Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

68 reviews

cecereads__'s review against another edition

4.25

A mostly heartbreaking book but with a side of beauty and all the ups and downs and flaws that come with life and love and family.
Tragedy was always close by in this story, which is only respectful of reality. Sohrab is someone I will remember for a long time.

and someone I wish had been spared the heartbreaking experiences following (and including) the murder of his parents. Amir is a deeply flawed mc, who treated Hassan from a conflicted but ultimately jealous and unkind and unfair standpoint. Even though he is just a child and a child of his environment. Assef is socio- and psychopathic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Violence

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Genocide, Infertility, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Terminal illness, Torture, Xenophobia, Blood, Islamophobia, Medical content, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Genocide, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, and Classism

Minor: Animal death, Drug use, Incest, Forced institutionalization, and Car accident

caitlyn_drago_1226's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and War

natanbcpc's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad

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

5.0

This was a very heavy read, I had to take breaks while reading. But it's a masterpiece, incredibly well written, especially considering this was the author's debut, I'm impressed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Suicide, Vomit, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Genocide, Infertility, Sexism, and Religious bigotry

This is a very heavy book, make sure you're in a good state and take care of yourself ❤️

hhaannaahh's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and War

sareidle's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Oof. I knew this would be a heavy, heartbreaking book going in, but I was still in tears for most of the second half. I was forced to confront the loss of innocence and childhood that is part of war and violent regime changes. While it was difficult to read about, I felt that the portrayal of trauma and grief was true to life.

Additionally, I think that Kite Runner pairs very well with A Thousand Splendid Suns in showing how the Taliban affected life across gender, class, and ethnicity.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Rape, Self harm, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Chronic illness, Infertility, Racial slurs, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent

redefiningrachel's review against another edition

dark 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: Cancer, Death, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and War

Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cannibalism

themrshedrick816's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative tense slow-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

4.0

 I wanted to read this book because I knew it had a lot of cultural aspects to it as well as being considered a “banned” book. It’s not my usual style/genre of reading, but with that being said, it was good. I did struggle some with the concepts and cultural differences and fully understanding them as I read but also enjoy that I feel more educated on them after reading this book. Overall, there were a lot of difficult, sad, and frustrating parts to read, but I do think the story was told well.  While not based on a true story, I did feel that all the aspects and hardships faced by the characters are real things that happen to Afghans and I feel that after reading this book I have an even deeper sympathy for what people of this origin faced during this time period. I do recommend this book, not necessarily as a “pleasure” read but as an expand your knowledge read, if that makes sense. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, and War

ienbdri's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and War

shiftycow1313's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism