Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

12 reviews

han_reardonsmith's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-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

3.5

A Shakespearean tragedy told in Austenian internal dialogue by a cast of flawed and largely unlikeable characters — not least because of this being an overwhelmingly white cast playing out their dramas and fantasies of climate apocalypse and hero narratives/saviour complexes on stolen land in colonial-settler New Zealand.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Car accident, and Death

Moderate: Gun violence

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Cursing, Drug use, Dysphoria, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Death of parent, Medical content, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Car accident, Toxic friendship, and Vomit

Moderate: Cultural appropriation

Minor: Cancer, Sexual assault, Sexism, Sexual content, and Fire/Fire injury

qqjj's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Torture, Vomit, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, Bullying, Car accident, Toxic friendship, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

mementomoriiv's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Toxic friendship

nreyno's review against another edition

adventurous informative 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Grief, Death, Drug use, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

velvet_young's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Gaslighting, Stalking, Murder, Gun violence, and Toxic friendship

katariinak's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Toxic friendship, and Grief

isabellew27's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-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

2.75

Well-written but way too much detailed character development and too little plot development/action. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Alcohol, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Classism, Toxic friendship, and Drug use

saltycoffee's review against another edition

reflective tense slow-paced

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

2.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Death, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, and Drug abuse

naye's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Definitely not a book for me, because I don't really enjoy Everyone's The Asshole scenarios. At the same time I was riveted by the meandering plot slowly racheting up tension. I would absolutely have liked the last third of the book to deal with the last few pages and beyond, but in a way it's rewarding to read something that leaves you very vividly picturing whatever happens after the book ends.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Toxic friendship, and Drug use

Minor: Vomit