Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

40 reviews

violetmysteries723's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective sad slow-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

2.5

It feels like this book is trying to be a story about mental health and a missing person mystery at the same time, and I unfortunately don't think it works here. I wasn't interested in the mystery plot line at all until the very end because the reveal was interesting to me, but then wasn't explored at all by any of the characters and left me disappointed. I was interested in learning more about Aza's struggles with her mental health, especially with the OCD part since that's something I've never experienced, but I feel there wasn't enough space in the book to dive deeper. 

Aza is a very passive main character, things seem to happen to and around her instead of because of her. Part of this seems to be because of her struggles with mental health, but she also doesn't actively move the plot forward when she has good mental health days. I empathize with her because it's clear that she doesn't choose to think and behave the way that she does, but she also struggles so much with basic things
like taking her meds as directed
that it doesn't feel like she actually wants to get better or relieve any of her symptoms. 

Daisy is annoying and unlikable at best, and a two-faced jerk at worst. The friendship arc between Aza and Daisy throughout the book is more of a line than an arc.
Daisy's redemption after the car accident doesn't feel earned at all. All the weight is put onto Aza for "being a bad friend" when in reality Daisy is the toxic one and the friendship should have ended immediately after Aza found out what Daisy was writing about her in all the fanfic.
Daisy doesn't seem to care about anything but herself, and I have no idea what her motivation is the entire book. 

Emotionally, none of these main characters felt like real people to me. Aza says she's upset about her mental health struggles, but her actions don't reflect that feeling. Daisy is one-note in every single scene, which is perhaps just her personality, but it would have been nice to see a little emotion from her at some point
- for example, when she and Michael break up
. Davis is very deadpan as well and it doesn't feel like he is ever as vulnerable with Aza as Aza is with him. 

Overall, I don't regret reading this book, but I do regret buying a physical copy. I pre-ordered a signed copy of the book back in the day which I still think is cool, I just wish it was a signed copy of a book I will actually want to read more than once. 
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luananki's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

2.75

this wasn’t the book for me. i‘m not sure why though.
i liked aza as a character but daisy was the absolute worst. the characters felt a little flat and i don’t have an opinion about most of them.
the story? boring. i didn’t enjoy the mystery or the relationship that developed between davis and aza because of said mystery.
the ocd representation was a lot sometimes so definitely check the tw but as far as i can judge it it was good representation.
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lovebugger's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

i just liked it. there were a lot of quotes and moments i liked but nothing i really loved. when i first read this book i loved it with capitalization and punctuation and a full emphasis on love, which was great since i was 13 and was struggling with mental health issues. but now that i know enough and i know more to fully understand and criticize the characters, it was hard to get myself invested when i couldnt be complacent with how the story was. i think part of that is because this was my summer reading and the other half is that the last john green book i read i really hated. if you dont criticize what youre reading and let yourself get lost, thisll be great for you! but if youre like me then you wont start loving it until the end
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phoebe_erh's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Such an incredibly beautiful and poignant book that managed to handle intense topics without creating too depressing of a mood. Green portrayed OCD in this book in a way that is understandable  for the reader but still conveys the level of discomfort that comes with the condition and manages to make a main character whose flaws are frustrating from an outsider perspective but do not make you root for her any less. Would have been 5 stars but the poems and love of stars from Davis felt a little bit too cliche but that is very much a trope of Green's books so it sort of adds to the signature romantic styling of his books. 
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lucyshucy's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

As someone with a dead parent and anxiety, this book was just like me fr 
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mhhmm's review against another edition

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

3.0

3⭐
 I can't believe I've read this book, it took me an infinitely long time (2 months).

How to rate? A good question...
 
Cons:
 I didn't like the characters and only at the end of the book was I able to "see" them. In the beginning they were toxic and thought only of themselves. I didn't like that when a person speaks from the heart to another person and tells them about the most important thing in the world through their eyes, the other person doesn't pay attention and just asks a question completely irrelevant to the topic... 

I REALLY didn't like the main character's friend, she was horrible, I only discovered her as a good person at the end of the book, but I still couldn't forgive her... 

What annoyed me was that in the book it was said that a 13-year-old boy was using weed and then another character referred to it as "cool". In my eyes, this is absolutely untrue and that kid needed help, he was trying to hide his thoughts, to draw attention to himself, to ask for help. So it annoyed me that no help was given and no one tried to help. But the book is not about that and it's like a little detail, but it stuck with me. 


Pluses:
 I found a lot of quotes and a lot of nice thoughts that I will take with me after reading this book. 
I found breathing tips that will really help me as I struggle with social anxiety, and there are also tips in the book on how to channel bad thoughts and realize that they are just thoughts and not yet actions. 

I was moved by some of the situations in the book, it was heartbreaking to just be a watcher and couldn't do anything to help. But I think that's a plus, that book forced me to feel because a book has to make some kind of impression and make you feel, and it doesn't matter how: anger, sadness, or happiness. 
 That scene from "The protagonist and hand sanitizer", sounds strange to someone who hasn't read the book, but someone who will understand. It moved me immensely. 

I can also say that the last chapters were wonderful because, as I said, I saw the characters and they were not so selfish or they just changed. 
 The ending was very nice with a lot of deep thoughts that were ahhh... ❤️. 

That's all... 
 Would I recommend it? 
 Maybe... 

 The book talks about the phobia of getting sick and getting infected and it's quite a big topic, so keep that in mind. 
 And anyway... I found the book easy to read and not overwhelming, but that's just my personal opinion. 

 Now it's all... 


3⭐
 Negaliu patikėti, jog perskaičiau šią knygą, man užtruko be galo ilgai (2 mėnesiai).

 Kaip vertinti? Geras klausymas... 

Minusai:
 Veikėjai man nepatiko ir tik knygos gale galėjau juos "pamatyti". Pradžioje jie buvo toxic ir galvojo tik apie save. Man nepatiko, jog kai žmogus kalba iš širdies su kitu žmogumi ir jam pasakoja apie svarbiausią dalyką pasaulyje jo akimis, kitas nekreipia dėmesio ir tiesiog užduoda klausymą visiškai nesusijusi su tema... 

Man LABAI nepatiko pagrindinės veikėjos draugė, ji buvo siaubinga, tik knygos gale ją atradau, kaip gerą žmogų, bet vis tiek negalėjau atleisti... 

Mane erzino tai, jog knygoje buvo pasakyta, jog 13-metis berniukas vartoja žole ir po to kitas veikėjas tai pavadino kaip "kieta". Mano akimis tai yra absoliuti netiesa ir tam vaikui reikėjo pagalbos, jis bandė savo mintis paslėpti, atkreipti kitų dėmesį į save, taip prašant pagalbos. Taigi mane erzino tai, jog pagalba jam suteikta nebuvo ir niekas nesistengė. Bet knyga yra ne apie tai ir tai kaip maža detalė, bet man tai kliuvo į akis. 

Pliusai:
 Radau labai daug citatų ir daug gražių minčių, kurias pasiimsiu su savimi po šios knygos perskaitymo. 
Radau kvėpavimo patarimų, kurie man tikrai padės, nes kovoju su social anxiety, taip pat knygoje yra patarimų kaip nukreipti blogas mintis ir suprasti, jog tos mintys yra tik mintys ir jos dar ne veiksmai. 

Mane sujaudino tam tikros knygos situacijos, buvo skaudu būti tik stebėtoju ir negalėti padėti. Bet manau, jog tai pliusas, nes knyga turi padaryti kažkokį įspūdi ir priversti jausti, nes manau knyga turi priversti tave jausti ir nesvarbu pyktį, liūdesį ar džiaugsmą. 
 Ta scena iš "Pagrindinė veikėja ir rankų dezifekantas" , tam kuris neskaitė knygos skamba keistai, bet tas kas skaitė supras. Tai var mane tai be galo sujaudino. 

Taip pat galiu pasakyti, jog paskutiniai skyriai buvo nuostabūs, nes kaip ir sakiau, pamačiau veikėjus ir jie nebuvo tokie savanaudžiai arba tiesiog pasikeitė. 
 Pabaiga buvo labai gražiai užbaigta su daug gilių minčių, kurios buvo ahhh... ❤️. 

Tai viskas... 
 Ar rekomenduočiau? 
 Galbūt... 
 
Knygoje yra kalbama apie fobiją susirgti, užsikrėsti ir tai yra pakankamai ptati tema, taigi turėkite tai omenyje. 
 O šeip... Man knyga pasirodė lengva skaitymui ir neapsunkinanti siužetų, bet tai tik mano asmeninė nuomonė. 
 
Dabar viskas... 
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danielle_n's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious tense 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

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sierrabowers's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I thought that Ava’s experience with OCD related to my own in a scary-realistic way. But it also gave me a unique perspective into the weird intrusive thoughts and rituals that I do as well. I also liked that they made her mental health journey ongoing and not “cured” at the end of the book, because for a lot of people, mental health is a lifelong battle that sometimes has no end.
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angelinashaw's review against another edition

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

5.0

 i have never had the urge to annotate a book before in my life, but i suppose there’s a first for everything. 
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laurennnn1066's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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

4.5

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