Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai

74 reviews

stellahadz's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

Based on other reviews I've read, I feel like I'm in the minority of people who really, really liked this book. It seems like a lot of people went in expecting a scathing takedown of the true-crime industry, which would have been interesting in its own right, but I think it was a mistake to market this book that way. I read it more as a mystery/thriller with subtle yet thought-provoking social commentary, and I personally found that refreshing. So often, thrillers rely very heavily on tropes and sensationalist stereotypes. I definitely love a good beach-read mystery where you can just turn your brain off and let the story do its thing, but I Have Some Questions for You actually addresses the topics of racism and sexual violence in the legal system, and the extremely important and timely concept of law vs. justice.

The setting, characterization, story, and pacing were all great. The mystery was very well-crafted and I loved how detailed it was - nothing felt out of place, and I could picture every moment of the story so well. It was Dead Poets Society meets How to Get Away with Murder meets the Serial podcast. I liked that Bodie wasn't a perfect person; she made a lot of incredibly foolish decisions, but they all made sense in the context of her character, and I think those decisions were supposed to be a cautionary tale about the danger and confusion of latching onto a certain narrative in true-crime cases. 

I found the ending deeply unsatisfying, but I also don't think that's a bad thing. It tied up some loose ends while also leaving the reader with the sense that justice wasn't entirely served, which aligns with the social commentary woven into the story. (Also, petty grievance, but the character that I REALLY wanted to see get his just desserts went completely scot-free, which is realistic but INFURIATING.) 

Overall, I would recommend this book, but I would also advise people to a) check the content warnings and b) go in with as few expectations as possible - not because it's not good, but because it doesn't fit perfectly into either the box of "beach read thriller" or "scathing, in-your-face social commentary." It was one of those books that made me think and feel, and that I was sad to finish. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexual violence, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child death, Eating disorder, Racism, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Homophobia, Infidelity, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

sareeta's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.5

This was somewhat entertaining but I was always waiting for it to get better or for something to happen. I also disliked the way it seems to propose that forcing people to talk about their

assaults or experiences with abusers

in court even when they don’t want to is the “right” thing to do. It also felt predictable and obvious, and I got bored. There were many times I wanted to stop reading but kept going because I wanted to see what would happen.

It wasn’t worth it.  I’ll probably try The Great Believers someday but not for a while…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Racism, Self harm, Blood, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic

_mcreader's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

I read a lot of critiques written by people who didn't like the book. Was the character development good? Not really, Bodie was more like a set of characteristics/experiences, which just kind of hung together without clearly informing each other. How did she go from a goth rowing theater kid to LA podcaster and film studies person? Why is she obsessed with Thalia's case and Hollywood starlet coercion? What does any of this have to do with her upbringing? No one knows. I appreciated the author's attempt to create a central character who wasn't actually in the book, but I found the addressing the absent teacher to be increasingly hokey. He loomed over the plot but not in a way that felt meaningful. Bodie's relationships seemed hollow (all of them), especially her imagined connection with Omar. The asides where she threw in other examples of violence against women (lists of them) felt heavy handed. 

AND YET - I was not bored, I still wanted to know what happened, none of the complaints above turned me off enough to consider quitting, and I finished listening/reading in 3 days. In some ways the book's themes were a convoluted mess (what was she trying to say about Jerome? There's real violence and power, and then just generic boy on girl coercion. And should we not care/reckon with the latter? Or just not enough to ruin people's careers?), but I devoured it anyway. Pretty impressive, honestly. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Murder

dkamada's review against another edition

informative mysterious reflective

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Murder, and Alcohol

elderwoodreads'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I feel like in different hands this book could've been doing too much and felt all over the place, but it was not. It was perfectly balanced and was such a great story. While I found some parts a little over the top, it was far and few between for this genre. I also felt like this book resonated with me and had more takeaways than books in the same genre. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Misogyny, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Body shaming, Cancer, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Xenophobia, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Alcohol

fuguballoon's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

1.5

I can sum up my opinion of this book in two words: "bloated" and "snoozy." For many more words, see below.

I'm happy for Rebecca Makkai that she's reached the level of success where she doesn't get edited anymore, but it massively sucks for her readers. This book was way too long, with nothing to show for it. There was so much navel-gazing that did not enhance the plot or characters. There were so many named characters who did not need to be named, it was hard to keep track of everyone (easily 25 with big speaking parts, where 10-15 is average).

With all of that extra material floating around, you'd think there'd be an interesting twist nestled in there somewhere, but there wasn't. The whole thing was predictable from the first time the murder was described in detail. I hoped that the choice to have Bodie talking to someone would ultimately lead to something compelling, but it didn't.

Bodie being a crummy person didn't bother me as much as other readers, but I was put off by Makkai's MeToo subplot. I am old enough to remember being extremely online in 2018, and the whole thing was unrealistic to me. I agree with the other reviewers who said her Makkai's engagement with the serious issues in this book (criminal justice, racism, etc) are superficial.

Lastly, and because I haven't seen it written about on here, I am getting tired of able-bodied authors writing about people cheating on their disabled spouses using language that makes it seem like it's okay because the spouse is sick, with no interrogation or examination of the characters' ableism. I don't care if it's supposed to make us dislike a character--it's lazy character building and gross.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gore, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Grief, Gaslighting, and Classism

sabrielsbell's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.5

This was pretty close to a 5 star for me! I listened to it on audiobook and really enjoyed the narrator. I was so invested in figuring out what happened and how it would all tie together! I could have done without the husband vs old fling side plot....it felt unnecessary to the point of distraction.  Also, the ending was not my style but overall I burned through this!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Cancer, Drug use, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol

becktothefuture's review against another edition

funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I raced through this book, not necessarily because it was that good but because I really wanted to know what happened. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Grief, and Gaslighting

jessieraeyo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Rape, Gaslighting, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Domestic abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Stalking, and Pregnancy

alyssaakdefusco's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

This book! It somehow managed to be an extremely poignant commentary on misogyny and our culture's fetishization of violence against women, but also a true crime story about violence against women that I couldn't put down?! I think it's brilliant what this author has done with this genre. It also felt extremely nostalgic thinking about high school and college as a young woman. All of the excitement and giggling all while moving through a world that we didn't understand and baring the weight of womanhood while we were just girls. Ugh. So good. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment