Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky

20 reviews

eternalbutt's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Gun violence and Alcohol

madinhoa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

seawarrior's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

The strongest merit of Imaginary Friend is how it remains equally engaging page after page, which was a relief, since there are nearly a thousand of them. Chbosky's effort developing his characters is a key factor in the story's power. Lore wise, I was somewhat disappointed once all secrets were revealed, yet I was still satisfied reading Christopher and Kate's fight against evil. 

It's difficult for me to gather much more to say about the book since it's so expansive, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it to others. I did think the horror was written well, but the true source of it felt trite to me and I'd really been expecting something more original. If you do read it please review the list of content warnings, which is nearly as long as the book itself.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail

kait_sixcrowsbooks's review against another edition

Ya know, for the most part I was really getting into the book — I thought the premise was really interesting, and I liked the characters well enough (except for the entire subplot/premise that the MC’s dyslexia is magically cured and now he’s “””smart”””, and the ableism surrounding Ed and his “nickname”).

However, about 40-45% of the way through I was starting to get a bad feeling about the different allegories, so I decided to look up spoilers, and I ended up being right. If you’re wanting to read this book for spoopy horror, and not some weird Christian “good vs evil” tripe, look elsewhere. If I knew what I was getting into beforehand, I would’ve steered clear of this one.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Vomit, and Dementia

lycheejelly's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

Minor: Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Slavery, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

camillesuzannes's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Moderate: Ableism, Confinement, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Excrement, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Pedophilia, Slavery, and Vomit

sararainsberry's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, Car accident, and Murder

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, and Death of parent

maddireads13's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Abortion

archaicrobin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful tense slow-paced

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

1.0

I was so excited to start this book. I had heard such good things about it, it was recommended by so many people and I absolutely HATED it.  First problem? This book is WAY too long. I listened to the audiobook and it was over 24 hours!! I love long books, I’m not afraid to start a big book but this one was so unnecessarily long and repetitive and pointless, by the time I got halfway through I was so done. 

I probably should have just DNF’d this one but I only had 3 hrs left so I buckled down and finished it. And was it worth it? No, it wasn’t. 

2nd problem? It really doesn’t make any sense at all. If you think you’re going to understand or get some grand explanation about the Hissing Lady, or the Nice Man, we’ll forget it. You get an “explanation” if you can call it that, but it’s so stupid and so infuriating I would have preferred no explanation at all. 

3rd problem? They make this sound like it’s a creepy ghost mystery kinda supernatural thriller but it’s not. You spend a majority of the time reading about all the people in this stupid little town and sometimes you’re in the imaginary world but who cares because it’s just as boring as the real world. Also the twist? No, no no no no. I don’t want to spoil the twist in case you still want to torture yourself with this book, but it’s stupid. 

Overall, not my cup of tea and a huge disappointment. Also not a wry at all, and deer don’t eat meat so all the scenes with deer eating people? Stupid. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Suicide, Blood, and Dementia

ravensandlace's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

 Find this review and others like it at https://aravenclawlibraryx.wordpress.com

One of my favorite books, after Harry Potter, is The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I have a quote from the book on my blog banner, that’s how much I love the book. The movie is even better. So when I heard that Chbosky released a new book, I knew I had to jump on that book. I am beyond glad I picked this up because it has become my new favorite. 

The whole book was just spooky and creepy. The entire time I was reading, I felt this vague uneasiness. The atmosphere was so sinister and I just knew that something was going to happen. I didn’t know when but I knew at some point, something was going to happen and I was going to be so scared. I actually was a little scared, which never happens in books. 

One of the main reasons I loved this book was because of Christopher, the MC. Even though he was 7 (seven), I related to him on a personal level. He wanted to be better at school, especially math and that broke my heart. I know what it feels like and reading about him struggling brought back a lot of emotions. I was really rooting for him even when he was making some less than good choices. 

This book has many POVs but I found that enhanced the story. Every character has a unique personality, that you’ll know pretty immediately who they are and how they pertain to the story. I fell in love with each and every character. Even the “villains”, I found I wanted them to be better.  

Overall, this book was so different from the Perks of Being a Wallflower and that’s a good thing. It means that Chbosky has the chops to do different genres and do them well. I can’t wait to see what he does next. It's the perfect spooky and sinister book for Halloween or really anytime, because spooky season is all year round in my world.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Blood, Dementia, and Grief