Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

83 reviews

z0tvzo's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Cursing, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Medical trauma, Animal cruelty, Rape, Child death, Death, Medical content, and Chronic illness

0live_tr33's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Fatphobia, Animal cruelty, Toxic friendship, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Self harm, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Racism, Murder, Mental illness, Grief, Gore, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Chronic illness, Classism, Cursing, Child abuse, and Body shaming

courn's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Murder, Sexual assault, Drug use, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child death

psychedelic_koala's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Alcoholism, Murder, Child abuse, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Child death

louiepotterbook's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.75

The misogyny and detailed descriptions of minors bodies ruined the story

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Child death, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Gore, Misogyny, Violence, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Torture, and Vomit

gommette's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Un bon livre surtout grâce à la fin qui est vraiment étonnante mais qui met pas de bonne humeur, les personnages sont pas très originaux mais l'intrigue policière l'est. Pas super bien écrit, un peu long

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Murder, Self harm, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Rape, Torture, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, and Suicidal thoughts

miggyfool's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Sexism, Vomit, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Classism, Death, Confinement, Pedophilia, Toxic friendship, Misogyny, Murder, Torture, Sexual assault, Medical content, Alcoholism, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Medical trauma, Grief, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Chronic illness, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Child death, and Physical abuse

mariaisabelad's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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

3.5

I had trouble getting into Sharp Objects. For the first 50-70 pages, I found Camille deeply unpleasant and I struggled to get invested in the story due to the time it takes for the story to reveal itself. I put it down for a couple months and was debating abandoning it entirely until I began watching the HBO adaptation.

Watching the world of Sharp Object be brought to light encouraged me to revisit the story and reminded me of the elements I was enjoying prior to putting the novel down. Once I got back into it knowing what kind of tone and pace to expect, I was able to stay on-board until the end. I would recommend anyone who reads the book checks trigger warnings and goes in understanding that it will be a slow burn thriller with a set of characters that are often unlikable or cold and hard to decipher.

I don't dislike this character direction for Gillian Flynn. In some ways, I find Camille to be an interesting exploration of the damaged/nihilistic detective archetype in many crime novels and films. Her darkness and abrasive personality plays directly into themes in the story that make it crucial to events and how they unfold. She's unwilling to let you in, even as you're experiencing the world through her eyes. I also loved the characterization of Wind Gap as a town. There are so many painstaking details woven into the setting that make it feel lived in and sell the horror of later events effectively.

I have issues with the third act post-climax due to mostly to how fast the story ends after a big reveal, but I overall recommend it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, Self harm, Child abuse, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

Moderate: Bullying and Toxic friendship

Minor: Sexual assault and Rape

stilestastic's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Vomit, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Murder, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Cursing, Child death, Blood, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, and Medical content

Moderate: Grief, Pregnancy, Body horror, Sexual content, Violence, Dysphoria, and Gore

Minor: Eating disorder, Abandonment, Torture, Animal cruelty, Gaslighting, Cancer, and Addiction

geck_h8's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I got into the characters after so much trauma and chaos but toward the end it seemed to unravel and the ending was predictable and quick compared to the great build of the story

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Self harm, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Sexual content, Mental illness, Bullying, Drug use, Child death, Murder, Violence, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcohol, Addiction, Animal cruelty, and Bullying