Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Institute by Stephen King

3 reviews

fkshg8465's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

I feel like this is Steven King’s version of a Marvel superhero story if it were directed by Stephen Spielberg.

Fun read and l ight (as much as a story about child torture and exploitation can be), though long.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

spooderman's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

3.5

the book was good but i would’ve chosen someone other than santino fontana to narrate it. idk i think he’s great in general but i didn’t vibe with his narration

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Cancer, Gore, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Excrement, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and War

pkc's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.0

I finished this in conjunction with the audiobook, reading the last 200+ pages in my physical copy and…King remains one of my favourite authors BUT this just wasn’t it for me. It felt a bit like he’d bitten off more than he could chew and the end was rushed with a resolution that could be described as shaky at best. I rated it as highly as I did because the final set piece was epic. It either needed to be expanded or drastically cut back. I can’t decide which. I will say though. The authors note at the end of my copy brought a wee tear to my eye.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail