Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara

5 reviews

nicoleisalwaysreading's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

 A colossus that I think only Hanya Yanagihara could give us. A Little Life's strongest quality is the way it champions friendship and its complexities, but in To Paradise, she presents friendship as both necessary and a salvation while fickle and inconsistent. Her characters either can't decide if they believe in people, or their actions show that how we connect with and cherish people are all we have in common. The threads through the stories are that of love and its contours. We have romance, delusion, and disease. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Cancer, Infidelity, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

becksusername's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.75

I'm crying in a coffeeshop.

I want to know if they made it to paradise - all of them. Even the first David, who was a spoiled brat. But especially Charlie

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

annieo15's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

The  sections of this book weave together in a fascinating, imaginative way. Yanagihara develops three plots and sets of characters that, when combined, offer reflective insight into relationship dynamics, societal and familial standards, and what it means to be a flawed human. I feared this would not live up to the reputation of her previous novel, but it is entirely different and equally enthralling.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Infertility, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, and Pandemic/Epidemic

deandra_lalonde's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Racism, Rape, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Colonisation, and War

kkulhannie's review against another edition

challenging reflective slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Colonisation

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War