Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Elämäni seinäruusuna by Stephen Chbosky

267 reviews

lenorayoder's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

I first read this book in high school and remember loving it. I decided to grab it from the library again because I was in the mood for something pensive and kind of sad and wanted to see if it held up as an adult. Boy, does it. This book is fantastic. Though the impact is different from when I was Charlie's age, this book is still so influential and offers so much with both its content and style. Weirdly, reading this book makes me feel inspired to write and like when I do so it will be better for having read this. Not that you could tell from the quality of this review!

I think this is one of those books you should definitely read at least once as a teen. As an adult I was definitely reacting differently to some moments -

for the love of god, why would you give a kid who's obviously having mental/emotional difficulties LSD! Even as a high school senior, you should know that's a no no

- but Chbosky and Charlie still draw me in. This book really elicits emotional reactions, and is best enjoyed on a quiet evening by yourself so you can really take your time to read between the lines and feel.

It's kind of ridiculous how many content warnings I just applied to this book, but I also think that's one of the reasons this is an important read for teens. That this book is written in the form of letters helps lower the intensity of these subjects/make them easier for the reader to handle, but things still get pretty emotional. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Drug use, Rape, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content

Moderate: Violence, Child abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Cursing, Death, and Homophobia

Minor: Abortion, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Car accident, Incest, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, and Gun violence

kim_lommaert's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Outing, Infidelity, Homophobia, Domestic abuse, and Alcohol

Minor: Suicide, Violence, Pregnancy, Fatphobia, Child abuse, and Pedophilia

happyeditx's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

The Peeks Of Being A Wallflower is a rollercoaster, just like life is. We get to know the main charcter, Charlie whose name isn't even Charlie. He goes from being a shy, awkward, anxious teen to a mature and educated young adult who deals with trauma in his own way. It's a story about the ups and downs of the teenage life, without being exaggerated or cheap. The book is writtten in.the form of letters, which only enhances the reading expierence. This due to the fact that it actually adds more depth to an already emotional, heartbreaking and heartwarming story. This book is for all the wallflowers, misfits, and people who feel like they're alone and unheard. Trust me, this book is for you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Rape

Minor: Abortion, Homophobia, Domestic abuse, and Drug abuse

leontyna's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

3.0

I say it rarely but the movie was much better. I feel like epistolary version of Charlie was really unbelievable and I didn't connect to any characters, they all felt pretty flat to me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Sexual assault and Grief

Minor: Domestic abuse, Violence, and Infidelity

tiawal2008's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

This book was incredible, absolutely loved it and read it again twice. Wasn't really a fan of the movie, dnf the movie but this book was just gorgeous!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Death

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Domestic abuse

amorales107's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Mental illness

andst's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-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 feel like this book really encaptures self-improvement during high school. How, at that age, we feel aimless, worthless, unlikable and inadequate. How we tirelessly look for a sense of belonging and how somehow it's never enough. It's depressing, stressful, and deeply relatable. 
Throughout the book Charlie experience a sense of hopelessness while he sees the world (and the people) around him break down into pieces, just to realize that he cannot do anything to fix them no matter how much he tries. All the characters come with their own set of problems and we can see how these problems consume Charlie completely, even if they don't belong to him. Which is something some of us can deeply relate to.
This book makes you feel seen and understood. It encourages you embrace those around you despite their flaws, because we are not perfect either. We are all trying to get through life one day at a time, might as well just do it along those you care for.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Pedophilia, Outing, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Car accident and Toxic friendship

Minor: Suicide attempt

c3rem0nials's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

a really beautiful book that pop culture deeply misunderstood. especially if you read charlie as autistic. i really love the earnest, in betweenness, where youre not doing that bad but also not doing well. youre just trying. it is sadly a product of its time, the 90s heyday of teen drama ala heathers. i do think its very beautifully written, i enjoyed it a lot because i found charlie's narrative voice to be oddly soothing. he's truly a teenager fully coming into himself. i think coming of age is a silly phrase but i think this novel captures it perfectly. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, and Domestic abuse

sarahrbriggs's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Ableism, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

goldnhabitx's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Alcohol, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Child death, Violence, and Suicide

Minor: Abortion, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Sexual content, Rape, and Infidelity