Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Apt Pupil by Stephen King

8 reviews

httpscl0d4gh's review

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Antisemitism, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Genocide, Gun violence, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail

judassilver's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Violence, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Suicide

sloan_emmi92's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.75

   I honestly don’t even know what to rate this book because how can I rate something that put me in shock after I read it? Like I sat there staring at it wondering how I was not gonna think about what I read.
   Stephen King is an extremely, extremely talented author, especially because he made me visibly wanna gag throughout this book. I’ve never read anything like this, so maybe it’s just my first time reading a genuinely dark and disturbing novel. I think the thing that truly scared me about this was it was circling an event that actually happened that I’ve learned so much about and is so incredibly devastating. 
   I knew this book was gonna be scary but it definitely exceeded the expectations. And that ending!!!! It was so unexpected and the things that were revealed throughout the book, I never would’ve guessed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Antisemitism, Murder, Alcohol, and War

Moderate: Animal death, Genocide, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Child death

reemoony's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

dont read this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail

errie's review against another edition

dark

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Reread for me - this was the first horror book I ever read as a teenager and it stuck with me for years, particularly a certain scene involving a cat. This is quite possibly one of the most disturbing and unsettling reads I’ve ever read, it left me feeling sick to my stomach nearly all the way through. I’m not much of a Stephen King fan, but this is so well written that I could not stop reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Antisemitism, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

nicole_cob_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and War

tylor's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

kawooreads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This novella was originally part of the book Different Seasons by King but Libby offers it as a standalone audio. I recall seeing the movie starring Brad Renfro and Ian McKellen over twenty years ago but have never read the story. The book is far creepier and sadistic than the film, and King excels at writing psychopathic inner dialogue and capturing how people descend into chaos. That being said, this may be one of those rare moments that the film is better than the book. Once again I think it comes down to my feelings about King's writing style and the choices he makes. I also felt the big finale ending was rushed and abrupt, considering how many pages King dedicated to the two main characters bickering and being moody toward each other.  I recommend it if you want to be creeped out by a teenager's macabre curiosity in addition to an old German Nazi concentration camp interrogator describing the atrocities he committed in his life. This kind of tale is not for everyone, but if you enjoy a dark story you should give this one a shot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Antisemitism, Murder, and Toxic friendship