Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Other People's Clothes by Calla Henkel

37 reviews

stellahadz's review against another edition

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

3.5

This book felt like a time capsule of late-2000s pop media culture, from the Facebook photo albums to the obsession with people like Britney Spears and Amanda Knox. As a thriller, I thought it could have been better - the cover blurb gives away most of the story, and the plot twist isn't really that much of a twist. The writing style also wasn't really for me; it felt very detached, and I had a hard time empathizing with the characters or understanding their motivations, practically until the end of the book. 
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neali's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • 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
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raisinreads's review against another edition

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

4.25

I thought this was such an interesting idea and so fun; I do think there were aspects of the eating disorder that could have been handled better
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baguettekelly's review against another edition

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

3.75

This book is like an SVU episode told from the point of view of the two worst girls you knew in college.  It’s a little bit predictable and sometimes annoying, but it’s juicy and fun all the same.
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velvet_young's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.75

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st0bbit's review

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

3.25

honestly the premise of this book was quite interesting and there’s certain parts i enjoyed — the gaudy, tasteless excessiveness that characterised the partying scene in berlin as social media starts becoming more prominent in the late 2000s. i just didn’t rly care for the execution…. the language and prose felt like it was trying too hard and the placement of commas rly bothered me LOL made the story feel so chunky sometimes 😭 i can understand why the side characters are so 1d bc it’s probably meant to reflect the superficial friendships formed, but even the two main girls didn’t feel particularly fleshed out to me… they were just chaotic and messy and toxic friends to each other. genuinely got so annoyed at certain points bc of their unlikability 

overall the themes about perception, pretense, obsession and the exploration of zoe’s sexuality were all quite interesting to read otherwise and the plot RLY picked up in the last 15%. j wish the transition to a murder mystery had happened earlier 😕 and on a side note do berlin art students rly have so little school????? it feels like they did nothing but party and get high 😭😭😭😭 would definitely classify this under the unhinged females genre… if the language hadn’t bothered me so much throughout the whole book i’d probably have given this a higher rating 
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rachpach's review against another edition

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

4.5

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joseph625's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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laura7l's review

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

4.25

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grunbean's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

If this book wasn’t such a good read, I would be unspeakably angry about the ending. I am angry, and I want answers. And I can only hope Henkel writes more so I can get these answers!

It is a dizzying story that pulls you in and takes you for a ride. I couldn’t put it down. 
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