Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Keeping 13 by Chloe Walsh

147 reviews

goldfishandstars's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional funny inspiring reflective sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Deadnaming, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Classism

gunznrozez29's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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: Complicated

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Genuinely one of the best fricking books I have ever read. Such an emotional roller coaster, I laughed, cried, and everything else in between. This book has such a beautiful storyline and an amazing group of characters. There were so many heartwarming moments, so many laughs (mostly with Gibsie’s crazy ass dialogue), and so many times where I wanted to throw the book across the room in a fit of rage. Johnny and Shannon’s story will have a special place in my heart from here on out. Chloe Walsh is a damn genius and I want to thank her for being so real. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

cara_wilson03's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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

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I cried (I cry at everything else but books).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol

Minor: Kidnapping

reish3ll's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful relaxing sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5 – Brutal, beautiful, messy, and maddening

Keeping 13 picks up right where Binding 13 left off, and from page one, it is pure emotional carnage. The brutality of Joey and Shannon’s home lives is front and center — beaten to a pulp, physically and emotionally. And Tadgh, the 11-year-old baby brother, ready to stab his own father? That was rough.

Joey, with a broken nose and bruised soul, is still focused on getting Shannon safe. But the hospital scenes? Super uncomfortable. The depiction of Johnny’s medication was frustrating — stripping him of autonomy in a way that felt inaccurate and unnecessary. (Also… “How’s your penis today?” Who wrote that line!?)

There’s no denying the soulmate energy between Johnny and Shannon. He feels that something’s wrong before she even says it. Their bond is tender and raw — even with all the cracks and traumas. From vomit jokes, plural “penii”, to tender shower scenes (yes, really), this book is packed with emotional whiplash and chaotic banter.

Gibsie remains the unexpected MVP — hilarious, loyal, pierced in unexpected places (ahem), and fiercely loving. His friendship with Johnny? Top tier bromance. His line: “Consider this your own personal, free-range stomach pumping session – Gibsie-style” had me cackling. His dyslexia being acknowledged was a nice touch too.

Darren, on the other hand, can go. From ditching the family for years, to coming back and expecting silence to protect a clearly abusive mother — no thanks. Yes, Marie Lynch is a victim, but she’s also a failed mother. Joey’s been more of a parent to his siblings than she ever was.

Shannon’s trauma and anxiety-attachment tendencies are written so clearly — her red flags are waving high, but it’s not her fault. She desperately needs therapy, safety, and softness. Thankfully, Johnny is patient, respectful (consent is sexy), and willing to be her soft place to land. Their love story is slow-burn perfection — frustratingly so at times, but earned.

Some standout moments:

💗 Tadgh helping cover Shannon’s bald spot

💗 The “for keeps” scene

💗 Johnny teaching her to drive

💗 Claire and Shannon watching Dirty Dancing

💗 Shannon and Johnny’s beach escape

💗 Gibsie and Johnny seeing Love Actually in cinemas — GOLD.

The end absolutely wrecked me. The fire, the grief, the funeral — the sheer pain of those final chapters had me teary-eyed. Despite everything, the Lynch kids finally found safety… in Johnny’s family. Joey spiraling, getting expelled, and dumping Aoife though? That was a heartbreak I wasn’t prepared for.

The book is long, at times repetitive, and doesn’t quite hit the same highs as Binding 13, but it still packs a hell of an emotional punch. If you’re invested in these characters, it’s impossible to walk away from their stories unaffected.

CW: physical abuse, drug use, mentions of rape, grief, and parental neglect.

🔚 Overall: not flawless, but raw and unforgettable. 4/5 stars.

Shannon and Johnny’s love story might’ve taken 500+ pages to blossom, but damn — it was worth it. 💔🌊💕

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

sarahsbooklife's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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This book had me in tears. 😭😭😭 I literally sobbed at one point 
I loved this book. I loved seeing Shannon and Johnny grow in this book. Honestly it was fantastic. But it made me so sad as well iykyk

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Sexual content, Grief, Murder, Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Death, Violence, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail

sabrinabird's review against another edition

3.0

emotional slow-paced

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As someone who loved Binding 13, I’m pretty disappointed with this one. For such a LONG book, there was very little plot outside of how much Johnny and Shannon wanted to have sex. Dialogue was extremely repetitive (“I want you” “I want you too” “is this okay” “if it’s okay with you”) and there really wasn’t much character development. I wanted to love this book so bad but I had a difficult time getting through it. There was a lot of unnecessary writing, felt like hitting a word count rather than quality content. I love the characters but the plot was tough

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Murder

sophiajade11's review against another edition

5.0

emotional reflective sad tense 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

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This book had me laughing, screaming and crying. The characters and friend group in this book mean so much. They all have their own problems but they are there for one another and make it work. The ending had me balling I could barely read the book. I also love how it takes place in Ireland. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Cursing, Alcohol

Minor: Drug use, Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail

Just as the first book in the series Shannon’s chapter are difficult because of her home life. The chapter close to the end might be the most traumatic and it is so sad.

eminemily_2's review against another edition

2.75

slow-paced

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I read the second book to get closure from the cliff hangers from the first book. This book felt very long and somewhat dragged out. I’m glad I was able to get closure from the plot holes of the first book, but it felt like taking an extremely long detour. It wasn’t personally for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Miscarriage, Grief, Death of parent, Murder

ashlynlaura's review against another edition

3.0

dark emotional sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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I enjoyed this book  and absolutely adored all the characters, minus Teddy, you deserved the death you brought up on yourself but Marie did not. It's such an intense storyline with so much depth and harsh reality to how trauma affects literally everyone in their own ways. The group has its ups and downs but hey, ✨ trauma bondingggg ✨ in their own ways. 

Also obviously I don't know much about Lizzie and Gibsies history but he did NOT have to have an episode and push him into the water 😭 as a girl with mental illness who has bipolar episodes that was just so uncalled for. 

Tadhg is SO SASSY and I love him. If she does a spin off of the younger brothers I'd eat it up ngl. Ollie and Sean are precious lil souls. 

I could yap forever but I mustnt because I must continue onto S6, wish me luck because I know imma need it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Grief, Fire/Fire injury

triddy's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail