Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Brutes by Dizz Tate

17 reviews

_meganrose's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-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

2.0

Beautiful cover, and that’s the only solid good thing I can say. The storyline seemed lost and I was not a fan of the writing style. Didn’t know what was going on the majority of the time while reading this. The epitome of no plot, just vibes. And I still am not even sure what those vibes are other than teenage girls that seriously need therapy and not in a quirky way. This read reminded me to never judge a book by its cover.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cancer

pigegesy's review against another edition

2.75

I sort of liked it, but I am not one fangirling over things I don't understand. Fck ambiguity and symbolism, tell me straightfaced. It annoys my autism when I cannot follow what is happening, what just happened and what was the meaning if there was one. This one is certainly "no plot, just vibes" type of book... which is fine, I guess, under some circumstances. It explores girlhood too, but it lacks any substance to not be forgettable. I just saw someone's review mentioning one of main girls going through something big and memorable, and awful, and hydrate me with buckets I am still brain-fogged bc who is that person and when does it happen, and sorry if it spoils?? It felt like a spoiler to me. As if I wasn't qualified enough to be aware of this. But I was! For last 22 minutes I was! Overall, meh. I enjoyed bits of the girls being feral, but if not for my useless curiosity, I would not be able to go through all of it. The thing is, I will always stay for mystery being solved. I need to read those damn Acknowledgements. Overall once more, you really need to be there for vibes. I thought I was but it delivered my neighbour's order apperently bc lots of readers enjoy it soooo much. For me, the book is a catfish. Even now, I read people's reviews and it makes me excited about the whole story just to recall I already read that one... and uhhh, I am less enthusiastic. Also, free insects!!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Toxic friendship

jane_moriarty's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Feral Girl Summer: book edition. Do you remember the days when you ran around with a crew of kids, never anything to do, always in the way of the grown-ups and still invisible at the same time? The horizon of your neighbourhood so narrow and yet the world of the adults so mysterious? 

This book perfectly conveys the feeling of those days. It feels more like a movie (maybe a Harmony Korine one?), drifting through the setting of endless Florida summer with dark clouds gathering, seen through the collective eyes of a group of thirteen year old girls who keep a close watch on everything happening in their neighbourhood. While the girls seem to understand more about the events than the adults around them, they are at the same time cut off from forming a full picture, the way children are.

Maybe this discrepancy is the reason why it seems like the book has no plot. We are left with a hazy feeling and a vague grasp of what seems to have happened. The inbetween chapters from the girls grown-up (very depressing) perspective hardly change that. I think I would have liked less metaphors and more plot resolutions, but the descriptions of the weirdness of girlhood and the Florida Gothic Ethel Cain vibes were so so good, the writing just sucked me in. Next Dizz Tate publication will be preordered.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicide, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Trafficking, and Fire/Fire injury

madelinequinnee's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

The epitome of no plot just vibes. I enjoyed the prose of this book, and the setting was very appealing to someone who loves that ‘ethel cain southern gothic’ vibe, but i was confused the entire time i was reading this and i’m not sure if it was in a good or bad way? That may have been the point of the book, that girlhood and growing up is a confusing experience, so if that’s the case then i absolutely got that, but if it wasn’t then i have no idea what the point of the story was. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

snowiceblackfruit77's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

judyegallagher's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Bullying, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicide, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

lagaialettrice's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Toxic friendship

cspa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship

Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, and Trafficking

seventhswan's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I've seen other reviewers describe this as a "no plot, just vibes" book, but I thought there was actually a very clear storyline! It was creative and nuanced, reminding me of Stewart O'Nan's Ocean State and, as was clearly intended, The Virgin Suicides. That's not to say the vibes weren't immaculate - a sort of "pretty horror" - and Tate is an extremely talented descriptive writer who made my skin crawl at times with her imagery. I thought the shared narration worked extremely well throughout, but especially in making the conclusion of the novel extremely impactful. I cried multiple times. 

This would have been the perfect book for me, ticking all the boxes - well-written, evocative, personally meaningful, distinctive characters - had it not then relied on

the existence of an actual monster

at the end... magical realism strikes again. Sex traffickers and child neglect are monstrous enough! Introducing fantastical elements cheapened these very real issues a little for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, and Toxic friendship

orlagal's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism