and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Sexual assault and Adult/minor relationship

bookishbrenbren's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad fast-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

4.0

This review is going to sound silly but here goes

I don't think I've read such a captivating book in a long while. I was completely immersed in the inner workings of this tiny little polarized world. It was engrossing, I couldn't put it down and when I did, I kept thinking about it. I feel invested in these characters and I think the author did an incredible job of bringing them to life and capturing what life is like when you're a teen/new adult. Especially the internal life we live inside our own heads. 

on the other hand I fully agree with almost all criticisms of it that I've read 😂 the book is pretentious bordering on delivering a campy teenage movie (he's 17, a soccer star but he's top of his class but he's incredibly shy but he also recommends The Communist Manifesto to peers) and the not-like-other-girls girl even gets a makeover but not before she's read Swann's Way by herself at lunch. 👀 ok. Then also the treatment of disordered eating, classism, abuse and masochism and some light racism-makes-the-bad-guy-bad could also have been better handled. and honestly like on a very literal level, I feel silly caring who Connell Waldron asks to high school prom. But isn't it a sign of a strong writer that she can make me care about something like that? Ugh idk I am so torn. The characters are slightly cliche but nobody can write internal thought like this. I just don't know, send help 🏳️ I can't deny the pull that this book had on me and the fact that it made me feel things. I am a Marianne loyalist and I feel like I genuinely know her. She came to life for me. 
But idk I guess I also expected something more serious (but less self-serious?) than this 🫣 for all the hype and marketing it got 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Grief, Mental illness, Violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual content, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Racism, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

caroline_123's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Domestic abuse

elizabethwb's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Not an awful book, but weak and lazy ending. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Classism, Cursing, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

avabudavari's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Blood, Domestic abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Eating disorder, Addiction, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Death, Genocide, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, and Mental illness

azilisssss's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective relaxing 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, and Bullying

Moderate: Eating disorder

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

mirandalikesbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

5.0

I felt like I was rooting for Connell and Marianne while at the same time not really knowing what I was rooting for. This discussion of power dynamics was really beautifully done.

But

i have never read a book that ended so abruptly and i think i love it?

Honestly I did struggle with the dialogue not being in quotation marks...but I did adjust!!!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Sexism, Grief, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Eating disorder, and Classism

Minor: Injury/Injury detail