Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky

28 reviews

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

thetearex's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

alisonfaith426's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Medical content, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Sexual content and Pregnancy

linneak's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Pregnancy

reclusivebookslug's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

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

3.25

I'm so conflicted about this one. This is so far removed from what I would normally read, but I love TPOBAW so I simply had to. The beginning was really the highlight for me. That was the height of the mystery and horror elements. The unknown possibilities were more interesting than how it was actually written. I'm glad I read it and maybe I'll even read it again sometime to give it another chance, but right now I have very mixed feelings.

On one hand, this book has an incredible ability to suck you in and keep you reading. Given the length of the book, I thought it might be more slow-paced or take its time on the exposition, but I was pleasantly surprised at how instantly gripping it was. It was very emotionally engaging and affected how I felt even when I was not actively reading it. At turns, it is scary, disturbing, sad, funny, and endearing. I was interested in the themes of generational trauma, cycles of abuse, and society's complicity in the evil of a few that allows suffering to spread.

On the other hand, I didn't enjoy the religious overtones of the latter part of the book and the reveal was something of a disappointment. It was grand in scale but not in emotional resonance for me. Sometimes plots of such cosmically huge proportions lose their impactfulness for me because they feel less personal. The very ending, in particular, I don't like.

The depictions of mental illness aren't the best. This is in line with part of a larger issue with the horror genre using mental illness as a plot device. There's also a very positive and uncritical depiction of a sheriff, which seems out of touch with the reality of the role of law enforcement.

Maybe it would have benefited from some subtlety. Metaphorical gods and devils are often interesting to me, but a war between the literal biblical God and the devil is sort of boring to me. Maybe if I believed in God or the afterlife this would have meant something to me, but as is it just doesn't and I almost feel it takes away from the theming that I do enjoy.

The subplot of Mary Katherine's virgin pregnancy is annoying. The book ending with the implication that the baby will grow up to be the next pawn in the nice man's plan to escape Hell is such a disappointment. Despite the huge scale of the conflict, the resolution doesn't seem to reach that level of importance. Sure they escaped disaster, but it is only a temporary solution to a problem with no end in sight. I didn't expect them to kill the devil and rid the world of all evil or anything, but they didn't do anything to stop or change the cycle, they just created a slightly happier ending to this one circuit.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy

Mental health-related triggers are the biggest ones. They use a lot of common horror tropes like: not being able to trust your own thoughts; paranoia, hallucinations, and delusions being real; being constantly watched; the world ending; everyone but you and those close to you being crazy or out to get you; etc. which were upsetting to me, and I don't even have particular mental health reasons that make them triggering to me.

goodolmc's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder

hellokatya's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

this book took a sci-fi/fantasy turn i wasn't expecting, but i enjoyed it. i wish i had known what to expect going into it, but regardless, this book was amazing. 
a slow burn that truly throws you wholly into the universe of christopher and kate. 
it was a mesmerizing and well thought out world, and i'm so happy to have been able to participate.
highly recommend for anyone who enjoys a lot of character development throughout all characters (main and side), a fully developed plot, and has the time to delve into this beast.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment

Moderate: Gun violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Car accident, and War

abbyg007's review against another edition

dark reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Murder, and Pregnancy

sreilley's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

I loved this so much. Is it long? Heck yes. Too long? Maybe. Worth every minute of it? Absolutely.

When the lines are crossed between reality and imagination, the lines of morality blur as well. 

The main character is a young boy, 8 years old, but with the soul and wisdom of generations. 

The small town in rural Pennsylvania finds itself plagued by a strange flu, terrifying thoughts, and a sudden span of time where nobody dies.

Christopher and the nice man come together to fight for good, but the fight isn't quite what Christopher expected...

Toward the end, I wished it would wrap up just a bit faster, but it was incredible and truly transformative.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Physical abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Classism

None of the content was too disturbing for me (and I'm really squeamish) but it might be for some.

eternalbutt's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring 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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Gun violence and Alcohol