Reviews with content warning for Toxic friendship - Something More

Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Something More by Jackie Khalilieh

22 reviews

the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

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

3.0

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elizlizabeth's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes

3.5

Light read for when you need to turn off youe brain for a bit. It was interesting and I'm glad autistic rep is picking up, buzzwords askde. I do worry that the core message of this is a bit misguided, as Jessie's autism keeps being treated as something she has to admit (or unmask) to people to really be herself. People's treatment and manners shouldn't depend on whether or not you justify your "weirdness".
Aside from that it was a fun and engaging read so I would recommend it if you're on the hunt for a romance.

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abitbetterbooks's review

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emotional funny 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? No

4.0

An overall wonderful book full of heart and laughs alongside tough conversations!

Jessie is a perfect protagonist— you root for her and want her to succeed even when she makes mistakes or does things that are super frustrating! As an allistic (non-autistic) person, it was really interesting to get to see the world from Jessie’s point of view and see how she navigates the world. I loved the conversations around masking and in particular highlighting how girls struggle to get a diagnosis because they don’t fit the stereotypical model of what autism looks like.

I loved watching Jessie grow throughout the year and not only come to terms with being autistic but also embracing her identity and the things that make her special. I loved that the 90s were her special interest and enjoyed the pop culture references. I found it so refreshing that an autistic Palestinian-Canadian girl could be seen as having not just one but two romantic interests, and felt that the handling of those relationships was done really well!

I found the depiction of high school life in the Greater Toronto Area painfully accurate and deeply relatable. The characters felt very real and lifelike, and all of their backstories and complicated drama gave a busy realness to the story that I really liked.

I have seen some reviews saying that they wished there was more racial diversity in the cast of characters, and I agree with that, however I also think it highlighted how isolating it can be as an student of colour in Canada outside of major metropolitan areas. On the note of diversity, I do also wish that even one character in Jessie’s circle had been queer or trans!

My only other notes would be that I found there to be some unnecessary comments around weight / body appearance (such as Jessie’s mom “stuffing herself into shapewear”). I think there’s a way to appropriately address concerns like this in a YA book, but the moments felt more like unconscious anti-fat bias than actually trying to make commentary on body image issues!

I think fans of YA romance will love this book: if you love messy teens, coming of age, girls learning how to stand up for themselves, complicated family dynamics, and a heartwarming happy ending, then I’d definitely recommend Something More!

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sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted 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

4.0

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borrowedbyaudrey's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

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zombiezami's review

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emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

Talk about killing me softly with words. As someone who learned of her autism status as an adult, I resonated so much with Jessie. Some of her experiences feel ripped out of my own life, her thoughts ripped out of my own mind. I felt very emotional reading about her struggles. At the same time, her triumphs, which never happened for me at that age, gave me such a feeling of wish fulfillment.

My only complaint is that the number of characters weakened the book. I had a really hard time telling Jessie's female friends apart. When the one friend

was dating a 19-year-old and then that issue was resolved,

there was no followup or stakes or anything. Also, her family members' struggles felt like a distraction from the main plot, rather than an integral part of it. I know the author was probably trying to capture the fact that everyone has their own issues going on while you're having yours, but the execution was cluttered. The most poignant example of this was

the death of Jessie's grandmother. Because this character was only in one scene prior to her stroke, the emotional impact that should have been in that scene wasn't there. It would've been better if this character had been developed more/if she had interacted more with Jessie. Or even if she had lived with the family.

Overall, though, listening to this was a very moving experience.

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nightlight_reader's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted 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? It's complicated

5.0

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lizzie_b99's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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

5.0

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fromjuliereads's review against another edition

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funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

3.5

This was a good read! I think it had well written characters and I wanted to keep reading. I admit that I found the YA love cringey at moments but others it was sweet! I cannot speak to the rep, but the main character is Palestinian and autistic, as is the author.

I also admit that I enjoyed the 90s pop culture! Generally I don't like pop culture added in but that's more for recent ones. I liked that it was 90s for a change!
Also I hadn't realized that this is set in Canada at a Catholic high school?! That was super fun for me! Although we don't all sing the national anthem (I never did that in any of my schooling so idk if that's an Ontario thing?).
I admit I wished for a bit more of the familial relationships - as I loved the moments that Jessie had with her family.

Overall a great YA contemporary read!

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michelle_my_belle's review

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challenging emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-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

4.5

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