Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

13 reviews

kbhenrickson's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

3.0

I found this book very frustrating. I loved some of it - the reflections on life, the parts with Nao’s great-grandmother, the initial pairing of the two stories, Nao’s diary and Ruth’s life in British Columbia when she finds the diary on the beach. I found Nao’s parts particularly compelling - some of Ruth’s parts felt like they were there mostly as a vehicle for inserting historical and scientific information.

On the other hand, there is a lot of

terrible abuse - horrific bullying and violence that is treated as normal, suicide and suicide attempts

that was hard to read. And then, though most of the book is a realistic story with a bit of spirituality, there is

an insertion of sci-fi / fantasy at the end that feels like it’s just there as a way to conclude the story but doesn’t really fit. I wish the author had kept the story realistic with a touch of otherworldly the whole way through.

The audiobook is narrated by the author, who does a great job. At the end, she points out that there are footnotes in the printed text that were not included in the audiobook as well as some illustrations, though I don’t think I’ll seek those out at this point.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Physical abuse

Moderate: War, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Sexual assault

lambclown's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, War, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, Violence, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Death, and Mental illness

Moderate: Animal death and Rape

Minor: Cancer and Chronic illness

indydc's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

3.0

Content warning: This book discusses suicide and other sensitive topics at length. Readers take care. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Suicide, Bullying, Body shaming, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Death, Toxic friendship, and Trafficking

erinwolf1997's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad 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

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Rape, Bullying, Vomit, War, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Death, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Death of parent

Minor: Dementia and Toxic friendship

miciahsreads's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective slow-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? Yes

4.25

characters - 1
worldbuilding - .75
plot - .75
enjoyment - .75
writing - 1

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Torture, Death, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Toxic friendship, War, Alcohol, Blood, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Violence, Bullying, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Gore

Minor: Animal death

imnotarke's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

i adored nao's story. it was so compelling and tug at my heart strings hearing from the perspective of a teenage girl. the magical realism was well-developed and fascinating to follow. i found ruth's story lacked that same attachment as nao's, but she was an essential element so i understand her placement - i just wish her story was as exciting to read as we have her for almost half of the novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Sexual violence, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Trafficking, Pedophilia, and Rape

Minor: Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, War, and Vomit

nidhimoney's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Physical abuse, Bullying, Deadnaming, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship

lanid's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Violence, Bullying, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, War, Grief, Mental illness, and Pedophilia

lilacwhisker's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

Loved this book so much!! It being told from the perspective of the reader and writer of the diary was so fun and interesting to read. I also really liked the appendices and cliff notes added. Nao was an amazing character and I loved reading about her while also learning about Buddhism. I thought the way that Ruth and Nao’s characters contrasted made for an exciting story and I also liked how they shared similarities in their lives and it felt like their two separate stories blended more and more the further I got into the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Bullying, Mental illness, and War

Moderate: Toxic friendship and Dementia

Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Rape, and Animal death

kaneebli's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Grief, Bullying, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Racism, Toxic friendship, and Death

Minor: Rape, Cultural appropriation, and War