Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Die Mütter by Brit Bennett

13 reviews

rachelfayreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infertility, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

namii's review against another edition

1.5

i hated reading about luke i hated all the men in this book i hated how they talked about abortion.  
Nadia made awful choices that i don’t understand but i get that i’m not really supposed to understand most of those choices that just felt harmful to everyone including herself. 
It’s like instead of choosing something easy she decided to torture herself. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Fatphobia, Sexism, Suicide, Abortion, and Death of parent

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Car accident, and Toxic friendship

jaja_1212's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

The characters felt realistically flawed in their own ways and I enjoyed the writing metaphorical and intimate writing style, which kept me going even although the narrative voice took a while for me to get used to.

After getting such a deep, intimate look into the lives and minds of these characters the ending felt a little too abrupt,  I can see why the author might want to end it at that point in their lives though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racial slurs, Car accident, Alcohol, and War

iheartapolloxxi's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective 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, Cursing, Death, Infertility, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

abbytwo's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

mali33102's review against another edition

challenging 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? Yes

3.5

I found this book to be a very interesting character study of what one event can do to completely change the course of people’s lives. I liked the aspect of the Mothers having an almost omniscient voice sprinkled throughout. Overall it wasn’t spectacular, but it was still emotionally moving and intriguing.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Abortion, and Death of parent

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Infertility, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

nebraskanwriter's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

1.5

The characters were all awful people. The book kept building and building, weaving a beautiful, complicated tapestry of these peoples lives in a black community in California and the repercussions Nadia and Luke must deal with after Nadia gets pregnant at 17 years old and has an abortion. 

The author’s observations and commentary on race, culture, age, youth, I really enjoyed and for the first half of the book, I was highlighting a quote on almost every other page. There were several that made me take a step back and really thing about our world and how it treats the black community. 

But after the 50% mark, the main characters development is utterly wasted and they stay stagnant for the rest of the book. Neither of them grow, they only become more toxic and worse people. Everyone lies, no one is faithful, everyone is selfish. Loved it until the 50% mark and then hated the rest of the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

nothingforpomegranted's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

Six months after the gruesome suicide of her mother, Nadia is processing her grief by isolating herself from her friends, her church, her father, instead finding comfort in the sensation of anonymous bodies pressing against hers and imbibing alcohol. Secretly, she develops a relationship with the pastor's son, Luke, who was recently forced to abandon his college football career due to a debilitating injury. When Nadia becomes pregnant, she is wrenched back into reality, considering her conceptions of motherhood and what it means to love and be loved. Nadia slowly develops a friendship with born-again church girl Aubrey, and it is fascinating to watch her deliberate her actions and exhibit greater empathy over the course of the novel. 

The first-person plural narration by "the mothers," the female church elders, establishes a sense of nostalgia and spirituality in the novel, and I loved all of their gossipy interjections. Bennett demonstrates a mastery of description, adding details about each character without getting bogged down in adjectives, and every character comes to life on the page. The development of the plot was predictable, yet still engaging with an overarching intrigue that propelled the story forward even when not much was happening at all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Suicide, Grief, and Abortion

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Rape, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy

gtrue21's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Infidelity, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

urbanall's review against another edition

emotional 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: Death, Infidelity, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Infertility, Rape, and Abandonment