Reviews tagging Toxic friendship

Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng

9 reviews

margotcolville's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.0

It took me an entire month to get through because the beginning is SO domestic. The first chapter sets up the end -

Spoiler

describing the fire in the Richardson's home, the Warren's departure, the assumption Izzy had set the fire, and Izzy seemingly hiding or running away

  - and I really don't think I would have stuck with it otherwise. Don't get me wrong, the domestic pieces were good and were definitely important for the quality of the rest of the book, but it just wasn't ~my vibe~ ya know? However, once we move on from this setup, it is INCREDIBLE. Ng works in multiple subplots with such mastery to depict the shades of grey within the characters, their morality, their beliefs, and situations as a whole. This book is a look at right and wrong, morality, relationships, self image, and how all of these aspects interconnect and affect each other. It makes you think about so many things without spoon feeding you any positions or telling you what is right and I loved it so much. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic friendship

kjm_x's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Abortion, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Racism, and Toxic friendship

yogomagpie's review

emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed the way the town and its characters were written, especially Mia. So many secrets and lies. I typically don’t have the patience for stories with drama around miscommunication and misunderstandings, but this story held my attention and I read it nearly in one sitting. I’d definitely recommend it, although be prepared to feel some strong anger towards some of the characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Pregnancy, Car accident, Racism, and Grief

Moderate: Vomit, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship

dtierra's review

mysterious reflective 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infertility

Minor: Alcohol, Car accident, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, and Toxic friendship

Ng’s prose is absolutely beautiful and most of the book is woven beautifully. That said, I am disappointed by Ng making the choice to hinge so much of the story of the

Spoiler

disputed custody of Chinese-American baby on the white Richardson family.

The limited storylines we see of Asian/Asian American characters is nowhere near as fleshed out as the Richardson family which is largely disappointing. The book approaches incredibly important nuance on the topic of transracial adoption and well meaning white women. While some adoptive parents may dislike this book, I think Ng delivers the hard truth about transracial adoption. I truly wish that Asian characters such as Bebe and Mr. Yang were able to be more fleshed out, it would have added to a compelling narrative.

katalina's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Abortion, Cursing, Infertility, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Kidnapping, Grief, Sexual content, Abandonment, Classism, and Miscarriage

onion's review against another edition

mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Abandonment, Car accident, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Grief and Kidnapping

Minor: Stalking

apricotbagels's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

manatsu's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Toxic friendship

jusaoirse's review

mysterious 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Toxic friendship