Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Kleine Stadt der großen Träume by Fredrik Backman

69 reviews

kadesdoorway's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Eating disorder, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, and Gaslighting

oliii_24's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Grief, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child death and Classism

Minor: Fatphobia and Homophobia

yulecogs's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

meeklovestoread's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

Okay, so when reading this I'm not gonna lie it's very slow in the beginning. And I even had the thought of dnf-ing because I was starting school and didn't have the time to stick through a book, but the concept was still intriguing to me and I loved "A Man Called Ove" so I stuck around for the author as well. Oh my goodness! I'm soooooo glad I dud! This book was phenomenal. But I feel like you have to like the way it was written to enjoy the story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Homophobia, Misogyny, Grief, and Alcohol

Moderate: Cursing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Vomit, Gaslighting, and Classism

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Lesbophobia, and Toxic friendship

ate_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Blood, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

soozn's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Right from the beginning this book feels ominous. Ominous and quiet and foreboding and profound. In a way, it reminds me of Twin Peaks or the movie Fargo in that it tells a big story woven together by little slice-of-life insights into being human with a lot darkness hanging over the whole thing.

It’s chock full of thoughtful and insightful commentary on the difficulties of being a person. What life does to us and what we do to each other. It’s cautionary tale after cautionary tale about all the ways we fail ourselves and one another. Backman uses his characters to point out our own foibles and blind spots. And I love how often he uses metaphors and similes to get across ideas and themes. There are so many and they’re so well done. They’re my favorite aspect of the book. [“Being a parent makes you feel like a blanket that’s always too small. No matter how hard you try to cover everyone, there’s always someone who’s freezing.”]

I love how unabashedly feminist the book is. It has a lot to say about the perils and insidiousness of misogyny without really having to SAY anything at all. I think Backman does an amazing job of showing how often women are casually disrespected, how often their talents are written off, their opinions dismissed, how they’re subject to the whims of violence and power of the men around them, how few people are willing to stand up for them. He also shows different ways they can take back the power that’s been taken from them and how hard it is to do so. Kira, Maya, Fatima, Adri, Jeanette, Kevin’s mom (who, rather appropriately due to her lack of agency, is never given a name) among others, all give us examples. Misogyny makes for a sinister background presence in this book.

I found it a little slow at times but Beartown is an extremely well written, powerful and thought-provoking work with important messages, great storytelling and excellent characters. 

4 stars out of 5

⚠️ I honestly had no idea this was basically a story about Brock Turner. If I’d have known that, I probably wouldn’t have read it. This book was probably not one I should have picked up and I had a hard time getting through it. Heed the TW/CWs on this one, folks. 👇🏼

https://booktriggerwarnings.com/index.php?title=Beartown_by_Fredrik_Backman

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

pernillelsk's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

cnohero's review against another edition

emotional sad tense 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

4.5

4.5 stars.  I love the way this author write his characters. They seem so real and relatable. 

5 stars for writing 
4 stars for the story 

There are some very disturbing events which include a sexual assault and there is a lot of very strong language. The behaviors are certainly not condoned but they are present and quite graphic at times 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Cursing

Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Alcohol

ems_rxlibrary's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense 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

4.5

Wow. I wasn’t sure how I felt about this book for the first third or so, but I was pleasantly surprised by the time I reached the end!
In a small town completely dominated by hockey one girl has the courage to speak out against the best player. This book shows what it is to be human. Being right doesn’t mean that people will believe you. It will show who is worthy of your time and who you should look at through the rear view mirror. 
I liked the nonlinear storytelling of Beartown. There is loads of foreshadowing and suspense and buildup to make you want to keep reading!
The role a good friend plays in your life is a major theme in this book and I absolutely loved the relationship between Ana and Maya. Benji became a favorite character as well because he wouldn’t stand by and let sleeping dogs lie. 
There is also so much representation in this book. Anxiety plays a major role and one of the main characters is a member of the LGBTQ+ community. 
There are a vast cast of characters- some are very likeable and some are VERY unlikeable. 
In the end, I did find myself wishing that things had played out differently. I wished that one person’s word against another’s was worth more. I think that I will find myself thinking about this book for a LONG time though.
TW: rape, homophobia, bullying, suicidal ideation, alcoholism

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood

bookwormchels's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Homophobia, Suicide, and Toxic friendship