Reviews tagging 'Grief'

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

26 reviews

sydneynorman's review against another edition

dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

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

3.0

TRIGGER WARNINGS: SEXUAL ASSUALT AND MURDER OF PET DOG

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Slavery, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Grief, Murder, Violence, Vomit, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Eating disorder, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, and Torture

Moderate: Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Racism, Alcoholism, and Animal death

mickraine's review against another edition

adventurous dark lighthearted tense medium-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Classism, Body horror, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Grief, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Religious bigotry, Violence, Gaslighting, Confinement, and Animal death

Moderate: Excrement, Medical content, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Abortion, Torture, Gore, Miscarriage, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, and Bullying

Minor: Rape, War, Blood, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

geektastically's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

This was a really interesting and well written book. You feel the inspiration but once you get to the later half of the book some of the content really got to me because of how well the relationships and characters were written. Be careful reading this for sure. I'm only giving it a lower score because the back half really shook me and I had a hard time with it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Torture, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Classism, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Body shaming, Forced institutionalization, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Eating disorder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide attempt, Violence, Blood, Grief, Sexism, Bullying, Car accident, Chronic illness, Vomit, Body horror, Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Excrement, Misogyny, and Physical abuse

bookishgoob's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Classism, Cursing, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, and Death of parent

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.0

This was the second book in my mini Grady Hendrix readathon. I was very excited to pick up this book and enjoy the movie adaptation afterwards.
"My Best Friend's Exorcism" follows Abby, a young girl in high school in the 1980's. Abby and her best friend, Gretchen, have been best friends since the moment they were thrown together at Abby's birthday party. One night, after some skinny-dipping and recreational drug use, Gretchen starts acting different. Abby is concerned that Gretchen is possessed, and Abby will do anything to get her friend back from the clutches of a demon.
This book was filled with some great representation from the 1980's, and it was very atmospheric and nostalgic for anyone that went to high school in the 1980's. Abby and Gretchen's friendship is something to be coveted. Despite being so young, they will do ANYTHING for each other, and I think this is something to aspire to have with someone.
This book definitely had horror and there are some scenes some people might find disturbing. Grady Hendrix is so great at what he does, and I seem to be enjoying everything I pick up from him! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Violence, Toxic relationship, Torture, Death of parent, Death, Body horror, Gore, Bullying, Vomit, Grief, Animal cruelty, Toxic friendship, Medical content, and Animal death

nikogatts's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful tense

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Gore, Toxic friendship, Body horror, Vomit, Eating disorder, Animal death, Self harm, Murder, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Alcoholism, Rape, Bullying, Car accident, Grief, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Sexism, Alcohol, Classism, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Sexual harassment, and Physical abuse

Minor: Death of parent, Mass/school shootings, Forced institutionalization, Slavery, Adult/minor relationship, and Terminal illness

poppyseedromance's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual violence, Self harm, Fatphobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Grief, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Animal death, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Rape, Sexual harassment, Gaslighting, Eating disorder, Bullying, and Body shaming

ekmook's review against another edition

adventurous 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Gore, Homophobia, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Torture, Vomit, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Violence, Animal death, and Blood

Minor: Death of parent

lucimolri's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

3.5

3,5. La verdad me ha sorprendido bastante! Después de la decepción de The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires no me esperaba que este me fuera a gustar. La razón por la que no le doy 4 estrellas es porque me da mucha rabia cómo están escritos los personajes antagonistas, pero por lo demás ha estado muy bien (el capítulo 22??? 

la forma en la que describe todo lo de los gusanos buf buuuff

  Que maravillaaa, casi poto en el coche). Mis dieces a la narradora, lo hace genial!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Child abuse, Excrement, Death, Drug use, and Eating disorder

Moderate: Car accident and Child death

genny's review against another edition

dark emotional funny 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? No

4.5

An ode to friendship wrapped within a story full of body horror and Satanic panic. I liked it a lot! 😆 This is my second Grady Hendrix (my first being The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires); IMO this one had better pacing, and surprisingly made me quite emotional. I don't think the Satanic panic was a thing in my country, but it's always fascinating to read about.  I appreciate that Hendrix was dedicated to the 80's theme, from the little pamphlets/clippings in each chapter, to the Spotify playlist, and even to the dedications stylized as yearbook pages. This is what I'd call "fun horror"! The climax was appropriately scary and cheesy. I still get a little teary-eyed thinking about it. I picked this up not knowing there was a movie coming out, so that's a happy surprise!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death, Self harm, Sexual violence, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Blood, Body shaming, Gun violence, Alcohol, Child abuse, Drug use, and Grief

Minor: Racism