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sunsetcity's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Terminal illness, Vomit, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, and Chronic illness
wolf013's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Car accident, Child death, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Violence, Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Ableism, Stalking, Vomit, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Drug use, Mass/school shootings, and Drug abuse
apestforwrens's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Physical abuse, Medical content, Misogyny, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Mental illness, and Grief
Moderate: Chronic illness, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Medical content, Police brutality, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Animal death, Cancer, Confinement, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, Child abuse, Cursing, Mental illness, and Abandonment
Its a slasher, there is genre typical content. Because it takes place from within the heroine's head, there is some derealization.arys_library's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
But onto the characters. This was one of those books that even if you didn’t see the authors name, you could tell it was written by a man. The women were unlikeable and petty in this book, which is fair and a lot of books with unlikeable characters are great. But these characters had no personality at all. They were bland and petty and besides their backstories, these women can be morphed into one simply because of their lack of personality.
SPOILERS START HERE! This book is 100% about women. But the one man in this book turns out to hate the women so much that he becomes the main focus and person behind all of this is just bad. And the girl that helped him only helped him because she was insanely love with him, which shows a lot about Hendrix’s opinions of women. That they’re petty and all the same, that they’re such followers and need a man to do everything. I feel like if the characterse were better, this could be close to a 5 star read
Graphic: Murder, Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Gun violence, Mental illness, Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, and Gaslighting
Minor: Vomit and Grief
phaas's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Torture, Cancer, Child death, Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence, Addiction, and Alcoholism
Minor: Excrement, Mass/school shootings, and Vomit
c_dmckinney's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Alcohol, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Child death, Police brutality, Stalking, and Violence
theakilahbrown's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
This was a fast read for me, in that I burned through about half of it in one day. The premise is basically "What if horror movies were real? What happens to those final girls after their movies are over?" The short answer is that they would form a support group. The long answer is that the horror is never truly over for them for a variety of reasons.
This is a horror book that critiques horror books, so, on the one hand, a lot of the commentary was on point, but on the other hand, I found myself wishing at times that it wasn't a *horror* book so that the point could be made in other ways, but that's not really the point of the book. As much as it is about movie monsters, it's also about real life monsters and the impact they have on the women (and children) they harm and what the glorification of movie monsters means. So, basically, it's like Scream but with a feminist bent.
I thought Lynnette was an interesting choice of a main character for many reasons, but one of the big ones is that she's not a "true" final girl because she didn't kill her monster like the other women did, and she also has the smallest life and is the most paranoid. I think there was a missed opportunity for Hendrix to get into WHY the other women made different choices because it almost seems like he's saying Lynnette made the right choice, which I don't necessarily agree with. There also should have been way more female friendship stuff in here, but it is there so I can't complain too much.
Those are relatively minor quibbles, though. I liked the book overall and thought it was smart and engaging. I wasn't sure at first how I felt about the ending, especially who the real life monster turned out to be, but the more I think about it, the more I like and appreciate it, so there's also that.
Some quotes:
Does this ever end? Will there always be someone out there turning little boys into monsters? Will we always be final girls? Will there always be monsters killing us?
I won't let messed-up parents keep making monsters, and I won't let these boys keep making more final girls. It's not some profound and ancient ritual. It's just a waste of life.
All in all, I would recommend it, especially if you're a fan of horror movies and/or badass women.
Graphic: Torture, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Stalking, Violence, and Gore
Moderate: Chronic illness and Addiction
Minor: Rape, Animal cruelty, Pedophilia, and Sexual violence
ashleyjapan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Death, Grief, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, and Misogyny
Minor: Mass/school shootings and Adult/minor relationship
isabellecollum's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Violence
house_of_hannah's review against another edition
- 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
On a positive note, this is a very readable book, and I found myself flying through the pages quite quickly. It flows well, has great pacing, and the chapters are the perfect length. This is also a mixed media book, as at the beginning of each chapter there is an article, transcript, or even a reddit post that gives some insight to the backstories of the characters.
Overall, this was a promising book, but I just found it too difficult to look past how annoying the characters were.
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Cancer, Violence, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, and Kidnapping
Minor: Drug abuse, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Vomit, and Pedophilia