Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

19 reviews

ccoterie's review against another edition

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2.0

God. Where to even begin with this book? The premise is strong and paves the way for a compelling look into the slasher genre and its final girls. It's clear (perhaps too clear, some references were basically direct copies) that Hendrix loves the genre. And yet I can't tell what this book was going for. There are a lot of details that left me baffled (not including racist stereotypes - I get that the book is an homage to classic slashers, but some tropes can die) or, as I look back on them, confused about their inclusion. I think this book could've benefitted from cutting a few plot points or picking a clearer tone.
The beginning involved a lot of starts and stops as I texted my friends my newest hesitation. I couldn't get into Lynn as a protagonist. Her mindset was certainly understandable, sometimes her paranoia was uncomfortably familiar, but something seemed off. It felt like an "I'm not like other girls" would've fit perfectly - there were some lines that got pretty close. Without a concrete reason to believe her mindset, Lynn just got on my nerves. The middle rectified this issue, providing a fast-paced action thriller that made her compelling. Chrissy marked another turning point.
I understand the reasons behind her inclusion - everything she has going on has potential. However, her mysticism, murderabilia, and boyfriend didn't have any payoff. They were all loose threads making more of a vessel for the author to get a message across than an actual character. I still can't understand why she was written to be so narratively cluttered. Her scene did not have to be as long as it was considering her sole purpose.
The ending left a lot unresolved for me, mostly regarding its mental health themes.

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rosesofthespring's review against another edition

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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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tey_lynn's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective tense fast-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

4.0


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kassidyreads's review against another edition

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Horror is not my genre! Also, the writing in this felt clunky, none of the characters were that likeable and I had trouble remembering who all the girls were. 

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katyfayyyx's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense 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? Yes

2.75

The problem with this book is that I love the idea of this book I just wished another author has wrote this book because it is just such a good idea but it has been executed so poorly . I am going to be honest I really don't know I feel about this book because I loved the beginning and the ending but I fucking hated the middle and I mean hated it... to the point when I wanted to rip my own eyes out and never read a book again because girl I was in physical pain. So where the fuck does this leave me because I can't give it 3 stars because in my mind that means I have liked and enjoyed this whole book which has not been the case because I fucking hate the middle of this book. Like I think this book would fucking slay as a film and it would make a really good film but I supposed it is supposed to feel like a film so I guess that was done quite well because I feel like anything in this book just take way too long. I am going to say this about how the author has written the women in this book I understand that he is trying to show that trauma makes people deal/act with that in different way but why are they just so mean and some uncalled for and they are just constantly bitching about each other it is like they are out to get each other until the very end but I did think a couple of times this is a reason why man just shouldn't write female because it was kinda painful. It just felt really off.  Another problem I have with this book was that this book was just  all over the place, it is just chaotic but not in a fun and entertaining way just in a confusing way to the point when at times I generally have no fucking clue what is going on in this book. I am not really a fan of how the women interact and it doesn't just make sense sometimes like they are just so mean and malicious to each other when out of everyone they should understand, care and look after each other because they understand what they have all been through but they are just so mean and I hate when I am reading a book and all the women seem to just hate each other and it not in that fun playful way in which you can see that they love each other really but they are just mean and at most times for no reason at all and then they do really nice and loving this that just don't make sense with what we know about them as a character such as taking Michelle home to die so Dani can keep that promise to her because that just so lovely and caring but then Heather is so horrible about not wanting to touch or help Michelle like it just doesn't add up and the one we have been told is horrible which is Marlyin is the one taking control and looking after everyone maybe I am overthinking this because I do really like this book and the overall story but the way these characters are written just isn't sitting right with me. But I think is really nice that they gave Michelle the death she would have wanted but it is just so cruel that Dani wasn't there for her wife all because all this shit is going on.   

Like I did really like beginning of this book as  a huge horror fan with a love for final girls it was just hitting in all the right spots however there are just some things that are just throwing me off like the whole weird flirting bit with the Dr's son when showing him her scars or when she walks into him 'looking' after himself and I don't think if this is a failed attempt at humour what is just not it but it is just so fucking weird. Like, I do like Skye but that was just so fucking strange and off-putting why does every Conversation have this weird sexual overtone-women written by men I guess. 

Like the middle of this book is possibly the worst thing I have ever read like why did this book keep doing dumb shit which means that I didn't like it, like you are telling me that the police believed a serial killer in prison that he killed this girl's whole family because they were fucking and they are going to drag her in and picked on her and take the piss off all her trauma just because they were fucking why was this even a plot point and why the does it matter if they did fuck because it happened 22 years ago, girl shut the fuck up, please for my mental wellbeing. Like has this author ever actually watched a horror film like I would say 95% of final girls boyfriends are the killer (like scream) so why would this matter it was 22 years late and when all her friends were being murder or set up. I was getting so pissed like please use your fucking brain police please just please I just can't do that. I just fell like there are bigger things to worry about at that moment in time. Also I am the only one that thinks that it is not that deep if she did or didn't fuck the killer. I just think this plot point was really fucking dumb, it's make no sense why she was in jail all because she wrote this guy some letter and had nothing to do with the plan and didn't know anything about it But maybe I am just overthink this book and it just not that deep because I did really like this idea of this book but I just don't understand why the author decided to take this book in that directions. Maybe I am just really fucking dumb be her is Lynne only 38 years old like what the fuck I thought she was like 50-60 because the way Lynne acts is not the way a 38 year women would act surely but maybe I am wrong because I am only 19 but I am sure this is not how a nearly 40 year old women would act, shout out to the whole weird side plot about fine the plant because that is just so fucking weird and sad. What was it with the whole thing about Lynne not even been a real final girl like I am not being funny I don't know a lot of people would have survived being impaled for that long but what do I know. I would say in general the things that these characters do just don't make sense. I would also say that the whole Dr being the killer was just such a waste of time she's been helping them for 15 years she would have just killed them it just felt like a waste of time but I did feel kinda sorry for her like she has spend her whole life telling to help her and also female victims of violence just for her sons to be the things that she been helping all these women heal form but she must be a little bit of a shit doctor if she couldn't see the signs in her own son.


I am sorry but what the fuck is going on with Dani like clam the fuck down like why was she just beating the shit out Lynne like she's trying to save everyone and you are beating the shit out her, like you can be pissed at her when you are all safe. I did like that Lynne finally figuring out that she needs other people in her life and that life is not just about being by herself because the times when she actually more safe and happy is with her girls. But girl why did it take you so long. I liked how all the final girls in this book have the story of a classic horror films but then at the same time I think it kinda lazy like get some new and original idea but then I kinda lived for it as well.

I would say that the ending was kinda obvious because I guessed it when the introduce Stephanie as a character I just thought I bet it her like she wants to be the final girl of the final girl and I will the say the ending of this book felt very much like Scream Four and I live for Scream 4 it's the best Scream argue with the wall and Jill is the best ghost face because is just so iconic and I would say that Stephanie gives me Scream 4 vibes but without the iconic part of Jill's character and let's be Skye was just such a cheap shot and it was so obvious like come him wanting to get revenge of his mum for spending all her time with the girls instead of him like that has been done 1000s of times but it was okay, I just didn't really care about him being the second killer and I get why they didn't killed the killers but I kinda wanted to them too but it was not the end of the world to me. The ending just screamed that bit in Scream 4 when Sidney says 'You forgot the first rule of remakes, Jill. Don't fuck with the original' and girl I lived for that okay. Also is no one going to question the fact that no matter now fucked Lynne was she just kept going like is was shot and hit in the head with a sledgehammer passed out for like twenty minutes and got up and fought bitches I have nothing but respect for that. I can't lie. But also how the fuck was she even alive never mind moving, running and fighting. I also did like the fact that the final battle was at the camp because that were the first final girl was born and it will be where the last final girl is killed. I also kinda loved Julia in the end she kinda iconic and I think her love/hate friendship with Lynne was really cute. Also thought it was really cute that Julia stayed at Lynne bedside and they all came a visited her when she was in hospital. Also loved that are final girls were final girling and I love that they are all fighting and helping each other. I just loved that no matter how angry or upset they were each other they still care and fought and came through for each other when it counted and you know what no matter how old and irrelevant they are (which they were not) never count a final girl out and just don't fuck with them because they are bad bitches only. I also loved that at the end you know they are going to be okay and that are happy and they are all living and healing together and I just thought that was really cute.

So in summary there is one rule for this book just don't fuck with final girls because you can never beat the originals also that was such a power move at the ending visiting Stephanie in prison just so they can have a final girl support club meeting

The Final Girl Support Group XXIV:A New Beginning 
"I know what happened to those girls. They turn into women. And they live."

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kengiedamali's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.25


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laguerrelewis's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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

4.0

Final Girl Support Group works on many levels. It’s a feminist reframing of horror tropes. It’s a love letter to every Final Girl. It’s a protest to a culture of violence and dehumanization. It’s also a very good thriller. The only reasons it’s not rated higher is because it could’ve been improved by a more diverse lens of womanhood (all of our protagonists are white) and beyond our POV character, the others were hard to get a full read on until the end. The ending though is Top Notch. If the premise is at all appealing, this is worth the read!!

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root's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful medium-paced
  • 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

4.5

I loved this book. The story is inherently about someone who has survived horrific trauma--she is an unreliable narrator with interpersonal issues as a result. It is not just about current events in the book, it is about how trauma survivors' lives change drastically because of what they experienced and how they are trapped in the past even as they deal with the present.

The majority of the "plot twists" are not plot twists so much as the product of an unreliable narrator jumping to conclusions about small things that, if you look at the actual evidence she is using, is utterly meaningless or at least is missing details. Because she is not just reacting to what's happening now--peppered in are comparisons of people who look like someone else, how she trusts them or wants to keep them safe because they remind her of people, how she distrusts others for the same reason. 

I think that itself makes the book outstanding, to depict a variety of very real reactions to trauma in such an accurate way, including their flaws. It is a testimony to the fact that being hurt does not make you inherently better at surviving: it can also make you that much more vulnerable and unsafe. It is a very real look at the effects of trauma, and a good critique of how the true crime community and of the horror genre turn real events into mindless entertainment at the detriment and suffering of real, living people.

Criticisms of the book would be the following:

It is a very rudimentary, white feminist perspective of the world that goes exactly one layer deep in gender politics which is "man evil, violent inherently" and "girl (not woman) innocent, dainty, victim." Even the author's attempted subversion of it still ultimately played back into this rather elementary understanding of the sociopolitical effects of gender. It's very "girlhood is grief" in its angle.

The very few times race is brought up is...unfortunate. Listen, I just don't think that a white author can place a Single Black character in horror media without it being a bit weird. His choice was essentially to have the Black character die or have the Black character live but being chased down and tormented by a white man. Neither of which reflect very well. You either have to have multiple Black characters with different outcomes or it's just not good. Or I don't know, just as side characters that aren't involved. I would have taken that too. Anyway the way the author handled the race topic was...not great. It tried to be progressive about it but just failed spectacularly.

The last point is something I've seen others bring up. Although the author was presenting a criticism of how the true crime community and horror in general utilize real events and make references to external stories, he was also simultaneously doing the same thing. I understood what the author was trying to do with this. He was trying to show that the book itself is Also That, that the reader should be cognizant that THEY are being criticized and that their consumption of the book itself is participatory in this exact thing. But it wasn't done well so the message was lost on a lot of people and so it just felt flat. I appreciated the sentiment, though.



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cheyisvibing's review against another edition

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The premise is really interesting but even as we got going further into the plot the book didn't really grab me. The MC also didn't really behave the way it was established she should based on the setup, and she kind of drove me nuts as the narrator anyway 

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bedtimesandbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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


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