Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky

69 reviews

dizible's review against another edition

2.5

I was so enamoured with the first maybe 2/3rds of this book, the characters were so loveable and the spooky elements were so interesting. But this thing just took such an incredible nosedive in quality towards the end, for the last at least 300 pages I was just pleading with the author to write an ending already. The religious elements that started appearing were so heavy handed and lacked any nuance, when we read the first chapter from Mary Katherine’s perspective I genuinely thought she was some kind of a joke character. There was also just constant repetition of phrases and descriptions, a lot of them that weren’t even that good to begin with. 

I’d recommend reading maybe half of this and then just use your own imagination to fill in the rest, I guarantee it’ll be better than what’s actually written.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Suicide, and Religious bigotry

mykieangelno's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.75

incredible horror novel with an intriguing slightly uplifting ending, had some cheesy lines and motifs that made me cringe a little

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Blood, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Alcohol

this book is great but includes every trigger warning under the sun

epeolatrist's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Blood

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Suicide, and Xenophobia

dlajoie's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-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? It's complicated

4.25

This is the best horror novel that Stephen King never wrote. Had no idea the author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower had this novel in him!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

itsessbee's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Character study meets thriller meets religious exploration. The first half seemed to drag, but paid off in the end. Incredibly creepy imagery. Check trigger warnings before reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse and Domestic abuse

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual content

lokidotter's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, and Murder

audalia's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Death, Incest, and Pedophilia

nrogers_1030's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol

Minor: Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Pregnancy

skylerraee's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

I mean this in the best way possible: WHAT. THE. FUCK. At several points I was like, how can there be this many more pages if things are wrapping up? And I was wrong every single time. I genuinely cried at the end, partly because it was over but also because of how beautifully written it was. I have a handful of books I wish I’d never read, simply so I could read them for the first time- and this is definitely one of them. 6/5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and War

amberjackonski's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault