Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Normale mensen by Sally Rooney

167 reviews

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 

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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

hjb_128's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness

Moderate: Sexual content, Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Misogyny, and Drug use

Minor: Death of parent

aroush's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Death of parent, Sexual content, and Gaslighting

hailey_brueggen's review against another edition

emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

3.25

i literally don’t know how to feel abt this book 🙃

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Blood, Death, and Drug use

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

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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

lauraloveslemons's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Child abuse, Classism, and Bullying

Moderate: Sexual content, Physical abuse, Drug use, Grief, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

Minor: Car accident, Death of parent, and Blood

libbylou1201's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts

lindsey_holmes's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Grief, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexism, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

paulinskaja's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Eating disorder, Grief, Blood, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Suicide

Minor: Bullying and Panic attacks/disorders

mj_tabbs's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted reflective slow-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

4.25

This book, although slow paced, felt the same as a long movie that makes you feel as if you’ve lived a second life. Rooney isn’t afraid to, in-depth, describe these main characters’ thought and experiences, no matter how ashamed we would be to understand them. This romance is gut-retching in its relatability and brutal truth. A slow-read that keeps you entranced. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Drug use, Suicide, and Cursing