Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Nací para esto by Alice Oseman

17 reviews

skymreads's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Stalking

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Cursing, Drug use, Self harm, Transphobia, Kidnapping, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail

readingpicnic's review against another edition

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

This book is for the gender neutral girlies who spent their childhoods deeply entrenched in fandom culture on Tumblr (or in my case, Tumblr posts that filtered through into Facebook)--the Larry shippers especially. Reminiscent of the show Swarm and the book Y/N by Esther Yi, this book gets into the nitty gritty sides of fandom culture from two sides: the shippers (a dedicated member of a band's fandom who runs a popular fan Twitter for the band and often reads stories about them on AO3) and the shippee (a member of the band who is often shipped with his bandmate/best friend, which causes him great distress). Oseman dives into the benefits of fandom for queer escapism, pointing out how people in fandoms are often queer girls or gender diverse people looking for community online since they often cannot find it in real life. However, they don't shy away from the negative aspects of fandom, such as extreme/toxic fans who take it too far and make the whole fandom look bad (aka the brick incident), as well as the negative effects that fandom can have on the members of the band in this novel, particularly due to lack of privacy: Jimmy being outed as trans, as well as having frequent panic attacks, depersonalization, and s*icidal thoughts; Rowan's personal life being exploited and exposed to the detriment of his romantic relationship, which becomes very toxic and argumentative; Lister's alcoholism, the biphobia and objectification he experiences, and his experience of being groomed and taken advantage of by an older woman at 16 that he hasn't quite come to terms with. Basically, as Rowan put it, they all need therapy. There are some very heavy topics in this book, particularly mental illness, as is par the course for Oseman's books, but I personally considered it a mostly light read that I devoured in very few sittings; the romantic tension/maybe temporarily one-sided crush also had me giggling and kicking my feet, which is the effect Oseman's romances always have on meee. The characters were so lovable, the relationships felt so real, and I'm excited to pore over Alice's social media for illustrations of these characters, which always feels like a treat after finishing one of their books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Stalking, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

s1x0fh03s's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense 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

4.0

I found the characters very unlikeable for most of it but at the end I loved them. Fun but intense read. They all need therapy. Refreshing take on fame, fandom, and parasocial relationships.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Blood, Stalking, Death of parent, and Outing

kits_den's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted reflective tense 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racism, Toxic relationship, Islamophobia, and Sexual harassment

kaitfaye1's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring lighthearted 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, and Injury/Injury detail

olliereadabook's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug use, Hate crime, and War

adam_ski's review against another edition

challenging hopeful lighthearted medium-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

3.5

A well-written book with a unique plot. It tackles the consequences of being in a famous boy band really well, acting as an insight into the world of celebrities but in a fun and engaging way.

However, the joys of this book are partly overshadowed by the characters. This is particularly true in Angel's case, where she acts selfishly throught the entire book only to be cast as almost a hero by the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Stalking

Minor: Addiction, Drug use, and Toxic relationship

This book is not emotionally light. There is a lot of mention of mental health issues as well as the consequences of having obsessive fans.

harperruthdk's review against another edition

emotional funny 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Medical content

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Cursing, Death, Hate crime, and Violence

ellaticonstellation's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

I loved that the story included sexual orientations and choices. I loved that it showed mental health issues. I loved how flawed the characters were. I loved that the boys stayed true to their music. The only thing I didn't like about this was the unfortunate meetings (like how Angel and Jimmy met or how badly Rowan treated Angel). Also, Marco was so weird. ✨

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol

mandaraffe's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, and Alcohol

Minor: Toxic relationship and Abandonment