Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

You by Caroline Kepnes

57 reviews

bookdragonk's review against another edition

dark tense 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

3.5

Completely unforgetable (and not in the best way). I was so creeped out by many scenes in this book, and I really have to give props to the writer for being able to get inside my head. I was so disgusted, but that just made me want to keep on reading. The characterisation of Joe as a manipulative, gas-lighting and egotistical stalker who blamed other for his downfalls was perfect. You can't root for any of the characters, but you definitely cannot root for him. Personally, the book could be a bit slow at times, and the faster-paced scenes seemed to end quite abruptly.

Major content warnings would be graphic depictions of violence, sex, and murder, as well as the obvious stalking and kidnapping.

Rating: 3.5/5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

gabrielab's review against another edition

dark funny tense medium-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Murder, and Toxic friendship

ceilidhwilliams's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

3.75

I think that every one of you who thinks that while Joe does horrible things you find the way he thinks relatable, need to go to therapy, seriously how the hell is he relatable?? 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, and Toxic friendship

eleria's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Toxic friendship

redwrapped's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-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

2.0

The way You was written was fantastic: claustrophobic, highly detailed, and wholly original. I felt like I could be Joe Goldberg. It was that intense and that immersive. But the characters were so utterly unlikable they were not merely just unlikable; I fucking hated them. Which is probably what the author intended, and a reflection of how the narrator feels about the various characters, but honestly, I wanted to throw the book away because of how awful the characters are. Not so much for how they were written but what they did and said.

And why Beck was so "different" and "brave" and "interesting" is beyond me; she felt incredibly shallow and bratty, not a bad person (she's not a killer, for one thing) but she is fantastically stupid, and I don't understand how she's able to survive in New York without a job for 95% of the story, or how she got into university and writes the stories she writes, when it does sound as though her stories are mediocre and her work ethic is lacking. She doesn't spend time writing, or workshopping her writing, or working; her time is spent coddling her emotionally insecure friends, masturbating (supposedly, I don't really believe those parts), and tweeting. Why Joe is obsessed with her is past my comprehension, and unless it's just him being a dishonest, unreliable narrator, she really wasn't worth being stalked—and put on a pedestal for the length of a whole book!

The only reason I kept on was because of how the book was written, and I wanted to guess how much of the story was reality and how much was distorted fantasy. And the amount of fact versus fiction was never confirmed or truly alluded to at the end, so I guess I'll never know.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

tatiannaskye's review against another edition

tense slow-paced

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

2.0

Took a while for me to finish this book, about a week an a half. The writing was subpar, but in my honest opinion there was just too much filler. This caused me to put down the book quite a bit as it was just hard to get through.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Toxic relationship and Toxic friendship

Minor: Emotional abuse and Gaslighting

abbieleelee's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Stalking, Murder, and Toxic friendship