Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

5 reviews

shoshin's review against another edition

adventurous 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

3.0

I reread this book for the first time in years after reading James by Percival Everett. I was curious how the two books lined up, and couldn't recall after all this time what the major events were in Huckleberry Finn. I had completely forgotten the weird part at the end where Huck pretends to be Tom. I had also forgotten the sheer volume of times the n-word gets used. It was very unpleasant. 

James is a book for adults. Huckleberry Finn is a book for children. Both wrestle with race in very different ways, but ultimately, Huckleberry Finn misses the mark badly. I prefer James for a number of reasons.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Violence and Death of parent

Minor: Toxic friendship

celery's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

hilltroy99's review against another edition

adventurous dark lighthearted sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

2.5

Growing up, I thought this book was supposed to be super challenging for it's time, but after reading it, it seems like that was some kind of a fib. I was truly shocked by how bad the ending is. Jim is nothing more than a sidekick who is written out of the book for huge chunks of it, and the last 12 chapters aren't just tedious, they're cruel but it's clear that Twain thought what was going on was really funny. At the end, I'm left feeling like the book didn't have a spine, structurally or morally, and while I'm not sorry I read it, I'm sorry for how disappointing it was.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship

paigeinabook's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

bookishbeccahale's review against another edition

adventurous reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship