Scan barcode
sea_sea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Also Abby and Gretchen were definitely more than friends ;)
Graphic: Misogyny, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, Mental illness, Violence, Torture, Stalking, Sexual assault, Sexism, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Racism, Religious bigotry, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Ableism
laceystairs's review against another edition
- 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
This 80's nostalgia packed novel is an expiration in the demonic possession of a teen girl, and her best friend's uncovering of the nightmare that follows.
I love the whole boom. It was heartfelt, it was creepy and sometimes gross. It reminded me of growing up, and best friends and how childhood friends change as you both grow up.
So scary and so many times I was unsure of what was real or embellished by the main character.
I've already reccomended it to people!
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, and Body horror
lizziaha's review against another edition
2.75
Graphic: Body horror, Torture, Animal death, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Bullying, Suicide attempt, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Moderate: Self harm, Confinement, Slavery, Sexual assault, Ableism, Abortion, Child abuse, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Racism, Sexual violence, and Mental illness
Minor: Mass/school shootings, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, and Homophobia
mtnest's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
1.0
Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Torture, Alcohol, Rape, Sexual assault, Gore, Cursing, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Mental illness, Vomit, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Addiction and Mass/school shootings
demon possessionashtheaudiomancer's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Violence, Animal death, and Vomit
Moderate: Drug use and Homophobia
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
daniraewrites's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Vomit, Violence, Self harm, Body horror, Blood, Animal cruelty, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Animal death, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Stalking, Infidelity, Alcohol, Medical content, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, and Alcoholism
tifftastic87's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Synopsis
Abby is a scholarship girl at a prestigious private school in South Carolina in the 80s. By the standards of the era and the region, she is an outcast. That is until a new girl comes to town, Gretchen, and becomes Abby's ride or die. Everything goes down hill when Gretchen runs off to the woods one night and comes back a little wrong. Gretchen's behavior starts spiraling out of control, none of the adults believe Abby and she finds herself ostracized and on the verge of expulsion. It all culminates when the only adult that believes Abby is a muscle bound, neon clad, evangelist. But will his faith and Abby's determination be enough to save Gretchen?
High Camp Tension
This was so campy and satirical that it really made the story for me. I have a lot of religious trauma around "deliverance" so was really pleased that it was handled in such a campy way, that made the uncomfortable bits a little easier to stomach. Every time I felt my stomach clenching there would be some sort of comedic relief. If that is not necessarily something that you look for in a horror, and I usually don't either, then maybe this one isn't for you.
Girl Crew
At first Abby is extremely unlikable, at least to me, she is selfish and whiny and somewhat rude. But she has a good moment where she makes a decision on who she wants to be and her character just changes from there to a very likeable, if not frustrating (stand up for yourself woman!), character. The friendship dynamic among the girls is actually pretty relatable to growing up in the 80s/90s. I don't know how teens treat each other now, but even in to the very early 00s this felt pretty true to form. I have heard from some reviewers that Grady Hendrix is "banned" from writing women after Final Girl Support Group, but I actually really liked how he did it here.
The Satanic Panic of it All
This, combined with the War on Drugs, was so perfect. I think this is what I wanted out of Whisper Down the Lane and was severely disappointed in that book. Abby is accused of selling drugs and committing satan worship, when she's probably the most quintessential high school student, but doing it all with perfect grades. Any time any of the kids has an emotion the adults are quick to ask "are you on drugs?" Which feels so, well, real. I have strong memories of very similar conversations in my youth.
In Short
I really enjoyed this book, I thought some of it could have been better. But only by bits and pieces. I really loved all of the chapters being named after songs from the era and how important music was to the story itself. I think this is a case where pop culture references were done very well. I would definitely recommend this to people who are new to horror, as it is very light on the horror. Though do check the content warnings.
Graphic: Eating disorder, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Drug abuse, Body shaming, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Physical abuse, Torture, Bullying, Classism, Mental illness, Grief, Body horror, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Infidelity, Gun violence, Homophobia, Sexual content, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, Rape, and Gore
snazzy10101's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Violence, Animal death, Body horror, Eating disorder, Rape, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Bullying, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Drug use, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Adult/minor relationship
killmoore_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Okay.. first.. are we not going to talk about the amount of times Hendrix wrote Abbys parents as "Mr or Mrs Lang" instead of Rivers? It bugged the hell out of me. The editing in this was attrocious. Multiple weird character mixups throughout that I latched on to, and it honestly kind of ruined the rest of the book for me, haha. Also, what was the point of the entire first chapter?
It was slow. It was corny. It was a bit painful to read at times. The exorcism itself was a bit lack luster, and the characters were shallow and forgettable (looking at you Lemon). The only saving grace here was Margaret's story, and honestly, she deserved it.
If 80's cheese horror/teenage bimbo drama is your cup of tea, Grady nailed it. Lots of feel good friendship moments, some mildly yucky body horror, and a lot of language that is frowned upon these days.
Considering the rhythm and quality of Hendrixs other novels, this truly felt like he had a deadline coming up and pushed this out as quickly as possible. It's a shame.
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Kidnapping, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Rape, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Death of parent, Drug use, Physical abuse, and Racial slurs
moraina's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Body shaming, Bullying, Blood, and Eating disorder