Reviews tagging 'Car accident'

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

80 reviews

seawarrior's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.0

Having only read Hendrix's first novel, I didn't have high hopes for the quality of writing within this one. Thankfully Hendrix has impressively grown as a writer over the years, and most of my qualms about the characterization, or lack thereof, I might find within the book were settled. Lynnette is an interesting and whirlwind protagonist for many reasons. She's intensely paranoid but makes one poor decision after another, resulting in a ricocheting plot that hardly allows the reader to catch their breath. She's also immensely unlikable, but despite her selfish, judgmental and avoidant nature I found myself understanding and forgiving one of her mistakes after another. 

Hendrix has a lot to say about horror franchises and their repetitive, exploitative and misogynistic nature, most of which is done through the characterization and dialogue of Lynnette and the other woman of the Final Girl Support Group. In between chapters various fictional archival interviews and journal articles are plastered to the pages, adding to the realism of the story and to the mythology surrounding this group of survivors and their monsters. For the most part I felt this was done very well. I only felt dissatisfied with Heather's characterization; she serves as a stereotypical "junkie" figure and is widely disrespected by both the characters within the book and the narrative that gave them life. What she survived and how is also defined the least, which only becomes more disappointing as the book continues. The other women's stories are revealed in segments, by their own admissions, Lynnette's memories, or their respective archives. Since each of them were inspired by an existing horror franchise most readers can assume the bulk of the violence they witnessed and endured, negating the need to force the women to rehash the most traumatic moments of their lives. Lynnette is the only character who has in depth flashbacks of her encounters with her monster after a tortuous accusation of who was truly responsible for her family's slaughter. 

The book primarily focuses on Lynnette's efforts to survive in the present, while attempting to solve the mystery of who wants the Final Girls finally gone. Pieces of this puzzle were fairly obvious to me, while others came as a surprise. Ultimately though, the villains, their motivations, and their weapon of choice, all serve to make a statement about mass violence and horror franchises as a whole. This is a love letter to horror, but a scathing one, fully aware of its flaws and refusing to hold back. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, Terminal illness, Stalking, Police brutality, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Misogyny, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Gore, Grief, Blood, Confinement, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Car accident, Child death, Drug abuse, Excrement, Infidelity, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

middumullu's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-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

3.25

definitely a book with an unreliable narrator! it was really interesting and since i like horror, using the slasher genre as the backdrop for everything happening was engaging - especially thought the chapter titles were funny. i was impressed with how accurately this author conveyed the fear of men that people can experience, and all of the intricacies of cult obsession with serial killers. i liked the ending of it, that the whole book focused on older women. the phrase "final girl" was kind of overused throughout the story, but i liked reading the conversation about these different stereotypes or constructs people can place themselves in. would have liked to see more of the ideas or themes followed through more consistently, it definitely wrapped up quickly.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Car accident, Stalking, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Suicide

Minor: Sexual violence

moz_art's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny medium-paced

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

2.5

Thought it was weird this book about violence against women is written from the women’s perspective by a man. I thought it was bad and not in a campy way but just like straight up poorly written and glossed over a lot of important stuff.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexism

Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Panic attacks/disorders

benzetsu's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

This book goes HARD.  A parade of miseries through a twisty, honestly surprising story.  The POV character is very interesting, and a really unique perspective of the story.  A terrific homage to slasher movies, taking nearly copyright infringing levels of inspiration from them.  As long as you're prepared for the intensity, and the difficulty of really connecting to any of the characters, this is a really fun ride.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction

seanml's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

One part mystery, two parts character study, and the rest is sweet, sweet homage. 

Literary Quality: 5/10. 

Spooky Factor: 3/10. 

Overall: 8/10. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Confinement, Drug abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Cannibalism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Mass/school shootings, Sexual content, and Vomit

panickat123's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Body horror, Child death, Death of parent, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Drug use, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Stalking, and Terminal illness

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Car accident

mommarex1221's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

A wild af ride with an end I didn't see coming, slasher movie references were awesome. I never knew I could love a plant so much. 😅

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Car accident, Confinement, Death, Excrement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, and Mass/school shootings

toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-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

3.5

I'll say this for sure about TFGSG - I was never bored. However, I was often extremely confused. As always, I will start off with positives. I thought that the pacing of the book was sharp and there was always something going on. This book did not let me breathe. The whole thing was messy and chaotic, dark and sometimes funny in a quintessentially Grady Hendrix way. I thought every "final girl" in the group was a strong addition to the story and I think Heather and Dani were my favorites. A really nice touch were the newspaper and media clippings throughout the book that helped tell the story and also provided meaningful commentary to the phenomenon surrounding these "final girls."

My gripes aren't really that big. Really, the main one is that Lynette can be so maddening to read at times. She is so traumatized that living in her head was sometimes suffocating and insufferable. I had some issues with her as a character too, but that didn't necessarily affect my enjoyment of the book because my enjoyment does not usually hinge on a protagonist being likable. Something that was hard for me throughout the book was keeping track of every girl's story. I wrote down what I could, but some girls in the group got lost in the shuffle. I cannot definitively tell you what Heather's backstory is as a result of this. Just a LOT going on.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Car accident, Child death, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Mass/school shootings

Minor: Mass/school shootings

kadearang's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense fast-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: Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Death, Gun violence, Grief, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, and Violence

jenny_librarian's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

3.5

I have to say, as disturbing as it was, I enjoyed The Book Club's Guide a lot more. This book is just a slasher in novel form, and the transition from screen to written word just doesn't work.

It's a thriller (there's little gore apart from details of mutilated bodies here and then) and it feels too easy and not thought out enough to really hit the mark. It's enjoyable, but nothing amazing.

I also kept wondering if this kind of story really should be written by a man. The commentary on slasher movies and the violence done to women didn't feel as genuine knowing they came from someone who isn't subjected to this kind of things.

Not completely devoid of interest, but stick to slasher movies if you like the genre.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Cancer, Car accident, Gaslighting, Gore, and Gun violence

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Drug use, Medical trauma, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Vomit