Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky

29 reviews

legbascrossroad's review against another edition

Interesting, compelling characters and a well worn but solid set-up fall apart into a slog through hundreds of pages of "The Power Of God's Love Saves All!" 

Somewhere around a quarter of the way in I had the suspicion I was being proselytized to. A third of the way the author decides to repeatedly remind us that schools have to say WINTER HOLIDAY now when everyone really knows it's CHRISTMAS and I was getting annoyed. Halfway through and any attempts at subtlety had been thrown out the window in favor of literal immaculate conception and martyrdom. At this point I had to look up spoilers and see if there was any redeeming it, and no, it only gets worse. Unless you're specifically looking for a Christian novel, avoid this like the plague and read something else. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry

dizible's review against another edition

2.5

I was so enamoured with the first maybe 2/3rds of this book, the characters were so loveable and the spooky elements were so interesting. But this thing just took such an incredible nosedive in quality towards the end, for the last at least 300 pages I was just pleading with the author to write an ending already. The religious elements that started appearing were so heavy handed and lacked any nuance, when we read the first chapter from Mary Katherine’s perspective I genuinely thought she was some kind of a joke character. There was also just constant repetition of phrases and descriptions, a lot of them that weren’t even that good to begin with. 

I’d recommend reading maybe half of this and then just use your own imagination to fill in the rest, I guarantee it’ll be better than what’s actually written.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, and Domestic abuse

sarahbethhh's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Character study meets thriller meets religious exploration. The first half seemed to drag, but paid off in the end. Incredibly creepy imagery. Check trigger warnings before reading. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Religious bigotry, Body horror, Confinement, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Child abuse and Domestic abuse

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual content

audalia's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Abandonment, Alcohol, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child abuse, Confinement, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Blood, Religious bigotry, Grief, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Pedophilia, Addiction, Death, and Incest

finn_vibing's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, Gore, Cursing, Car accident, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Body horror, Death of parent, Animal death, Death, Child death, Grief, Self harm, Gun violence, Medical content, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Suicide, Sexual harassment, War, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Rape, Sexual violence, and Animal cruelty

theimposter's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Murder, Sexual violence, Confinement, Physical abuse, War, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Self harm, Suicide, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Car accident, Forced institutionalization, Alcoholism, Body horror, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexual assault, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, and Medical trauma

Minor: Dementia, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Cursing, Drug abuse, Religious bigotry, Addiction, Chronic illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

rcd229's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pedophilia, Alcoholism, Gore, Death of parent, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Violence, Mental illness, Child abuse, Child death, Religious bigotry, and Suicide

Moderate: Gun violence, Domestic abuse, and Torture

Minor: Drug use, Miscarriage, and Bullying

metalcutesolid's review against another edition

dark inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Religious bigotry

dez02's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I will start off by saying that anyone who is sensitive to triggers, or is easily upset/disturbed should not read this book. 

This book primarily focuses on children and the mess of their families. It is detailed and intense. The author describes many horrible things that happen to these children. I would say it is not for the faint of heart. 

I found myself having to take a break multiple times. Having to sit back and just take in what I read. 

That being said, the book was beautifully written. It's in 3rd person (I believe, correct me if I'm wrong), so we get the opinions of every character that we can. We see what goes on in their heads and how they get manipulated by "The Nice Man". 

It shows just how fragile humanity can be, and how with the flip of a switch, everything could come crumbling down. Just a little whisper in someone's ear to send them down the wrong path could be the catalyst to ruining their lives. 

Although the topics of the book are dark I did enjoy reading it. I recommen it with caution. Think about your own mental health and decide if you are in a steady place to delve into something dark. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Mental illness, Suicide, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Blood, and Car accident

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Rape, and Pregnancy

linneak's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Car accident, Child death, Confinement, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Medical content, Violence, Torture, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Physical abuse, Stalking, Alcoholism, Bullying, Gun violence, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy