Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'
We Are Not Like Them: A Novel by Christine Pride, Jo Piazza
2 reviews
cdoubet's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Pregnancy, Violence, Cursing, Death, Grief, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic friendship, Gun violence, Hate crime, Police brutality, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Body horror, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Drug use, and Blood
Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
hancaavdic's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
This is such a disappointment. I was truly so excited and interested in the novel—it has an amazing premise, so with that I thought the literary quality would’ve been just as exceptional, but it was anything but.
The writing is incredibly flat and dense, and usually I like my books dense but with drive and promise, but with this book it was unbearable. It got to the point where it felt like the reader was constantly being taken out of the flow of the story with unnecessary detail and fluff, only to carry on again. And then it would happen once again; one-two steps forward, constant one step back. Maybe it’s the dual writing that made it feel this way? I’m not sure, all I know is that something just wasn’t hitting the spot.
While the center of the story is heart wrenching and completely inhumane, and one would think that you would be able to feel for the characters, or at least for the situation, however it contrasts with the fact that there really is no emotion from the characters… which is weird and yet again, disappointing. It’s more so telling the emotions, than showing them, and that really bothers me. It makes the characters flat/two dimensional, and leaves little room for improvement and growth. When I read a book I want to be able to relate to the characters in one way or another, even in the slightest, smallest of ways. But I honestly didn’t feel anything for any of them, not even Riley nor Jen/Jenny.
I ended up skimming through the rest of the book when I finally got around to 150/200 pages, and honestly I didn’t see a shift or change of any kind within the story.
The two most important things to me as a reader and lover of books is the literary quality (writing) and characterization, and for me this book didn’t have either of those. It fell through.
I’m just disappointed. This had so much potential.
The writing is incredibly flat and dense, and usually I like my books dense but with drive and promise, but with this book it was unbearable. It got to the point where it felt like the reader was constantly being taken out of the flow of the story with unnecessary detail and fluff, only to carry on again. And then it would happen once again; one-two steps forward, constant one step back. Maybe it’s the dual writing that made it feel this way? I’m not sure, all I know is that something just wasn’t hitting the spot.
While the center of the story is heart wrenching and completely inhumane, and one would think that you would be able to feel for the characters, or at least for the situation, however it contrasts with the fact that there really is no emotion from the characters… which is weird and yet again, disappointing. It’s more so telling the emotions, than showing them, and that really bothers me. It makes the characters flat/two dimensional, and leaves little room for improvement and growth. When I read a book I want to be able to relate to the characters in one way or another, even in the slightest, smallest of ways. But I honestly didn’t feel anything for any of them, not even Riley nor Jen/Jenny.
I ended up skimming through the rest of the book when I finally got around to 150/200 pages, and honestly I didn’t see a shift or change of any kind within the story.
The two most important things to me as a reader and lover of books is the literary quality (writing) and characterization, and for me this book didn’t have either of those. It fell through.
I’m just disappointed. This had so much potential.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Violence, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
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