Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan

5 reviews

kodi_rae's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

3.75

I thought this one was really fun and the mystery kept me going for most of the novel. A little spooky, which I also enjoyed, though I wish there had been more about the djinn and how it came to feel so deeply. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Blood, Death, and Classism

Moderate: Colonisation, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, and Religious bigotry

crisania's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.0

This is one of the most depressing books I've read in a while. If the saying " life sucks and then you die" were a book this would be very close to it. So much grief and cruelty. The good: rich world building, interesting and diverse characters. Even though the dual timeline and multiple points of view and characters were a little overwhelming at times it keep me hooked. The house and it's backstory served as a good mystery. While the book was bleak overall, the author did try to end it on a positive hopeful note for most of the characters. Mind the trigger warnings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Death, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Classism, Mental illness, Blood, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Religious bigotry

zydecovivo's review

emotional mysterious 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

4.0

I saw this recommendation on a list made by my library and don’t think I truly understood what was coming. This story is about grief and love. While there is a djinn, they essentially represent (and reflect) different stages of grief. The focus is more on the main character, Sana, and the cast of characters around her in her new home. She searches for the concept of love and battles demons (both literal and figurative). While it focuses on a teenager, this is much deeper than any YA book and I would not consider it such. The writing is beautiful, but it is a heavy read. Everything, even buildings, are given life. If you don’t have a lot of prior knowledge about Indian, Muslim, and East African culture, you may find yourself looking up the meaning of some words. But I appreciate the author integrating so many facets of life in an obviously diverse area and showing a glimpse of (fictionalized) history. My only critique is a lack of commas that interfered with comprehension sometimes, which could’ve just been my digital edition from my library. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Grief, Racism, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Murder, Animal cruelty, Death, Suicide attempt, and Colonisation

tamara_joy's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Blood, Colonisation, Death, Murder, Animal cruelty, Grief, and Mental illness

Minor: Abandonment, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, and Racial slurs

cosmiccutie's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

5.0

Between the oddness of the house and garden and the cast of characters within this story reminds me so of Coraline.

"Like the start of a rash, one can never say exactly when it began, except to say that it always seemed to this way."

" She told me girls couldn't have weaknesses, that the moment they did someone would take advantage, 'A girl has to be strong if she's going to survive this world', she said."

" She was a strange one. I know we don't talk much about her, but it was difficult for her, you know? She wasn't like us. Sometimes. I feel she was like a wildflower in the velt and I picked her up and tried to put her in a vase. She found it hard to... exist. But she tried for a long time, for you, for me. I know she didn't show it always, but she loved us and her own way. We just didn't always understand."

" She can see now that a person can be more whole with broken parts."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, and Suicide

Minor: Racism and Sexual content