Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky

68 reviews

hxppyhxt's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

2.0

2 Stars instead of 1 because I really enjoyed the first half or so of the book.

Far too long of a book. I really enjoyed the first half or so of the book, then I got to the point where I was like there is still half of this book to read and everything in the summary has been done. And the random capitalization in words was so annoying, I thought they would spell something (especially when the author set this up to be the case with 

Spoilerthe journal) but spelling them out in many places was just fruitless. Very frustrating. I decided to DNF after an entire chapter of the uppercase nonsense where I spent so long trying to decode it only to get something along the lines of "HIMEEEEEEEIEEE". So many "hE". I thought that maybe it was intentional to just refer to a specific character in this way, but then even within the chapter it was not consistently "hE", sometimes it would just be a normal "he", which blew that theory out of the water. Maybe I'm just not smart enough to figure it out but honestly it got to the point where I didn't even care enough to figure it out.

Some of the twists were well set up so that you could figure them out or at least get a sense that something was amiss. Others felt completely random and felt like they had virtually no setup or foreshadowing.

SpoilerI don't mind some religious undertones, but in this case it really felt like two different books. The first half really had very little indication that the plot was headed towards a Christian allegory, and then in the second half it just felt like "and guess what, this is Satan. Oh and this? Yea she's actually the Virgin Mary. Oh yea, this is God. This is the Tree of Good and Evil. This is Eve, you know from the garden of Eden? And this is literal Hell" and on and on. I feel like setting it up more at the beginning would have made it feel less random.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

Moderate: Body horror, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

paronomaniac's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, and Blood

Moderate: Gun violence, Pedophilia, Suicide, Violence, Dementia, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcoholism and Car accident

nikimorr's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

UPDATE: A year later, I still think about this book regularly. 

This is the kind of book where you could read it more than once and each time find a new message or meaning in it. Overall, I felt like this book came together in the end and answered almost all of the lingering questions. Also, what a creative story idea! This took a special kind of story telling to bring this all together. 

My favorite part of the book was the beginning. A mother and son, both of whom are trying to do their best for each other. I really loved their bond and their struggles. I couldn’t wait to get off work to rejoin them in this story, especially for the first ~100 pages. The power of a mother’s love resonates through every chapter, beginning to end.  

It is a long book, but I never really got tired of it. I think part of the enjoyment comes from different character perspectives in short chapters. My favorite type of book is from various points of view. 

There is a lot of religion in this book. I was not raised in a religious environment, so I would not be surprised to learn that there was a lot more to get from these parts, especially from Mary Katherine. I struggled with liking her character, but what I did gather from her message (spoiler) is that she goes from the side of religion that is focused on being perfect/fear to what the true goal should be - love. I am still pondering the meaning of her pregnancy (besides the “Virgin Mary” reference). 

Spoiler - I found the ending of the book to be quite wonderful. What resonated with me is that the true Hell comes from within - especially with our own guilt and not letting go. We create our own hell. The only freedom can come from within and forgiving ourselves. Also, the importance of coming from a place of love and forgiveness, even with those who have done wrong. Finally, recognizing when we are wrong and working to fix/repent. It ended up being a very positive book with a worthwhile message. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Murder

finn_vibing's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Dementia, Sexual harassment, and War

rainbowwitchling's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Suicide

theimposter's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Stalking, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

rcd229's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Suicide, Violence, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Torture

Minor: Bullying, Drug use, and Miscarriage

bibrarian_'s review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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

3.5

If you ever wanted to read NOS4A2 by Joe Hill but weirdly religious, this is the book for you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, and Child death

Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicide, Death of parent, and War

directorpurry's review

adventurous dark reflective slow-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Physical abuse, Self harm, Violence, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis

dez02's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

4.0

I will start off by saying that anyone who is sensitive to triggers, or is easily upset/disturbed should not read this book. 

This book primarily focuses on children and the mess of their families. It is detailed and intense. The author describes many horrible things that happen to these children. I would say it is not for the faint of heart. 

I found myself having to take a break multiple times. Having to sit back and just take in what I read. 

That being said, the book was beautifully written. It's in 3rd person (I believe, correct me if I'm wrong), so we get the opinions of every character that we can. We see what goes on in their heads and how they get manipulated by "The Nice Man". 

It shows just how fragile humanity can be, and how with the flip of a switch, everything could come crumbling down. Just a little whisper in someone's ear to send them down the wrong path could be the catalyst to ruining their lives. 

Although the topics of the book are dark I did enjoy reading it. I recommen it with caution. Think about your own mental health and decide if you are in a steady place to delve into something dark. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy