Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O'Donoghue

22 reviews

veggiestrawenjoyer13's review against another edition

funny mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.5

Overall, this book was an enjoyable read and I will definitely be reading the second one. The plot twists were unpredictable and I liked the mystery/suspense. The modern media references threw me off a lot, but they were funny. Some of the dialogue was awkward, but teens are going to be awkward so I can get over that. The romance was cute, I like that it wasn’t the main plot but added more emotional depth to the characters. The diversity and inclusion felt authentic, not forced. The witchy vibes were cool and I leaned a lot about Wiccan traditions. The supernatural aspect was also cool, and it all tied together very well. The only major issue I had was the pacing at the end. It felt rushed after the main conflict was resolved. The concepts of everyone’s gifts were really interesting, I just wish it didn’t seem so sudden. I would recommend this book for anyone looking for a casual read who likes modern magical books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Transphobia, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Death and Cursing

Minor: Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Suicide, and Domestic abuse

runes_reads's review against another edition

challenging hopeful mysterious 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

I ADORED this read! This is the first book I've read of the authors, but I'm definitely going to get the rest of the series and look into other works by her. Make sure you check the content warnings for this one, there's a lot of heavy ones near the end of the book. The protagonist was so alive, her anger and frustration and messiness were all perfect in context. I remember being 16 and thinking that everything wrong in the world was my fault, too. The pacing was great, I really struggled to put this book down. I started it three days ago, but the bulk of reading (over 300 pages of it) I did today. Luckily for me, there's a preview of the next one in the back.

I would consider this dark-academia adjacent, vibe wise. There's mystery, discussions of privilege, and it of course takes place at a Catholic private school. The main cast is high school age, with the main girls being around the protagonists age (16) and in the same school year. The love interest is a year above them, so around 17. There is sexual content, so keep that in mind. Nothing very graphic, and the scenes are pretty short.

There is cursing throughout the book, and there's a bit of claustrophobia right at the beginning to be aware of.

I definitely recommend this story! The character flaws were a major part of it, and the characters changed and evolved so much throughout. It's creepy, suspenseful, but with lighter moments and a cute romance. The queer rep is lovely as always, with drag performers and the not-cis love interest. (I'm not sure what label he used)

5/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Religious bigotry, and Homophobia

Moderate: Bullying and Sexual content

Minor: Misogyny

ramblingravioli's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Transphobia, Biphobia, Toxic friendship, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Bullying

Moderate: Classism, Blood, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail

elliereadsthings's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

3.0

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

“I lean my head on his shoulder and wonder just how much easier life would be if I weren’t in love with Roe O’Callaghan. But, oh god, how boring.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Vomit, Violence, Transphobia, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Cursing, Colonisation, and Blood

Moderate: Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Racism, Mental illness, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Biphobia, Bullying, and Alcohol

Minor: Stalking, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Outing, Murder, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Sexism, Kidnapping, Grief, Excrement, Death, Infidelity, Deadnaming, Abortion, Domestic abuse, Classism, and Child death

hales_1243's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Deadnaming, Bullying, Grief, Hate crime, Medical content, Outing, and Vomit

Moderate: Sexual content, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, and Outing

vespera's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Transphobia, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Biphobia, Suicide, Domestic abuse, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm

aexileigh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Blood, Transphobia, Bullying, Hate crime, Religious bigotry, and Self harm

Moderate: Death, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Deadnaming, Sexual content, Racism, and Medical content

sifairi's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping and Homophobia

Moderate: Antisemitism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Hate crime, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Alcohol

Minor: Outing

grets_reads's review

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Homophobia, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Hate crime, Bullying, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Vomit, Toxic friendship, Racism, and Injury/Injury detail

frankieclc's review

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, Homophobia, Transphobia, Self harm, and Toxic friendship