Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

234 reviews

sierrabedwell's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective relaxing slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Cancer, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Drug use, Sexual content, Vomit, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Sexual assault

abbywittle's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

2.5

This whole book is miscommunication trope porn and I hate that for it.

This book started out so strong and sounded like something I would really enjoy. A loving friend relationship spanning over decades encompassed by the passion for video games, something that sounds right up my alley due to my love of Ready Player One, but alas, this only got worse the more I read. And considering I audiobooked this, it made it so much worse to get through.

I think my reading experience for this was hindered significantly because personally, I found the audiobook for this exceptionally boring. Also can someone explain why Part VII was done with a different voice actor and all the sudden was in first person? I hated that switch, the voice actor switch was a creative choice sure, but do NOT switch to first person when I'm 75% done with a third person novel, I beg of you. 

Anyway, I can see the appeal of why people love this. I watched Gabrielle Zevin's spot on the Jimmy Fallon show and I can see the vision she had and her explanation is sound, but personally, both Sadie and Sam became insufferable to me due to their inability to talk to each other even though the whole conceit of the story is that they both love each other unequivocally?? Make it make sense. Anyway, clearly I'm in the minority on this one but I'm okay with that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, Death, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, and Racism

the_rabble's review against another edition

Hard to tell where the fun part of this book about games is, so I stopped.

Lots of clichés- which is fine, I love a trope- but none of it was particularly fresh or created movement. 

I liked the family members we met and that one of the characters does some artistic crafting for the other.

Aside from that, this is just rich kids who have bad judgement and trauma. The main characters were not interesting or sympathetic. One is placed in an emotional abusive relationship condoned by her friends. The second time that happened is about where I noped out.

There are also Silicon Valley-esque interstitials of tech reporting that made me like the Ivy Leaguer MCs even less on top of the "it's okay that our friend is

Spoiler

dating her old, married, sexist, nihilist, shitheel of an emotionally abusive teacher-boss who is now also financially involved in everything the trio attempts to do

."

The gaming is not joyful, it's a slog that also manages to paper over how sometimes you just don't win those 90s era games. It felt... discordant with my own experience (but I was a Sega/DOS kid, maybe the author was NES.) 

It also sucks to read a book where the only other woman game designer is portrayed as someone to shit on.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Sexism

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Car accident, Abandonment, Cancer, and Toxic relationship

hazelisreading's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

This is a beautiful book I’d recommend to anyone, with a label that says “read at your own risk of crying” because you will fall in love and it will hurt.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Suicide, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, and Homophobia

dannothedino's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Gun violence, Ableism, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Blood, Cancer, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Child death, Abandonment, Cultural appropriation, Abortion, Infidelity, and Medical trauma

raptorq's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Gun violence, Murder, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Death of parent

Moderate: Cancer, Vomit, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Ableism, Suicide, and Car accident

Minor: Physical abuse, Abortion, and Blood

menglert's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I cannot remember who or where recommended this to me but I was not expecting it to be so sad. Maybe it was just a bad time for me to read this but I just ... bleh. It wasn't even like... cathartic sad. It was just sad. 

Definitely check out the content warnings before reading this one because some of them came out of left field. I'm usually a horror/thriller reader, but there were a few scenes that were so jarringly dropped into this story that I got uncomfortable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Death, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, and Car accident

Moderate: Gaslighting, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Ableism, Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Confinement, Infidelity, Medical content, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Chronic illness, Grief, Sexism, and Suicide

Minor: Antisemitism, Cultural appropriation, Abortion, and Bullying

ajp_reads1's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Ableism, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content

Moderate: Blood, Car accident, Cancer, and Gun violence

Minor: Abortion, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Drug use, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

opallight's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, and Racism

Minor: Infidelity

funcabbage's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring reflective 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? Yes

4.75

This book kept me thinking (and feeling) for weeks after finishing it.

Spoiler

I know I'm not the only one that really identified with the deep but complicated friendship between Sam and Sadie. It reminded me so much of one of my most significant and complex friendships (which is really not a good thing).

I also highly recommend the audiobook! I loved the narrator.

Spoiler

Also, the chapter from Marx's perspective—the shooting, his coma, and his death—is narrated by Julian Cihi, the actor who plays Tim Kono in season one of Only Murders In The Building.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, and Chronic illness

Minor: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, and Homophobia