Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

23 reviews

slefebvre95's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-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: Murder, Violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, and Sexual assault

Minor: Homophobia

capra's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content

purnuhja's review

challenging emotional 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

4.25

a beautifully complex coming of age story! I think Ferrante did a great job exploring female relationships, as well just relationships in general, poverty and class politics, cycles of violence and misogyny.  it was hard to start and I struggled with pacing sometimes, but I loved the story and all that it had to offer. definitely don't think that Elena and Lila should be friends, there's so much toxicity in every relationship, but I also believe they need each other in this neighborhood that can't escape it's past. Ferrante does a great job balancing that line and just painting a vivid picture with her words. it can be frustrating and heartbreaking at times, but I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves coming of age stories.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Misogyny, and Infidelity

Minor: Sexual assault

miller8d's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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 is brilliant in a way that makes me say “This is the story of a real life,” not “omg I love this book.” Like, I don’t really feel like I read a fictional story. (I actually have no clue if it’s autobiographical or not but I won’t google it because I don’t want to spoil it). Perhaps for that reason, this book took me an incredible long time to read. Like, months on end of picking it up and loving it, but being unable to pick it up again because it was so difficult to read. I don’t even think it was actually difficult literature for me, but instead so emotionally dense and detail-heavy that I couldn’t pay anything but 100% attention while reading, otherwise I’d have to go back dozens of pages to figure out why I was confused. Also,

this is perhaps the only book or story I’ve ever known which accurately depicts how tumultuous and confusing and painful it can be to survive childhood and grow up. I absolutely loved her depiction of how the child’s mind can equally spin fantasy and horrific terror on the same coin— not simple boogieman stuff, but much scarier, finding awful and disturbing fears in/around the mundane figures of your social world and daily life, even when there’s nothing truly wrong there.

Beautiful book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Misogyny, Child abuse, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Death, Abandonment, Body shaming, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Sexism, Grief, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Murder, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Self harm, Infidelity, and Emotional abuse

risemini's review

emotional reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Pedophilia, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, War, Ableism, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, and Racism

angelinlagace's review

adventurous emotional lighthearted reflective relaxing 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual content

girlsiread's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

no one can write girlhood like elena ferrante. it’s so unsettling, raw, but so deeply realistic. it explores the politics of italy, mother-daughter relationships, poverty, the male gaze, and friendship all in one and i’m just so obsessed. finished it on my kindle and instantly went to purchase the rest of the series. ty elena ferrante. and here’s to women in translate month :*

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Mental illness, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Pedophilia

lydia_reads's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

Minor: Classism, Violence, and Gun violence

katrinarose's review against another edition

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

3.5

This was a really interesting book, the friendship between Lenu and Lila is so complicated. I wanted them to stick together more and it was sad to watch them go on separate paths for reasons out of their control. They are both such interesting characters. The chapters were short and easy to read but I also felt like the book was a bit slow; there was almost no plot so that is a major thing to consider before deciding to read this. I thought about removing another half star for the times where it felt like it dragged, but I think that was almost the purpose. This is a story of their lives, not a typical conflict-driven plot with a climax and conclusion, so it felt wrong to rate it like it was. I think I will continue with the second book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Child abuse

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Body shaming, Classism, Gun violence, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Minor: Cursing, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Homophobia

anna_catherine73's review

adventurous emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This series from Ferrante is an absolute triumph, each book as enthralling as the last. I couldn’t recommend this series more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Sexual content, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence