Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Babel by R.F. Kuang

430 reviews

lucakocsis's review against another edition

dark informative inspiring mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

I loved reading this book from the first page. The setting and the theme is amazing and the characters are real and lovable. The magic system is interesting, at some points the logic is a bit clunky but overall it's a refreshing take on it. 

I only wish that the second half of the book had dealt with the deaths of some characters a bit better. It felt rushed at times and even though they were the driving force behind Robin's actions after, they somehow still felt a bit inconsequential. I also feel the character change in Robin was too drastic after their deaths but grief can take many forms so I'm not too hung up on it .

Overall I would highly recommend this book but only to those who are really interested in linguistics.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Colonisation, Misogyny, Classism, Racism, Racial slurs, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Suicide and Toxic friendship

Minor: Blood, Body horror, and Gun violence

annamary54's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious 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

I am at a loss for words right now. This is one of the best books I’ve ever read. It also doubled my vocabulary. I have been contemplating going back to school for linguistics, and this book made me want to go even more, until it didnt. And at the same time this book had everything and nothing to do with linguistics. Incredible topical time for me to be reading the this (although I’m sure you could stay that about any time). I’m just thinking of the protests happening at colleges around the US calling for a ceasefire. Very much resembles the back half of this book. I will say, it was a slow start for me, only because I started reading this when I was in a reading slump and the world building was just a lot of translation. Once I got about 40% of the way though, things started picking up. I really was going to give this 4.75 just because it was so hard for me to get into it, even with my love of language, but book five was so good I had no choice but to give this 5 stars. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Blood, Death of parent, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Body horror, Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Police brutality, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, War, Hate crime, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Suicide

etherisapoet's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Violence, Suicide, and Racism

hellichipmunk's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Torture, Grief, Drug abuse, Suicide, Racism, Colonisation, Death, Violence, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Gun violence, Sexism, Murder, Misogyny, Islamophobia, Car accident, Toxic friendship, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, War, and Confinement

quinn24's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny informative reflective tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

I am absolutely floored. I was so fucking stressed reading this I had to keep taking breaks and honestly I’m a little pissed at how intelligent R.F. Kuang is. Insane. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Blood, Alcohol, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Racism, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Drug use, Addiction, Cursing, Drug abuse, and Vomit

mr_ryancowboy's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Xenophobia, Violence, Grief, Racism, Murder, and Cultural appropriation

Moderate: Misogyny, Blood, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Slavery, and Physical abuse

Minor: Addiction, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Drug use

bellsdixon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Misogyny, Death, War, Slavery, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, Grief, Emotional abuse, Deportation, Classism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Drug abuse, Sexual harassment, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Child death, Mass/school shootings, Trafficking, Gun violence, and Gore

samugranjo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Colonisation, Classism, Murder, Grief, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Toxic friendship, War, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, and Sexism

Minor: Confinement, Alcohol, Blood, Addiction, and Genocide

bookish_5280's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Murder, Violence, Toxic friendship, Slavery, and Colonisation

Moderate: Classism, Sexism, Violence, and Misogyny

Minor: Child abuse and Islamophobia

dua_liepard's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Grief, Misogyny, Racism, Blood, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, War, Gun violence, Sexism, and Murder