Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky

11 reviews

alixlowe's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I read enjoyed this book, but feel it definitely could have been cut down. 24 hours?? I also was a bit surprised by the pro Christian messaging very apparent in the end, as I thought the beginning half really pointed out some of the dangers with much of the Christian messaging in modern churches.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder

mykieangelno's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.75

incredible horror novel with an intriguing slightly uplifting ending, had some cheesy lines and motifs that made me cringe a little

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Blood, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Alcohol

this book is great but includes every trigger warning under the sun

theimposter's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Stalking, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

thetearex's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

jocelyn62013's review against another edition

DNF 38% (ch.48)

 I'm not halfway and I'm tired of "baby teeth" and the female characters being treated like trash (so far for no particular reason- that I would expect in classic horror but is part of why I prefer newer horror books). The first few chapters were good. After reading reviews, it apparently really drags on and gets a bit literal in it's metaphor so I decided not to force it and just read the epilogue.  Reading the epilogue made me feel like DNF was the right choice.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying

Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, and Alcohol

Minor: Child abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Kidnapping

sreilley's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

I loved this so much. Is it long? Heck yes. Too long? Maybe. Worth every minute of it? Absolutely.

When the lines are crossed between reality and imagination, the lines of morality blur as well. 

The main character is a young boy, 8 years old, but with the soul and wisdom of generations. 

The small town in rural Pennsylvania finds itself plagued by a strange flu, terrifying thoughts, and a sudden span of time where nobody dies.

Christopher and the nice man come together to fight for good, but the fight isn't quite what Christopher expected...

Toward the end, I wished it would wrap up just a bit faster, but it was incredible and truly transformative.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Physical abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Classism

None of the content was too disturbing for me (and I'm really squeamish) but it might be for some.

eternalbutt's review

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Gun violence and Alcohol

lycheejelly's review

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

Minor: Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Slavery, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

sunnysoprano's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Suicide, Torture, Blood, and Car accident

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical content, and Dementia

archaicrobin's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

I was so excited to start this book. I had heard such good things about it, it was recommended by so many people and I absolutely HATED it.  First problem? This book is WAY too long. I listened to the audiobook and it was over 24 hours!! I love long books, I’m not afraid to start a big book but this one was so unnecessarily long and repetitive and pointless, by the time I got halfway through I was so done. 

I probably should have just DNF’d this one but I only had 3 hrs left so I buckled down and finished it. And was it worth it? No, it wasn’t. 

2nd problem? It really doesn’t make any sense at all. If you think you’re going to understand or get some grand explanation about the Hissing Lady, or the Nice Man, we’ll forget it. You get an “explanation” if you can call it that, but it’s so stupid and so infuriating I would have preferred no explanation at all. 

3rd problem? They make this sound like it’s a creepy ghost mystery kinda supernatural thriller but it’s not. You spend a majority of the time reading about all the people in this stupid little town and sometimes you’re in the imaginary world but who cares because it’s just as boring as the real world. Also the twist? No, no no no no. I don’t want to spoil the twist in case you still want to torture yourself with this book, but it’s stupid. 

Overall, not my cup of tea and a huge disappointment. Also not a wry at all, and deer don’t eat meat so all the scenes with deer eating people? Stupid. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Suicide, Blood, and Dementia