Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

37 reviews

immovabletype's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

this almost feels like horror magical realism for much of the book and I love that about it. and though this didn't occur to me until I'd finished it has that element of Buffy that I love so much, where the monster is a metaphor for growing up. in this case it's specifically about female friendships, and was done so well. it felt pretty darn authentic to my experience growing up in the 80s/90s, and how those friendships could feel so fraught and so full of love at the same time. how do you know these things, Grady Hendrix, you are a man

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Drug use, Body shaming, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, and Sexual content

Minor: Car accident, Death of parent, and Mass/school shootings

tifftastic87's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-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

4.75

I was surprised by this one. I saw such mixed reviews from the reviewers that I usually align with that I didn't have high hopes, but I went in with open eyes. I am so pleased that I did.

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.  

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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

thehhugg's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Body horror, Eating disorder, Gore, Violence, Vomit, Child death, Animal death, and Confinement

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Drug use, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Classism, Violence, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Sexual assault, and Addiction

rstegema's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

First book I've listened to by Grady Hendrix, and I'm excited to add more to the line up! Very dark and spooky but so well written. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Vomit, Body horror, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Eating disorder

Minor: Sexual content

lovelydeadgirl's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Eating disorder, Rape, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Body horror, Bullying, Alcohol, Blood, Classism, and Sexual content

allhailursula's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

1.0

So while i get that the bad parts of this book were "a product of the 80s" This book is NOT.
The author didnt HAVE to include Slave Day in the schools spirit week. 
The author didnt HAVE to use offensive language that may have been used back in the day.
The author didnt HAVE to write this book about young girls in a terribly flat, vapid, and boring way.
The author CHOSE to use homophobic language and situations. 
The author CHOSE to include enough 80s references to bait readers into a sense of nostalgia that it distracted from a lacking plot.
The author CHOSE to include abelist stereotypes as a "comedic moment"
Id almost say that by adding those things the author shows a lack of creativity in navigating between making something offensive and feel like the 80s and something thats not offensive but still feels true to the time period. He didnt have to write those things, he chose to do so.

I am not sure how this author was able to make a jam packed book, filled with fast paced plot moments boring but he did. 

If you like nostalgia porn and can read offensive material for the sake of fake authenticity then by all means. This captured the essence of a 80s possession horror to a T.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Violence, Gore, and Vomit

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Sexual content, Body shaming, Drug use, Alcohol, Fatphobia, and Racism

Minor: Incest and Suicidal thoughts

melliedm's review against another edition

dark funny 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

3.5

A gross, fast-paced, campy story of friendship in the face of growing up (and demons). 

Felt like the sapphic undertones were purposeful (lampshades! Lampshades everywhere!), but completely unfulfilled. How you can go from DBNQ to DAQ and then tell me how they ended and miss the chance to complete the sentence is a disappointment. But it was a fun read despite that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Kidnapping, Vomit, Body horror, Bullying, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Animal death, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, and Mental illness

Moderate: Car accident, Alcohol, Racism, Mass/school shootings, Racial slurs, Classism, Cultural appropriation, and Gun violence

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Slavery

redhothabanero's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

I wish we got more about their friendship at the beginning of the book. Gretchen gets possessed early on and so we don't get to see them be the kind of best friends that they are at the end of the book. Overall, it was fine but forgettable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Animal death, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Gore, Body shaming, Classism, Drug use, Blood, Eating disorder, Rape, Sexual content, Body horror, Bullying, Racism, Sexism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Vomit

mrsmonty503's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

2.0

Overall this book is a 4⭐️. The writing/plot/story and characters are what gives it a 4⭐️. I also really enjoyed the pop culture references through out the story. 

This was WAY better than The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires. 

There was a heavy presence of religion; which is appropriate since the story is about an exorcism. 


Below is why I gave it a 2⭐️. 

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 Now I know the this is not the first time Grady has killed animals. I just can’t get behind a senseless animal death. 

IT DIDN’T ADD TO THE STORY AT ALL. THIS WAS NOT NEEDED. MAX DID NOT HAVE TO DIED. 

With all the said, it’s a 2 ⭐️ for me dog.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Toxic relationship, and Animal death

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Racism, Self harm, Vomit, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual violence

Minor: Blood, Bullying, Gaslighting, Body shaming, Classism, Fatphobia, and Death of parent

the_comfy_cosy_corner's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Classism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Miscarriage, Addiction, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Body horror, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Colonisation, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, and War