Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw

8 reviews

josie2k's review

challenging emotional funny reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Cursing, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Grief, and Toxic relationship

lexi_bear's review

dark emotional funny fast-paced

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

4.0

Lovely mix of short stories. I especially love how the author explores different relationships between women like mother daughter, friend to friend, and sister to sister. My fave was the story about peach cobbler. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, and Sexual content

katndrsn's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Child death, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Lesbophobia, and Homophobia

Minor: Child abuse and Gun violence

clairew97's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Abandonment, Abortion, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug use, Murder, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Child death, Death of parent, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Homophobia, and Toxic relationship

kimveach's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

This book is about sexual relationships, not just the kind most Christian churches would like you to have. The writing was excellent, and you got to know these characters despite the short stories.

The narration was good, but it could have benefitted from having more than one narrator. While I enjoyed listening to her, it felt like it was just one character telling all the stories, which is not the case.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Classism, Cursing, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, and Misogyny

readingwithtrey's review

challenging dark emotional funny 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? N/A

5.0

I’m going to start this review by saying this book will not be for everyone and that’s okay. If you’re not an open-minded reader, you may find yourself offended by some of the things in this book. 

Now to my review, in my humble opinion, this book is a work 👏🏽 of 👏🏽art👏🏽. While I didn’t have any personal shared experiences with each woman, I could appreciate the nods to the culture that I could completely relate to. They include: being in church every Sunday with our moms & grannies and often times aunts, uncles, and cousins. (I was related to almost everyone in the small, country church I attended growing up.) Our grannies always telling us that they’re praying for us (and knowing for certain they actually were) and usually having a feast ready for us whenever we visited. Spending summers outside all day almost every day with our cousins without a care in the world. Getting a new beautiful frilly dress from my grandma each Easter. This book made me nostalgic for that time and made that ache that I still have to see both of my grandmas one more time feel as new as the days that they left us.

There is so much to this book than what’s on the surface level. & I highly recommend it for readers with open hearts and minds. Know that there are a lot of touchy/sensitive subjects. It was funny, incredibly sad, and totally different from anything I’ve read. 

My only complaint is that I need updates on all of these women, especially Jael. Her chapter had me weak.

Favorite quotes:

“We miss their bare brown arms reaching to hang clothes on the line with wooden pins. We miss their Sun tea brewed all day in big jars on the picnic table in the backyard.”

“We miss how they made our Easter dresses and pound cakes and a way out of no way.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Death of parent, and Dementia

Minor: Drug use, Fatphobia, Abortion, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Infertility, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence

jourdanicus's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

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

I find it difficult to rate/review short story collections, personally. I don't typically read many of them because I usually find myself preferring a longer cohesive narrative. But I really enjoyed this book. It was good on audio; the narrator gave each story/character a distinct voice. I'll be looking out for more by this author.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Abortion, Homophobia, Racial slurs, and Toxic friendship

davidbythebay's review

challenging emotional funny inspiring reflective medium-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? N/A

5.0

Greg (Supposedly Fun on BookTube & Instagram) was absolutely right: this is an amazing short story collection! I shy away from short story collections because I never feel they are or of similar caliber to each other usually. Here, however, Philyaw has created an entire universe of Black women who are strong, unapologetically powerful, and asserting how they wish to live their lives. From queer/lesbian or heterosexual perspectives, these nine short stories cover a wide ground of topic areas and perspectives. And I'm living for it all! Absolutely amazing! 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content