Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

147 reviews

blueowl2ivy's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Mass/school shootings, Torture, Violence, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Car accident, and Misogyny

Minor: Cannibalism

sarah_mcmullan_nz's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

1.0

If you're not  a horror movie fan maybe, if you are NOPE

As someone who makes their living out of watching and writing about horror films, this book was incredibly frustrating to read. 
In all honesty, I think I enjoyed trying to figure out who the characters were supposed to be way more than reading this poorly written, sloppily plotted incredibly obvious story. 
Having said that - don't waste your time. 

There are far better horror books, books about final girls and final girl films out there. Find them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Blood, Drug abuse, Cancer, Cannibalism, Death, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Child death, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, and Toxic friendship

saman78's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Gore, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Murder, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts

rosesofthespring's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.0

I wish it had wrapped up a few more plot threads, but overall an excellent novel. I'm not surprised that this one is so popular.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Death of parent, Body horror, Cancer, Ableism, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical content, Police brutality, Cursing, Misogyny, Stalking, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, and Confinement

Moderate: Excrement, Kidnapping, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Racism, Torture, Cannibalism, Animal death, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Religious bigotry, and Toxic relationship

There is a description of a previous ex-relationship with a huge power imbalance and considerable age gap. The younger party is 18.

beebeewin'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

4.5

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Grady Hendrix did a fantastic job of keeping me on the edge of my seat with the unreliable narrator of Lynette. Each of the final girls was beautifully characterized and their relationships felt fleshed out and real. This could have easily been my world as the backlash and struggle of these women seemed plausible. The story felt relavent to any person who has faced violence from men and how trauma can permanently alter your world forever. 

I will say that I felt like there could have been more of a build up to the mystery. I was trying to solve it the entire time and felt like more hints could have been peppered in. Due to this lack of foreshadowing or hints, the ending did feel a little rushed/out of the blue. I think by building up to the "Monster" a little bit more the suspense and pay off would have been greater.

I would recommend this book for anyone who wants a little bit of a thriller read with poignant commentary on the world and how violence affects the women subjected to it. Grady gave nuisance to a story that could have been very heavy handed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Mass/school shootings, Alcoholism, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

arsenicmind's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Death, Gun violence, Murder, and Mental illness

Minor: Sexual violence

theemptynotebooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Blood, Gun violence, Violence, Death, Gore, Misogyny, and Suicide

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Addiction

Minor: Cancer and Vomit

chasingpages1's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Terminal illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Torture, Mental illness, Cancer, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Blood, Car accident, Gore, and Grief

Moderate: Gaslighting, Addiction, Drug abuse, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Child death, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Kidnapping

Minor: Confinement, Police brutality, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, and Cursing

abmochapman's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• 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

3.0

The Final Girl Support Group has such an interesting premise and didn’t necessarily disappoint, even though it was not exactly what I expected. It is, of course, mirrored after slasher movies and  it focuses more on those themes than the support group itself. There is only one session with the main cast of final girls before their world starts to fall apart, again. From there, the plot inches forward until about halfway when it picks up and the book feels almost impossible to put down. The number of incredible, almost ridiculous twists is dizzying. As compelling as the climax is, I found it difficult to suspend my disbelief. The resolution is gratifying, but still, I am left with so many questions and pieces that don’t seem to fit together.

As other reviewers have said, that may be because The Final Girl Support Group doesn’t quite know what it wants to be. Is it a parody of slasher movies, or is it meant to be taken seriously as a thriller? Is it an ode to the genre, or is it a satirical deconstruction? Reviews praise it as having accomplished both, but I am a bit more conflicted. To me, the novel does not subvert its tropes as much as it relies on them.

The main character, for example, is overly-cautious to recorrect the naivety that she blames for her final girl status. Yet, it is also her irrational and naïve choices that lead her once again into the arms of the monster. She should not have been able to survive but by some miracle, she does.

Like the movies, it’s compelling but unbelievable.

Perhaps the best function the novel serves is to highlight our society’s disgusting obsession with and gross exploitation of victims of violence. The novel explicitly asks readers, “what does it say about us that so much of the entertainment we consume is about killing women?”. The plot, too, confirms the harm that movies and media that glorify mass murder can cause. It’s a very necessary conversation, and one that I am glad the horror genre is having. It’s interesting, though, because the novel is so self-aware except about how it might also contribute to the problem. Doesn’t it also exploit the phenomenon of violence against women (and our morbid curiosity about it) for entertainment and profit? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Blood, Stalking, Terminal illness, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Police brutality, Excrement, Grief, Addiction, and Suicidal thoughts

lycheejelly's review against another edition

mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Murder, Sexism, Gore, Vomit, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Torture, Violence, Bullying, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Blood, Car accident, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual assault

Minor: Self harm, Cursing, Police brutality, Ableism, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Confinement