Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Normal People by Sally Rooney

861 reviews

zmeiat's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

This book is supposed to be a romance, but i simply had to disconnect from what was happening and what the characters were doing in order to enjoy the novel. 
In the same way "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronte was a good book about bad poeple, this was a beautiful story of spinneless induviduals who didnt know what they wanted in life or with each other. 
By adapting this way of thinking, I found myself not wanting to set the pages on fire as much as I would have otherwise.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Bullying, Suicide, and Violence

squeakypenguin's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

Oh my god!! Absolutely adored this book, I just could not put it down I had to find out about these two characters and what happens to them. I loved seeing their povs and how they perceived each other. It was beautiful to see their transformation of becoming adults annd how they developed their personalities due to the things they were going through. It was like I was reading about 2 real life people.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, and Grief

saretta02's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

emilygough's review against another edition

reflective relaxing slow-paced

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

3.5

I accidentally returned the book thinking the ending was a printing mistake which I can laugh at now but my god that confused me! But artistically? A slay I think. I did cry near the end relating to Marianne throughout, I’m not sure if its canon that she’s autistic but I am in process of a diagnosis and related to her throughout. The litte nuances of how they misunderstand each other and its all just more difficult than love stories usually make things, even the ending was realistic.

I loved the fact that you can see them having small issues near the end, like we’re not even sure, after all that, if they’ll stay together especially with him going to New York (or does he even go? He definitely should but he changed colleges for her so who knows)

I loved it, the only reason its not higher rated was the fact that it doesn’t have anything that like shook me I guess? Plus I just started reading again for the first time in yeeears so I’m not sure on if theres better if that makes sense. I’ll stop yapping now.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Bullying, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

cleotheo's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Infidelity, Suicide, and Death of parent

Minor: Eating disorder and Panic attacks/disorders

yourlilkiwi's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-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: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

everythingeatsandiseaten's review against another edition

emotional reflective relaxing sad 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

3.25

beautifully written at times but adds really nothing at all to the romance trope. i find that the romanticization of marianne in particular as isolated, traumatized, etc. can come off in quite an ignorant manner. however i do think  this is purposeful because we view as she herself (and connell), but if not understood correctly can possibly be interpreted as a glamorization of her suffering. 
much of contemporary romance, especially from the 2000s and onwards feels like a wet dream— on one hand you have dark romance & monster smut, in the middle the absolute disgrace of colleen hoover, and on the other you get esoteric nonsense that fosters individuality through romanticizing mental illness and trauma. 
not to say normal people is the extreme fault of the latter at all; i’d say the biggest fault i find is within its predictability, although i wasn’t quite expecting originality from a booktok recommended novel! to give credit where credit is due, i thought rooney did a wonderful job of creating a realistic romance, however idyllic. she has so much capability with dialogue and the natural cadences of body language and movement and conversation, which is beautiful for preserving culture in a time where human nature and behavior has advanced so much and become so complex! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

sina4books's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Alcohol

Moderate: Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

Minor: Drug use and Death of parent

cmw276's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad 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

5.0

I'm a bit late to the game with this one, as I know everyone loves it, but this book pulled me in right from the start, which isn’t something that happens often. It's a love story that feels real, with life’s messiness—like friendships and mental health—woven in beautifully. It makes you think about your own life and how you’ve become the person you are.

MINI SPOILER WARNING

The ending was perfect, though a bit frustrating. It doesn’t wrap up neatly with a "happily ever after," but that’s what makes it stand out. I’m torn between wanting more and not wanting to spoil the book's essence. Now, I'm looking forward to watching the TV show.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual content

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

rotkrox1521's review against another edition

emotional slow-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Suicidal thoughts