Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

21 reviews

maiahhtratchh's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

4.0

This book kept me on the edge of the seat and was very mysterious giving nothing away even at the end. It has a great commentary on American culture including purity culture, religion, and girlhood all experienced through the voyeuristic lens of the male gaze, specifically teenage boys. How they viewed the Lisbon girls and their inability to truly see them or want to actively help them had my skin crawling which  is the point. The Lisbon girls exist on page only as two dimensional characters who, unbeknownst to the boys, are crying out for help. However these nuances play out do subtly on the page that only a true understanding of the Lisbon girls can be understood if you were, at  one point, a Lisbon girl. After reading I scoured the internet for essays, videos, and fanfics that were able to put my scrambled and shocked thoughts into a concise narrative but I have only found small pieces spread throughout it. If you were a big English Literature kid who loves to look for the deeper meanings this book is for you. A point was taken off for unnecessary racism and racial slurs which took me out of the story immensely. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Child death, Suicide attempt, Death, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Moderate: Grief, Toxic relationship, and Confinement

Minor: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, and Emotional abuse

srslyconfused's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

Very interesting and sad. Seems like a very socially critical and male heavy view on young women and girls and theirs struggles. Don’t know if this was intentional or not, but is sadly a accurate description of the real world.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Grief, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Child death, Death, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

mandalily's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Self harm, Confinement, Child abuse, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

merle98's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.5

This is a strike of genius that could have been ever so slightly more concise. But what a great critique of the male gaze and suburban society. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Body shaming, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Classism, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Addiction, Alcohol, Child death, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexism, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Blood, Medical content, and Forced institutionalization

abird03's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Pedophilia, Alcohol, and Cultural appropriation

christinewonder's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, and Child death

Moderate: Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Blood, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Abortion

Minor: Drug use and Drug abuse

dennyiii's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Death, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Sexism, Sexual content, Child death, and Emotional abuse

livcashmere's review against another edition

dark reflective sad 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Suicide, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship

bibyabs's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Child death, Death, Sexual content, Stalking, Grief, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Ableism and Racism

bookish_bry's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-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

4.0

This is a book I'm going to have to chew on a bit. I really enjoyed the way the story was framed as a group of outsiders' perspectives putting together puzzle pieces of various reliability. The girls were often dehumanized and misunderstood both in the story and by the narrative which was by design. The narrators tried to view the girls as real people but often fell short and I actually enjoyed that part of it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

Moderate: Sexism and Toxic relationship

Minor: Religious bigotry