Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Normalūs žmonės by Sally Rooney

174 reviews

theovruh's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Child abuse, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, and Alcohol

nirvannamae's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-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

What a silly ending. I really love this book though. I wish I had given into Cameron’s praise sooner. This book has inspired a lot of writing from me. I wish I could tell everyone who has known me to read this and say see! I’m not so strange; but they’d think that’s odd too. And I don’t particularly care if they understand me or not. Very good.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Physical abuse

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Toxic friendship

Minor: Drug use, Suicide, and Abortion

lifeofchrstnlvly's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

At first I thought it will be a hard read because Rooney is notorious for not using quotation marks. If you're a reader, then you will not have problems. I got used to it quite easily.

I did not think this book will affect me the way it did. I saw myself in Marianne (with the way she interacted with people and how people perceived her, not the family dynamics part). I never felt more seen.

This book was, honestly, plotless. It was a glimpse of Marianne's and Connell's lives. I found myself hating Connell one minute, then quickly understanding him a couple of pages after. I did not find their relationship frustrating - I found it realistic. Don't read this book expecting to read a love story. It's not. It's so much more than that.

Normal people indeed.

P.S. You can also read At The Clinic, a short story by Rooney. Marianne and Connell are 23.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Bullying, Drug use, and Eating disorder

clarabean's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Very interesting, triggering tho

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Racism, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

selimhannah's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Classism, Misogyny, Sexual content, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Grief, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Violence, Death, Suicide, Abortion, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug use, Eating disorder, Homophobia, and Vomit

anewton's review against another edition

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? Yes

3.75

This was a beautifully sad book, that dives into the complex nature of relationships over time, alongside character development and trauma. It explores ‘love’, what that means and what it looks like in different forms and relationships. The ending, though fitting for the story, was disappointing, leaving things open-ended and unsatisfactory. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence and Sexual content

Moderate: Drug use, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Vomit

ju_harue'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

5.0

Eu já tinha assistido a série - sim, fiz o caminho inverso do “normal” rsrsrs - e estava com expectativas altas, já que as amigas que haviam lido, disseram que a escrita da autora era muito boa, mas como minha experiência com a série já não tinha sido arrebatadora, uma vez que eu não tinha me conectado muito, fiquei receosa - mas agora, depois de ler, achei que foi uma super adaptação e pretendo reassistir com o olhar do livro.
E de fato, a escrita é excelente. Por ser um livro relativamente curto, eu achei que seria uma leitura super rápida, mas não… foi difícil ler, talvez por trazer a sensação de ser tão real, tão sofrido, tão palpável, muitas vezes, vi que era necessário fechar o livro e ficar pensando sobre.
A forma como Sally toca em assuntos tão intensos e gatilhos diversos, profundamente, é bem única, transformando toda a experiência de leitura e os acontecimentos.
Gostei tanto que mal posso esperar para ler os próximos livros dela.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Body shaming, Addiction, Drug use, Eating disorder, and Mental illness

kathis_wonderland's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.25

Normal People by Sally Rooney is an award-winning book. Connell and Marianne have known each other for ages. They went to school together and started seeing each other in secret. Over the years they fall in and out of their relationship and friendship, meet new people and experience new aspects of life. But in the end, they find their way back to each other.

One thing I am now certain of is that I am usually very unsure about books that won awards. I often do get why this book won awards and is so loved by many, but most of the time I do not really enjoy those books. This is why I also have mixed feelings about Normal People. It was a good book, but the story did not suck me in. However, at the same time, I couldn't stop reading most of the time. You see, I have very mixed feelings about this book.

For one, I liked the relationship and friendship between Connell and Marianne. No matter their downs and disagreements, they always found their way into each other's lives again. I was rooting for them! This is why I am not super fond of the rather open ending of this book. I want them both to be happy. Connell's mother is such a wholesome person. I adore her. She is a wonderful human being. One thing that bothers me is the big time jumps from one chapter to the next. I felt like I missed several aspects of the story that would have made it deeper. But then the book itself was already very deep and sometimes heavy to read. Some chapters exhausted me. And let's not forget the absence of quotation marks! This annoyed me the most as it makes understanding the text much more difficult. A big no from me for the absence of quotation marks.

All in all, I liked the book. I see why others love it so much, but I still have mixed feelings about it. Sally Rooney is a good writer, but probably just not my cup of tea. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Mental illness, Blood, and Bullying

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Classism, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Death, and Grief

Minor: Abortion, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Death of parent, and Drug use

ell_porritt's review against another edition

emotional inspiring 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

4.25

no words. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Alcohol, Bullying, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, and Body shaming

smkelly1997's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense 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

3.5

I was anticipating good things from this book but was often left confused and wanting more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Eating disorder, and Emotional abuse