Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

15 reviews

jrae1334's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Child death, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Infertility, Miscarriage, Alcoholism, Misogyny, and Police brutality

Minor: Suicide and Self harm

rchulin1's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Death, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Grief, Sexism, Violence, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Medical content, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Classism, Racism, Self harm, Chronic illness, Body horror, Alcohol, and Blood

akirma's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring slow-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? Yes

4.5

A brilliant, important story enhanced by the wonderful audio book narration. I just found it to drag on a little bit at times. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infertility, Terminal illness, Cancer, and Miscarriage

Minor: Pregnancy, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Misogyny

earftoalex's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative sad 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Blood, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Racism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Cancer

Minor: Fatphobia

jhbandcats's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-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? Yes

5.0

This book was really hard for me to read because I grew up in the Jim Crow South and so much of the story was familiar in a shameful way. The author is masterful at telling a painful but hopeful tale of relationships between white employers and Black housekeepers at a time when all the power was on one side of the equation. 

The story is compelling and funny and awful all at the same time. The characters, even the minor ones, are fully developed. Some are despicable and some are lovable, some are angry or timid or miserable or hopeful, and all are given a voice. 

That was such a terrible period in America and I’m appalled and frightened by the resurgence of racist fear mongering. Like most books that teach an important lesson about humanity, this is likely to be read by the people who need it least and not at all by the people it would benefit. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Miscarriage, Alcoholism, Cancer, Classism, Excrement, Grief, Hate crime, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

danimacuk's review

challenging emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.25

The prose is great, and I really enjoyed having different perspectives every once in a while, as the tone and style changes with Skeeter, Minny, and Abileen. The main negative I have is that the ending seemed a little rushed, and I wish that it didn't end!

I plan on writing a short article soon about this book, specifically regarding whether Ms. Stockett has agency to write this book as a white woman talking from a perspective of a black woman. I have seen plenty of arguments happening regarding this topic, and want to throw my two cents in.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Racism

kate_has_book_thoughts's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Racism, Infertility, Excrement, Blood, Physical abuse, Grief, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Hate crime, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Bullying, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Police brutality, Sexism, Classism, and Gun violence

michaelion's review

emotional funny 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

4.0

My opinion might be biased. Of the few movies me and my mom have watched together in my life, I could probably count them on one hand, this was one we both loved when it was available On Demand on Dish or DirectTv or whichever one of those cable providers had that service. The next year I bought the book at the Scholastic book fair, one with a cover from the movie poster, and I read that book six times. The spine is worn out and the edges of the cover are all bent up because I used to try to carefully put it in my backpack, but I haven't carried a backpack since sixth grade, so all my backpacks were actually big bags / purses anyone could see from a mile away, so of course my homework and any books I carried would slide and get smooshed and wrinkled and folded up if I dropped something in there and it landed wrong.

I don't know what impact this book left on me. I assume an important one. I still love the book despite the controversy, maybe also in spite of it. My grandmother was born in Jackson. She and Mae Mobley would've been a week apart, if they were both alive and real, respectively. Her side of the story, what would've been my grandmother's I mean, isn't shown, but maybe someone story she would've known was. Maybe her auntie or cousin or someone who she went to church with, had her mother not moved out of the South before she was three months old. I don't know. The story's very real. Whether or not it connects to you personally, who doesn't have a soft spot for those?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Racism, Excrement, Grief, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Violence, Miscarriage, Vomit, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Death, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Alcohol, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Child abuse, Classism, Death of parent, Fatphobia, and Misogyny

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Ableism, Hate crime, Police brutality, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Dementia, Infidelity, Homophobia, Mental illness, and Suicide

amberlinanderson's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-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? No

5.0

This book is an emotional roller coaster: heart warming, disturbing, funny in some parts, sad in others. It was a good historical fiction highlighting a brave group of women.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Terminal illness, Cancer, Infertility, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Vomit, Toxic relationship, Child death, and Pregnancy

kaylietreskin's review

challenging emotional funny 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

2.0

Lots of themes of white saviorism in here, unbeknownst to the author (it seems).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Misogyny, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Bullying