Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Idlewild by James Frankie Thomas

16 reviews

duzzle's review against another edition

emotional funny 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

4.5

Thomas's writing was so disgustingly relatable. It shocked me how well he was able to articulate and dredge up feelings I hadn't thought about since my own teenage-queer-friend-obsession fraught with exploratory RPs, insomnia-inducing anxiety, and being a little SHIT. Idlewild does a wonderful job exploring the many different ways teens can be fucking awful, and I'm so here for it. Don't come expecting a fuzzy-feel-good story.

The only gripe I'd have is with a certain scarecrow-esque figure in the book who isn't really given much humanity (but at the same time, we all know a person like them, so I feel like the author knew what he was doing there).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Mental illness, Transphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Violence, and Homophobia

Minor: Fatphobia

raisinreads's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Bonkers

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Dysphoria, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship

chefboyavi's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny 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

Beautifully written, well conceived, and ultimately heartbreaking. I’ve never been more grateful to have gone to public school. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, Fatphobia, and Body shaming

Moderate: Mental illness, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Classism, Bullying, Drug use, Stalking, and Sexual harassment

dystopia's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Biphobia, Transphobia, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Racism, Fatphobia, and Classism

Minor: War, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, and Pedophilia

booksbeyondthebinary's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship and Homophobia

jayisreading's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

4.25

I thought Thomas did a phenomenal job capturing the messiness that comes with being in high school, especially while queer. To be more specific, if you happen to be from the US (bonus points if it was the Northeast) and attended middle/high school in the early to mid 2000s (i.e., post-9/11), Idlewild is going to be a trip down memory lane. 

To return to the point about growing up queer, the exploration of queerness was really well done. Thomas was thoughtful in exploring the complicated mess of it all, especially the sense of feeling as though you're in the wrong space and body. It gets more complicated when you consider the time this book was set in, too. 

That being said, I cannot emphasize enough that this book is probably going to hit harder for queer white people who spent their adolescence during this period, as the book very much centered white voices. This isn't me throwing rotten tomatoes at Thomas or anything, but the whiteness of this book was something that frequently came to mind as I read. Not in a good or bad way; just that it was what it was, and it was very clear to me that Thomas was writing with personal experience in mind to a certain extent. 

Overall, though, Idlewild was packed with emotions. It was tough being queer back then. It's still fucking tough being queer now. I'm grateful that Thomas approached these difficulties the way he did: funnily and heartbreakingly.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Toxic friendship