Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

O Rei de Palha by K. Ancrum

31 reviews

librarymouse's review against another edition

adventurous emotional fast-paced

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

5.0

I love the short chapters and the way K. Ancrum blends fantasy into realism, especially with the devotion between Jack and August. They are codependent and delusional to varying degrees.

having Jack's delusions caused by an easily and completely curable tumor is an ending I wasn't expecting. Jack and August are the type of couple you can root for only in fiction. They are codependent in a bad way, craving causing harm to each other and devoted enough to allow it happen to themselves. One thing I hate is when adopted sibling characters kiss and/or close friends who are in love play off the queerness of situations by claiming a sibling relationship. The latter happens once in this book. However: I loved this book enough that this is a 5 star read despite that moment. I adore the secondary characters very much, especially the group of Alex, Gordy, Peter and Roger - Alex especially for her muffins and awkward love in tough times. Reena is also very cool, though I take issue with a 19ish year old meeting and starting a sexual relationship with a seventeen year old.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Self harm, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Medical content, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicide attempt

braveprincess11's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I still don’t understand how much of the plot actually happened to the boys & how much was a hallucination…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Mental illness

Moderate: Abandonment and Violence

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Cancer, and Panic attacks/disorders

Tagged as schizophrenic for the hallucinations since that isn’t a tag

louisallama's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad 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

4.5

This book is beautiful and tragic and poetic and cathartic and so incredibly sad. It's one that I just know I'm going to be thinking about for a very long time. I sincerely wish that I had the opportunity to read something like this as a teenager, because adults never truly understand the weight of the things that teenagers carry, and teenagers never truly understand that there are people out there who care about them, and that it's not a betrayal to tell someone when a friend is struggling. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Forced institutionalization, and Mental illness

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

raesreadingcorner's review against another edition

challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship

toriwatson's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, and Mental illness

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Eating disorder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Homophobia

mel_j's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

That was so dark but so beautiful. Truly an unique exoerience, with the layout as well. I loved it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Blood, Emotional abuse, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Police brutality and Sexual assault

thecavewoman's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

The strongest part of this book for me was the visual storytelling for the physical copy. The concept of the pages becoming darker and darker, almost burnt told a story all of its own that I was really impressed with because I'd never seen that before. 

The concept and theme of the book really intrigued me as the author told a story about codependency, mental illness, unhealthy relationships and devotion all of which was fascinating. I think the biggest letdown was the pacing. You ripped through the book when you probably should have been slowing down and the story seemed to drag when things should have been speeding up. Another sort-of let down was the writing style. It was a little choppy which made it difficult to get through the beginning of the book, but not bad enough that I would stop reading. I just think that there were moments where I wish the author lingered a bit more, but fell a little short.

I thought the characters were good although, and this may sound a bit ridiculous, I wish we had genuinely gotten more between the two main characters. Their relationship was obviously key to the entire story and I felt like I was emotionally with them, but sometimes I struggled to understand or really feel the devotion August had for Jack. A few points in the book I had to suspend my disbelief to enjoy it, because I didn't really feel that strong connection between the two.

Overall, a pretty quick read but enjoyable none-the-less. I don't think I'd ever reread it but I enjoyed it the first time around so I think its worth it to read once.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Toxic friendship, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, and Medical content

sharron_joy_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

August is a misfit, Jack is the golden boy, together they are the closest of friends. As Jack loses touch with reality, August joins him in his delusions and increasingly elaborate fantasy world. As they alienate all those around them eventually they both have to choose a path to truth. 

This is speculative realistic micro fiction, it is like reading a stream of thought, events happen in bursts with no definitive plan or direction. There are also multimedia elements throughout, drawings, reports, playlists. Told in short snappy chapters the pages physically darken as the mental health of both characters disintegrates so by the end of the book the pages are pitch black and harder to read, such a tangible way of showing the breakdown of the mind. 

This is not a comfortable read, August and Jack’s relationship is obsessive and toxic, there is an underlying intimacy that is really quite abusive and yet I liked them both. A compelling piece of realistic fiction that is a thriller at heart but pushes the boundaries of perception. How do you know the world you see is real? 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, and Fire/Fire injury

chaoticnostalgia's review against another edition

mysterious sad fast-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Cursing, Addiction, Child abuse, and Alcohol

basementofbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Medical content, and Self harm

Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Toxic friendship