Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

12 reviews

kbhenrickson's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

3.0

I found this book very frustrating. I loved some of it - the reflections on life, the parts with Nao’s great-grandmother, the initial pairing of the two stories, Nao’s diary and Ruth’s life in British Columbia when she finds the diary on the beach. I found Nao’s parts particularly compelling - some of Ruth’s parts felt like they were there mostly as a vehicle for inserting historical and scientific information.

On the other hand, there is a lot of

terrible abuse - horrific bullying and violence that is treated as normal, suicide and suicide attempts

that was hard to read. And then, though most of the book is a realistic story with a bit of spirituality, there is

an insertion of sci-fi / fantasy at the end that feels like it’s just there as a way to conclude the story but doesn’t really fit. I wish the author had kept the story realistic with a touch of otherworldly the whole way through.

The audiobook is narrated by the author, who does a great job. At the end, she points out that there are footnotes in the printed text that were not included in the audiobook as well as some illustrations, though I don’t think I’ll seek those out at this point.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Physical abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and War

lambclown's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and War

Moderate: Animal death and Rape

Minor: Cancer and Chronic illness

indydc's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

3.0

Content warning: This book discusses suicide and other sensitive topics at length. Readers take care. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Trafficking, and Toxic friendship

erinwolf1997's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and War

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Pedophilia, and Death of parent

Minor: Dementia and Toxic friendship

miciahsreads's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective slow-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

characters - 1
worldbuilding - .75
plot - .75
enjoyment - .75
writing - 1

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death

imnotarke's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

i adored nao's story. it was so compelling and tug at my heart strings hearing from the perspective of a teenage girl. the magical realism was well-developed and fascinating to follow. i found ruth's story lacked that same attachment as nao's, but she was an essential element so i understand her placement - i just wish her story was as exciting to read as we have her for almost half of the novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Sexual violence, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, and Trafficking

Minor: Terminal illness, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and War

nidhimoney's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Grief, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

lanid's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and War

lilacwhisker's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

Loved this book so much!! It being told from the perspective of the reader and writer of the diary was so fun and interesting to read. I also really liked the appendices and cliff notes added. Nao was an amazing character and I loved reading about her while also learning about Buddhism. I thought the way that Ruth and Nao’s characters contrasted made for an exciting story and I also liked how they shared similarities in their lives and it felt like their two separate stories blended more and more the further I got into the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Mental illness, and War

Moderate: Dementia and Toxic friendship

Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, and Rape

kaneebli's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Death, Racism, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Rape, Cultural appropriation, and War