Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Normal People by Sally Rooney

922 reviews

mariabacterium's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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: Grief, Classism, Alcohol, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Dysphoria, Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Bullying, Death, and Suicide

eriin_reed's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

2.5

I suppose it was an easy read, I read it at the airport and during my flight and finished it right as my flight was wrapping up. However, I was under the impression that this was a widely loved book and... I am not exactly sure how that is true. I suppose if reading books

about women who keep ending up in abusive relationships

is your cup of tea, then sure, this might be a good book for you. I, however, don't appreciate the this kind of story trope, so I probably would not read this book again, and I probably actually would not recommend it to anyone.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, and Death

kitfkat's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective fast-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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Body shaming, Violence, Domestic abuse, Grief, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

kaelene's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

i actually really liked this book. it’s the fastest i have read a book and i found it freakishly similar to my own life. that made it really hard to read at times but it definitely provoked a lot of reflection and realizations for me, and i thought the issues that it incited were actually really interesting to consider. i journaled a decent amount bc of and about it! i definitely want to read it again, tho i don’t think i’ll be as captivated as i was the first time. initially, you almost want to root for them, feeling sympathetic for them in different moments or struggles. everyone promotes this book as a story about situationships???? but i feel like the story is not about situationships at all. it’s a story about two people who have grown up together and have a complicated, unhealthy relationship and attachment to each other. it feels much deeper and more meaningful than a situationship. that’s so dumb. i think the book also exhibits the experience of mental illness in such a genuine and natural way while highlighting the ways that mental illness can heighten and intensify a relationship when we indulge in our own flaws and in eachothers. its also such a prime example of how miscommunication works and ruins peoples lives. by the end of the book, i was so sick of their inability to be mature and strong that i didn’t care whether or not they ended up together. i felt that the people they grew to be were pathetic. which i should probably reflect on. i felt both depressed and comforted by the story. depressed at the idea that people are hurt or flawed enough to act like this, to suffer for nothing. but comforted at the idea that there are people out there doing worse than me. marianne annoys me in a lot of ways because of how i disagree with her but also in how we are similar too. i definitely think i’m going to read this again.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Sexual assault, Suicide, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, and Toxic relationship

redefiningrachel's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Classism, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Bullying, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Death, Violence, Vomit, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, and Misogyny

Minor: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Pregnancy

kathyovalle01's review against another edition

dark 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

Second time reading this and I just felt it way more. I enjoyed the long descriptions about things that seemed trivial at first but told so much about our characters and the story. Found myself resonating and understanding a lot of the growth and setbacks this characters had. The ending had me in tears but I think it was because of how personal it felt. I really liked this but if you hate miss communication this is not for you. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, and Mental illness

eschmalz's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

😭😭😭

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts

lindsey_holmes's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Grief, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexism, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

teeclecticreads's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

2.5

Not only was this whole book about a toxic relationship between these two, but the ending was so lacklustre. Also, why is she not using quotation marks??? I didn’t like that :/

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Grief, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Vomit, Genocide, and War

tilly_jaques's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense

• 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? It's complicated

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Eating disorder, Body shaming, Gaslighting, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Suicide, Pregnancy, Racism, and Classism

Minor: Death, Alcohol, and Death of parent