Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

37 reviews

nigrumcattus's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-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

3.75

Reminded me of Perkins' The Yellow Wallpaper at times, in ways.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Stalking, Suicide, and Blood

Minor: Classism and Toxic friendship

itskenzcarter's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Ugggh. This book. What a whirlwind. It’s so different from the show. Both equally great, but the book just has something about it that I can’t quite describe. The writing was brilliant. Shirley Jackson is a fantastic author and knows how to paint a picture. But, because the book was so different from the show, it was hard to see where it was going. I couldn’t put it down and had to finish as soon as I started. This book focuses, primarily, on Nellie, more so than the actual haunting itself. However, it worked. It had a lower level of spookiness, but the parts that were spooky were so descriptive and vivid. It definitely makes your heart race at parts. I do think the book finished a little quicker than it could have. There could have been additional paranormal focuses. Other than that, I have no real negative thoughts about it. I highly recommend this book to anyone that wants something horror related. It dances on the psychological horror side of things. Now, if you are wanting to read this because of the show, please note, it’s vastly different. This book is amazing, and I think it should be on every horror fans shelf.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Grief, Death of parent, and Suicide

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Murder

Minor: Alcohol and Emotional abuse

poirot's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Toxic friendship, and Car accident

Moderate: Alcohol

haileyeh's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Toxic friendship

thecozyrogue's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Suicide

Minor: Blood

pregnantfather's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Bullying

Minor: Suicide and Car accident

bi_n_large's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Suicide, and Mental illness

Minor: Death of parent

aas's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, and Suicide attempt

toastrats's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship and Suicide

Moderate: Terminal illness and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

vaguely_pink's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Big thanks to my newest literary heroine Shirley Jackson for yassifying the ghost story. You truly were ahead of your time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

Moderate: Death of parent, Bullying, Abandonment, Car accident, and Death

Minor: Grief, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Confinement, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Sexism, and Blood