Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Devil House: A Novel by John Darnielle

9 reviews

whofilets's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-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

1.0

Read by the author, in a slow and detached voice. Jumps around with narrators and situations. I was invested though, and wanted to find out the mystery of the killer... In the end it was a total letdown. I would have been happier if it ended a couple chapters early

and the main writer-character just had to wrestle with his actions after being called out by the victims family member, and never knowing who the 'real killer' was.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Murder, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Vomit

jessiejonesbentley's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Not horror but not bad. Decent writing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

criticalgayze's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-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

5.0

Merriam-Webster defines stewardship as "the conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially : the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care."

Sorry to start this off like an essay, but it's what a book like this deserves.

Stewardship is really what is at the heart of a book. What does it mean to take care of something? A child, a piece of land, (maybe most especially) a story? Even more specifically, a story you have not been trusted to tell but rather named yourself the teller of.

Throughout the book, Gage Chandler wrestles with this moral quandary. How do you tend to something that may or may not be considered "yours?" Is there a healthy way to do such a thing, or is there only the best way you know how? Are you allowed to do such a thing, and once you've made the choice to do it anyway, what is the best way to validate or redeem your choice?

This book is art. The book is beautiful the whole way throughout, but when Darnielle inverts the reader's understanding in the last 15 pages, it becomes elevated to the realm of the truly spectacular.

Do yourself a favor and read this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

kitaface's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Honestly just left me really confused. There were parts I liked quite a bit and parts a had to push myself through. Overall I don't know what it all added up to.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Mental illness

Minor: Alcoholism and Forced institutionalization

cviii's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Blood, Vomit, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

vixenreader's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

This novel reads more like a textbook than anything. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Grief, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Gore, Mental illness, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Bullying and Physical abuse

This novel delves into the subjects of poverty and there is a murder that involves chopping up an entire body into small pieces after committing murder in self defence.

felofhe's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use

wrestleacademic's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Torture, and Alcohol

Minor: Vomit

columbo's review against another edition

mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Vomit