Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

15 reviews

jhbandcats's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad 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

5.0

I’m one of the few people who didn’t like A Gentleman in Moscow so I wasn’t expecting to like this one either. Boy, was I surprised. This book is wonderful: charming, poignant, adventurous, and, above all, entertaining. 

The story is told from multiple points of view, each in a distinctive voice. The writing is beautiful, lush in its descriptions, knowing in the ways of damaged people. It’s a story of four boys on a journey but the Lincoln Highway itself is a sidebar to the varied experiences, both good and bad, that befall the characters. 

I loved seeing the world through Billy’s eyes. At eight, he’s innocent and guileless, expecting the world to be the same. The older boys, each around 18, have good reason to be jaded and angry but overall they’re hopeful. Emmett is especially resourceful in dealing with the many obstacles in his path. His love for Billy guides his every move. 

I can’t recommend this highly enough. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, Confinement, Alcohol, Abandonment, Violence, Death of parent, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, and Toxic friendship

franklola's review

adventurous dark funny mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Racism, Abandonment, Grief, Classism, Suicide, Alcohol, Addiction, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Self harm, Death of parent, and Death

elizaeaa22's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicide attempt, Gun violence, Chronic illness, Abandonment, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Cursing, Bullying, Gaslighting, Violence, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Racism, Drug use, Death of parent, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

crizzle's review

adventurous emotional 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Violence, Suicide, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Alcoholism, Addiction, and Blood

Minor: Gaslighting, Sexual content, Drug use, Grief, Misogyny, and Pregnancy

lauramcc7's review

adventurous emotional reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Alcohol, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Pregnancy, Murder, and Death of parent

annamontana's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective 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

4.5

I have not read Amor Towles before, but this will not be my last. I was expecting a journey across the states on the Lincoln Highway. I was not expecting the journey my heart would take. I was not expecting characters who I would love and cry over. I was not expecting a hero's journey. I was not expecting any of those but I am so glad that I found them.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic friendship and Suicide

kmw2017's review

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

5.0

Another masterpiece from Amor Towles.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Toxic friendship

midnightverde's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective relaxing 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

This book hooked me from the start. I loved the structure. The story takes place over 10 days and there is excitement in each section, and it increases as you read. You read from various character perspectives and gain insights as you go. Reading this book gave me the feeling of drinking a warm beverage on a cool day, it was a very cozy read with lots of room for interpretation on what motivated certain characters or what they were thinking when they took certain actions. The ending was wild and I don’t even know exactly how I feel about it, but ultimately it’s somehow perfect in a way I wouldn’t have imagined. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Pregnancy, Confinement, Drug use, Death of parent, Death, and Abandonment

Minor: Alcohol

beccaj11's review

adventurous emotional funny reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

Great story with lots of unexpected twists and turns. I loved the characters although there isn’t a lot of character development except for maybe one or two of them. The plot really drives the book and it’s a great, original plot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Death of parent, Abandonment, Addiction, Toxic friendship, and Mental illness

Minor: Suicide and Murder

kimveach's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad 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

2.0

For every book that most people think is great, or in Amazon's opinion "the best book of the year", there has to be someone that didn't like it.  I'm that person.  I can understand why people enjoyed it.  It's easy to read and parts of it are very entertaining.  However, the undercurrent of violence that runs through it didn't work for me.   For me, it felt more like a Quentin Tarantino ("Once Upon a Time in Hollywood") or Coen Brothers ("Fargo") movie.  I can enjoy those sorts of movies since they are only a couple of hours, but this book took up too much of my time and left me unhappily unsettled.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, and Violence