Reviews tagging 'Car accident'

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

79 reviews

megansmith's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

2.0

I had higher hopes for this book, it was on my list for a long time for some reason and I finally just got it... and it really fell flat for me. 

The main problem I had with it is you could very clearly feel this was a book about women's issues and trauma written by a man. Every female character felt seen only through the lens of a man and men's thinking around women and it was so difficult to read the book for that reason. IE, one example - I don't think the book really figured out if these women liked or disliked being commodified as much as they were. Lynnette hates being in the spotlight but she also solely refers to the people in her group as Final Girls (and that's sentence case, because they're a Thing). 95% of this book was just women hating each other, women hating themselves, and some visual descriptions of torture, with a small bit of a redemption arc for the last 15 pages of a 300+ page book. I think I'd be interested seeing this written through a female gaze but also, this book really ruined that idea for me. 

The plot felt so messy, it felt like the most amount of changes for the suspected killer(s) in any piece of thriller / mystery media I have ever read or seen. There were so many pieces of plot that felt unexplained or small missing details that threw me out of the moment, which sucked. Stephanie just felt so random and sudden and made little sense in this book. And to boot, it truly made no sense to me for how "smart" Lynette was with all the doomsday prepping she did, she still made a bunch of freaking dumb mistakes. Like, she managed to get her own burner phone but had zero concerns using Stephanie's phone as they tried discretely traveling across the country? So. many. inconsistencies. I get flawed characters are flawed for a reason, but this just felt messy and not thought out. 

I will give this book the credit in that I did finish it REALLY quickly, Im not sure if it's because I had a nightmare about myself getting murdered when I had to pause right before bed at the details of Lynette's backstory, or if I was really wanting to know who was behind it all, but I'll let you decide (whoever ends up reading this). There was some solid writing styles, just a badly executed idea that probably should have been written through the female gaze. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Gore, Body horror, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Death of parent, Torture, Blood, Violence, Police brutality, and Death

Moderate: Child death and Car accident

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Excrement, and Emotional abuse

obsessedteach's review against another edition

dark 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Torture, Blood, Car accident, Child death, Cursing, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Body horror, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Medical trauma

elderwoodreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

3.0

If the premise of this book sounds interesting to you I would say to give it a try. You will not be left better or worse off for having read it, and it's a fun palate cleanser between more serious books. The characters are static, but the journey is fun and has perfectly placed dark humor. Parts of this book seem like an unpolished first draft, while others are beautifully written. Definitely worth a shot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Murder, Blood, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Stalking, Alcoholism, Cancer, Car accident, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Addiction, and Kidnapping

Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, Ableism, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, and Confinement

punkrockingnerd's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring 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? Yes

4.5

I really like it! It's def a work made by someone who loves the original horror classics but is willing to put a twist on them to make the stories more impactful. I wish the characters were more like a family, though. When bad stuff starts happening, I really wanted them to be more supportive of each other, but they dove right into fighting, and it wears on you after awhile. So... not found family, but it's a fun time!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Violence, Cancer, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Death, Mental illness, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Alcohol, Car accident, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Ableism, Animal death, Torture, Cannibalism, Self harm, Confinement, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, and Emotional abuse

chezler24's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

Phenomenal! As a horror/slasher movie fan, Hendrix crafted a story that references the horrors of these films but gives the "final girls" and second life (and maybe some closure in a sense). The twist of who was behind everything didn't grow stale for me and it ended up making more sense than one of the original misdirects. For a while though, it almost seems like Lynette is too unreliable of a narrator due to her paranoia but in the end, her will to keep pushing ends up coming in clutch. One of my favorite bits throughout the book was the various horror franchises we're used to having their names swapped from what we are used to. My favorite was Panhandle Meat Hook for Texas Chainsaw. I think this one might be close to My Best Friend's Exorcism for me, but I think I enjoyed it a bit better than We Sold Our Souls.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Death, Forced institutionalization, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Violence, Torture, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Blood, Child death, Medical content, Car accident, and Grief

mblanke's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-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: Torture, Murder, Death of parent, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Gore, Stalking, and Mental illness

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual content

Minor: Car accident, Mass/school shootings, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Addiction

norwegianforestreader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Grief, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Medical content, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Blood, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Cannibalism, Car accident, Gore, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Misogyny, Police brutality, Torture, Body horror, Child death, Ableism, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Sexism

ksanderss's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, and Murder

Moderate: Torture, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Car accident, and Violence

maryellen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Cancer, Mass/school shootings, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Gore, Vomit, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Stalking, Torture, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Violence, Car accident, and Child death

weaverca's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

Keeping with the horror-esque books this month, this satisfies anyone's slasher sweet tooth. The plot's a bit meta since it's based on murders and attacks surrounding a group of adult final girls

in hopes of creating a true final girl

. This book definitely started off slow, but once it picks up, it goes quickly from there. I only gave this four stars for multiple reasons: the first being that at the beginning, Lynnette is a bit unbearable. I hate that I feel that way because from what I understand, she has OCD among other mental illnesses and I don't want it to seem as if people who struggle with their mental health are annoying, but throughout most of the book it's almost as if she can't manage it in a healthy way. The second reason I knocked it down a star (and this is kind of a big one) is something that was pointed out by a friend of mine who read the book before me: it's a MAN writing a book about violence against women from a WOMAN'S perspective. I know that might sound stupid, but it makes you realize that even though Hendrix wants to write from the female perspective, he will never fully encompass it since he isn't a woman himself. I also didn't like the voice of the woman who read the audiobook, but as usual, I don't let that deflect from the book itself. At the end of the day, I still give it four stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Murder, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Ableism, Car accident, and Kidnapping