Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

15 reviews

spineofthesaurus's review against another edition

mysterious

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Grief, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Infidelity, and Stalking

Moderate: Blood, Murder, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Classism and Pregnancy

sarahflanders's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful mysterious tense 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? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, and Stalking

katiecentabar's review against another edition

adventurous informative mysterious tense slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Stalking

amandabcook's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Death of parent

Moderate: Abandonment, Toxic friendship, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

leaflit's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Murder, and Infidelity

Moderate: Classism, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Mental illness, Grief, and Gaslighting

lilifane's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

4.0

What are the odds to read a second book in a row with a family history, mystery and adventure, a treasure hunt, and a friends group? But this time with adults? 
I'm always craving more books about a friends group and an adventure that is not YA, and it's really hard to find those. So I was really happy that this book turned out to be exactly what I was searching for for so long. I really love the idea behind The Cartographers. And I very much enjoyed the book, even though some of the reveals were too predictable and some decisions... didn't make any sense. But I was willing to just go with it because I liked the overall story so much. 
The weakest point is definitely the characters. Although you get a lot of their backstories, I had a hard time to get emotionally attached to them. Especially the friends group, it would have made it so much more believable and emotional if we experienced more interactions between them that explained their bond and different relationships a little bit more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Murder, and Toxic friendship

theonlybaillie's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Death of parent, Murder, Grief, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Gun violence, and Sexual content

teaxmillions's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• 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

Moderate: Gun violence, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence

Minor: Murder

laguerrelewis's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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

4.0

I always love the magic in the mundane, and apparently, so does Peng Shepherd. This is a pretty solid and enjoyable story—the characters are great, the weaving of timelines and POVs is creative and fun, and the actual narrative is very engaging. The mystery fuels this book and keeps you reading, and the twists and turns certainly hit! The biggest hurdles are that I absolutely got ahead of multiple revelations, leaving me waiting for the book to catch up with me. MINOR SPOILER:

There is a minor magical element to this world. However, I personally felt like the protagonists were confused/in denial of this for far too long, and time could have been saved by cutting that down.

If you’re willing to stick with this book, and if the concept appeals to your senses, give it a shot!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Blood, Death of parent, and Death

honeywine's review against another edition

adventurous informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Loved this story and the use of liminal spaces. I found myself glazing over some parts but I enjoyed it overall. As a geography person, I loved all the maps. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Grief, Toxic friendship, Gun violence, Death, Stalking, Confinement, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Abandonment and Kidnapping