Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

The Counselors by Jessica Goodman

4 reviews

liciaaaaa's review

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? It's complicated

2.25

Every character sucked except Imogene, but that’s because she was severely underdeveloped. I feel like Scooby Doo episodes have cleaner wrap ups than this book did. All that for tax evasion? Really?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Car accident, and Alcohol

Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Confinement, Drug use, Death of parent, and Classism

cady_sass's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

This is so fun! Very reminiscent of “The Last Time I Lied” by Riley Sager but written for a younger audience. I have some minor qualms with the glorification of an obviously unhealthy relationship, and it’s clear based on other reviews that lots of other readers feel this way too, but let’s remind ourselves that this is YA and we are talking these are circumstances where the kids are just doing whatever their parents say because they’re scared. I can’t say much more about that without spoilers. I think this is very well crafted, the conflicts feel realistic for the characters and their social settings and/or class differences. The villain monologuing at the end to fill in story holes is always a pain point for me, so that’s my only real gripe. I prefer better storytelling and an MC who digs in and figures it out without having to have it spelled out for them in the final pages. That being said, every actual adult in the book behaves as if they don’t have a single brain cell. The parents, the staff, the townspeople. Collectively not a single intelligent thought. So obviously teens will love it. 

(side note- there are a LOT of reviews here that should be hidden due to spoilers, tread carefully if you’re reading reviews prior to finishing) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

This is so fun! Very reminiscent of “The Last Time I Lied” by Riley Sager but written for a younger audience. I have some minor qualms with the glorification of an obviously unhealthy relationship, and it’s clear based on other reviews that lots of other readers feel this way too, but let’s remind ourselves that this is YA and we are talking these are circumstances where the kids are just doing whatever their parents say because they’re scared. I can’t say much more about that without spoilers. I think this is very well crafted, the conflicts feel realistic for the characters and their social settings and/or class differences. The villain monologuing at the end to fill in story holes is always a pain point for me, so that’s my only real gripe. I prefer better storytelling and an MC who digs in and figures it out without having to have it spelled out for them in the final pages. That being said, every actual adult in the book behaves as if they don’t have a single brain cell. The parents, the staff, the townspeople. Collectively not a single intelligent thought. Her mother????? Absolutely inexcusable. So obviously teens will love it.

growintogardens's review

emotional medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No

2.0

So emotional. Imo, it isn't tense or dark at all. It's very *teen show,* just so many times when you want to yell, dude, be smart about this, why are you doing that, etc etc. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Car accident, and Murder

Minor: Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

superwhytheheck's review

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This was such a compelling read. Every step of the way had me gripping the wheel (I listened to it while I drove) with nervous anticipation. I actually cried. This is probably my favorite mystery I have read this year!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Vomit, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Medical content, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Blood, Stalking, and Death of parent