Reviews with content warning for Toxic friendship - Idol

Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

essjay's review against another edition

3.25

I probably read too much, bc it felt like twist after twist was telegraphed well in advance so that nothing was actually shocking.

Still, compelling and easy to read in p much one sitting.

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vaishsviews's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.5

I would like to thank my good friend, Clodagh, for recommending this book to me. Since she first mentioned it, I’ve been aching to get my hands on it and only managed to do so recently.

Idol spotlights Samantha Miller and her life as an influencer. Having recently published yet another book, she is revelling in the limelight: she has 3 million followers and life could not be any better. In an essay, baring the truth to her followers, she admits to a sexual awakening experience between her and her former best friend, Lisa. But that’s not how Lisa remembers the experience and in coming forward, unravels the careful façade that Sam has worked so hard to create.

This book took me on a journey that I wasn’t expecting at all. There were so many plot twists and so many loose ends but it made for such a good story. I genuinely found myself struggling to put this down and to not finish it in one sitting. I enjoyed the mixture of long and short chapters because they built tension and suspense well. O’Neill’s writing is seamless between the past and the present, to truly uncover the events of that night and Sam’s life since.

“not everyone we put on a pedestal deserves to be there”

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travelseatsreads's review

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Idol takes an interesting look at the current instafamous, sponcon world of social media influencers. As usual O'Neill doesn't shy away from hard-hitting topics and within Idol she opens conversations about eating disorders, mental illness, sexual assault, the #metoo movement and cancel culture.

It wasn't my favourite Louise O'Neill book as it had a surface level vibe at points but still a very readable and insightful look at some of the less appealing aspects of our current society.

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garciaga's review against another edition

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emotional reflective fast-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

4.0

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nadinej127's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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books_r_cool's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was so unlike anything I’ve ever read before. It’s safe to say I’m now obsessed with this book and it will be the only thing I think about for a while.
The plot twists of the main character realizing she misremembers things? Exquisite.
This book was packed with social commentary but not once was it boring. The writing style and the storyline in general was SO GOOD.
At the end I liked not a single character, they were all such bad people and they all sucked. The way they were written was so modernly evil.

Samantha in the beginning was a successful woman who had built an empire for herself healing and empowering women through her own stories of trauma and her life experiences. Lisa’s claim absolutely ripped her life to shreds as we saw everything deteriorate from her social presence, her image on social media to her health mental and physical. She goes to her hometown to try to sort this mess out but as the reader we end up seeing everything fall to absolute pieces as we find out that Sam has misshapen so many of her memories and experiences to the point that she believes they’re true herself. These characters are so flawed (not in a quirky girlboss way, they are literally fucked in the head especially Sam). In the end we find out that Sam has gaslit herself once more but for the very major thing that is Lisa’s sexual assault claim being true. Her career is gone, she is a terrible person (and not to mention extremely mentally ill and delusional) and nothing was solved and no one learnt anything. It ended in turmoil I absolutely loved this book.

This book was amazing incredible showstopping and I loved it. (please read cws)

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geraldinerowe's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Louise O'Neill is primarily known for writing YA fiction, and that style of writing is often apparent in Idol. That's not a criticism, just an observation. The book covers many themes including consent, how two people can remember the same situation differently, and power balance in a relationship. Ultimately it's the last of these that is dealt with most successfully as the other themes are entirely let down by the conclusion. The book keeps you guessing as to what the truth of the situation is, but its resolution is neither satisfying nor particularly believable. The final few pages are painfully clichéd and adolescent, spoiling what had been up until that point a fairly strong narrative. Three stars for the writing up until then.

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