Reviews tagging 'Death'

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

81 reviews

writewithapendragon's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

I love Grady Hendrix’s writing and stories but I wish he could complete a book without including sexual assault. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Body horror, Cursing, and Eating disorder

Moderate: Blood, Sexual content, Animal death, Car accident, Drug use, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Torture, Child abuse, Alcohol, and Bullying

Minor: Alcohol, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Violence, Child death, Emotional abuse, Mass/school shootings, Rape, Death, Body horror, and Forced institutionalization

Genre-typical content for a horror book, hits a lot of 80s slasher tropes and some gore.

ralibbey13's review against another edition

dark emotional funny 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gaslighting, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Bullying, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Rape, and Self harm

kimberlina82's review against another edition

dark funny hopeful inspiring sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Drug abuse, Gore, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Self harm, Violence, Drug use, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Body shaming, Classism, Cursing, Eating disorder, Excrement, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders

chezler24's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

 I could not put this book down towards the end! My co-workers recommended this book, and it seemed like something right up my alley. Friendship, demons, and that nostalgic 80's setting - I mean it's a perfect recipe for a good ol' teen horror flick (nod to the cover for looking like an old VHS tape sleeve). As a reader, we are seemlessly dropped into the 80s and got to watch Abby and Gretchen's friendship start and grow over the years which makes the gut-wrenching, heart-breaking events hit even harder over the course of the the book. [Brief Side Note: I can understand why Hendrix touches on some of the casual racism present at this time so as not to create this fictionalized, sugar-coated 80s that I think so many of us are often presented with. That and the whole satanic panic set the scene for America at this time but, more specifically, this town whose residents are consumed by appearance, judgment, and "moral" superiority. It was shocking to read but I also felt like I should mention it here because it stood out while reading and added to the setting/background.] Friendship is an overaching theme the book starts and ends with. Abby and Gretchen as children often tried to determine best friends vs all right friends vs acquaintances, and, while they don't do this explicitly as they get older, the delineation bewteen fairweather friends and true friends is evident especially after the demon has wrecked havoc on their friendgroup. I was stressed for Abby as her friends, her family, the school, and slowly the entire town turned against her. That was part of the reason why I had to keep reading. I couldn't leave her when her life was slowly going into free fall. As far as endings go, I was pretty content with it. Honestly, I was just relieved it wasn't a sappy "and they all lived happily ever after" ending. It seemed relatively realistic even with the way their friendship continued into their adult years. Despite the supernatural elements, this book just felt REAL and relatable. Going to enjoy re-reading this book in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Animal cruelty, Vomit, Death, Medical content, and Body horror

triggs4780's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child death, Physical abuse, Torture, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Animal cruelty, Excrement, Blood, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Violence

b00murded's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

felt like watching a movie in my head. Soundtrack and all. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcohol, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual assault

Minor: Animal death and Bullying

amelia_horseman's review against another edition

challenging dark funny sad tense fast-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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Death, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Grief, Blood, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Vomit, and Suicide attempt

aspiringvilliagewitch's review against another edition

dark funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Toxic friendship, Vomit, and Animal death

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Body horror, Blood, Rape, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Death, Death of parent, and Cursing

intentional murder of a dog

roanjackal's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

I found the book good overall. It felt a little dragging in the secon third but really picked up and became wild in the last third.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Blood, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Fatphobia, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, and Rape

cuprum's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Rape, Physical abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Body horror, Blood, Animal death, Pedophilia, and Racism