Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

70 reviews

vampiristic's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child death, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail

sagelikesscats's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful sad medium-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

4.0

I thought this book was really good. It was mainly plot focused, and the the writing wasn't mind-blowing, but it was heartfelt, full of emotion, and makes me want to learn more about the history of Afganistan. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Confinement, Death, Rape, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Racial slurs, Torture, and Classism

Minor: Antisemitism

jlily_'s review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Violence, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Toxic friendship

mirandyli's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-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

4.75

This is a beautifully written, devastatingly sad story that I remember reading and crying over in high school. Back then I probably would have given this book 5 stars. After reading some other reviews, however, I think it's prudent to amend that rating. To quote another person's review: "This is the sort of book White America reads to feel worldly."

I will say, however, that there is a reason that thousands of people have raved about this book. Khaled Hosseini writes gorgeously. I loved this book and his other books as well.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, and Classism

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-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

4.0

Whew, this one is rough af, and absolutely not for anyone sensitive to anything assault-related. The writing style wasn't my fav, and I'm not sure if I loved the author narrating either. But it did give me some historical context, which was useful. Sometimes it feels a little like books that do really well are just extremely distressing, and folks mistake that for being enthralling. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Infertility, Rape, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Body horror, Body shaming, Miscarriage, Torture, and Antisemitism

bigteo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

4.25

The first half was amazing and I was engaged throughout the whole book.  I  found myself frequently googling terms often. As it’s a culture I don’t have much exposure to, it was fascinating to read about the rich history, people, culture, etc,.

However, the last arc was a bit of a slog for me personally due to how depressing it was. Keep in mind I read the last half of the book in a single sitting tho. 

I actually did like how the protagonist was unlikeable because it’s not something I often see in books. The outrage at some of his actions means I was emotionally invested (even if it was through anger) with what the character would do next. 

But yeah would recommend it tbh just check trigger warnings because it gets very dark and heavy at parts.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Genocide, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

parmesancheese's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Violence

Moderate: Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Trafficking, and Toxic friendship

Minor: War

slash's review against another edition

dark hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and War

Moderate: Rape, Islamophobia, and Suicide attempt

ppp's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Genocide, Hate crime, Infertility, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, and Abandonment

lizzardbeth99's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism