Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me

Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki

254 reviews

foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-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

4.0

“What is it like to love this person who keeps breaking up with you, and then presumably coming back to you? What does your love with this person offer you? Does it make you happy? Does it give you what you need to be a better person?”

This is a YA novel that follows Freddy as she tries to navigate a toxic relationship while still trying to be there for her friends.

This was an emotionally resonant, at times hard, read as Freddy struggles to assert herself as she gets down trodden and toiled with by Laura Dean. I definitely felt myself feeling adrift and lost in the story each time Freddy gets rejected and in trying to chase love, lets down her friends and ends up feeling even worse. The ending made me cry happy tears as a culmination of Freddy’s coming of age arc and showed the power of friendship!

The art was so stunning in this graphic novel, in black and white but with splashes of pink, sometimes just as enhancements, other times as large swaths. I also loved Freddy’s besties, who were all so charming, and that made you wish they were your friends too.

This is the second book I’ve read by Mariko Tamaki and I definitely plan to read more by this author. She’s excellent at getting into the darker, heart wrenching elements of queer YA and I would recommend this to anyone who’s looking for graphic novels that explore these themes.

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mothfemme's review

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-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

4.75

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tak_everlasting's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

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itsjadenbaby's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective 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? Yes

3.5

This is a lovely graphic novel for teenagers learning about love and sex. It was a really reflective experience for me. I felt connected to the scenario the main character experienced. Overall, this was attention keeping and a good perspective on hard things.

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jstamand's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

Seven-teen year old Freddy (Frederica) Riley has been relationship in a with popular girl Laura Dean for almost over a year. Throughout the story she is seeking help from an online romance column, the reason being that Laura Dean keeps breaking up with her and cheating. Freddy want help on figuring out how to change the situation as she feels trapped in a endless cycle.

This graphic - novel not only focuses on how difficult it's to get out of a toxic relationship, but also how it takes a toll on other aspects of your life such relationships with family and friends.

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kajasversion's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.0

A solid read. The main character is on times such a shitty person. But noone beats Laura. Their decisions made me so pissed of. The character writing is definitely written for a more younger audience but then the themes in the book are serious like homophobia and abortion. I’m confused.

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katsmedialibrary's review

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4.75

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emminkirjakasa's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

Absolutely loved this and read it in almost one sitting. Toxic relationships are always hard, but this one handles the topic so well. The characters were fun and the illustrations so beautiful.
I recommend this a lot, many good topics and lgbtq+ representation.

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readingratboy's review

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emotional sad slow-paced

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

2.0

the art was great. i particularly liked the composition of each page and the use of the limited color palette that added to the tone of each scene.

the story itself was a bummer slice of life. the most important character relationships aren’t really shown on the page, so reading it felt like i was just going through the motions until it reached its predictable conclusion. you never see laura dean as charming or charismatic or anything that would help us see why freddy keeps going back to her despite their relationship being toxic, and you don’t see freddy and doodle being best friends in any way that would make the potential loss of their friendship upsetting.

some of the conflicts were just thrown out there without any conclusion, like the ‘perfect’ gay couple arguing over one if them not being invited to the other’s grandmother’s birthday.

then there was

the abortion plot… sheesh. having a high schooler get pregnant by an adult married man felt random and extreme in context of the rest of the story. it was also handled so dismissively that i felt bad for doodle as a character. i appreciate that her father doesn’t hold the situation against her, but he took her to the abortion clinic with the same level of care and concern as if she was getting a mole removed. do you not care that your child was groomed?? are we not gonna talk about that?? the fact that this plot was all wrapped up in like 10 pages (of a nearly 300 page comic) was insulting to its intensity. but then we just move on to a dance party, so i guess it’s fine

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kriee's review

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emotional inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

4.5

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