Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Go as a River by Shelley Read

6 reviews

greatexpectations77's review

challenging emotional informative reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

I have about 4K words of thoughts about this that are more appropriate for elsewhere, but I am absolutely baffled that other reviews didn't mention the fact that this book uses violence against a Native person to prompt personal growth from a white woman. Wil shows up, gets called slurs, has no characterization,

gets Tori pregnant, is vaguely magical, and then dies in less than 100 pages. He only exists to be pined for as like an ethereal being. He is written as essentially something other than human who also provided a baby.

it made me REALLY uncomfortable. Also, I felt like the end was a whole different story that got tacked on. I just cannot believe Read talked to Native folks before writing this book, as she states in her acknowledgements. Because I really feel like she just went and checked off all the tropes of writing about Native people in the kind of "magical Negro" trope. The character is there to further the story, but they're not really a full person. I'm just really mad about this. First time I've been burned by a blind date with a book. Sigh. The action kind of trickles out too. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Abandonment, Bullying, and Child death

Moderate: Pregnancy, Racism, Toxic relationship, Classism, Murder, Blood, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Minor: Alcohol, Drug abuse, Sexual content, War, and Death of parent

plasticpansy's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime and Violence

Moderate: War, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, and Toxic relationship

alexisgarcia's review

emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

0.5

this was so so disappointing. the characters are incredibly one dimensional and stereotypical, the plot is incredibly unbelievable and boring, and the author used the singular Indigenous American character is barely featured and simply used to further the main characters story and then thrown away. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Colonisation, Murder, Grief, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Racism, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Abandonment, Blood, Pregnancy, War, Body horror, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, and Violence

lovetlr's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Murder, and Hate crime

Minor: Drug abuse and Toxic relationship

amplify's review

challenging emotional hopeful reflective relaxing sad 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? No

5.0

Excellent - reads quickly despite the lyrical prose and storyline. Really beautiful and so well told. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Racism, Misogyny, Hate crime, and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Miscarriage, War, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

alisa4books's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-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? It's complicated

4.75

Amazingly beautiful saga of one woman's life in Colorado through layers of loss continually resurfacing to take fresh gulps of triumph, hope, and life itself.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical trauma, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Murder, Death, Grief, Drug use, Infertility, Racism, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Death of parent, and Abandonment