Reviews tagging 'Mass/school shootings'

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

43 reviews

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.

---

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

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

---

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

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

---

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

biocatrina's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny 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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Body horror

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Vomit

spcandybars's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny tense fast-paced

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

4.75

*Can I just say first that Emily Woo Zeller is one of the best audiobook voice actors I’ve ever heard. The emotion, tension, and just expression of drama drove this story so well I don’t even want to attempt to read it with my eyes.*

I honestly loved this books so much. The childhood friendship was established so well, the progression of tension building into or resulting from at each terrible deed was palpable, and I was fully gripped by the end of the scene in the woods.

I’ve read one other Grady Hendrix novel and two things I’m absolutely certain of at this point are:
1.) He knows how to create characters and negative interactions that feel true to the worst parts of life
2.) He can spin truly disgusting imagery out of mundane things.

I don’t think any character but the exorcist is meant to be truly likable but I honestly feel shocked by how much I empathized with Abby - by how well Hendrix portrays the plight of a teenage girl realizing no adult in their life takes them seriously. I had just as many moments of frustration at her as I had for her and that went a long way into making Abby feel like such a real teenager in my eyes.  

I could have ended the book two chapters earlier and been incredibly happy. Fast Car is a perfect closing chapter that gave me the happy ending I was begging for after experiencing so much stress through these characters. The true final chapter doesn’t work as strongly as a closer because I truly don’t think this book was in need of an epilogue. That said, I’m not angry at it’s direction and it’s a thematic bookend which is hard to be mad at. 

There were a couple mentions that made me uncomfortable

, especially as a Black reader, like “slave day” and “you look like an Ethiopian”

but I recognize how they help form a picture of the time period and attitudes of the decade. As much as we recognize that the 80s were still part of that “different time” we like to pin on the Jim Crow era, I feel like it’s actually rare for me to see period media that doesn’t deal with race topics venture to establish it’s setting with not only the colorful pop culture references of the decade but also the outdated ideals. It’s uncomfortable and I do believe the 80s felt alive in the story without these inclusions but I also don’t believe I would argue strongly, if at all, to remove them. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

Moderate: Torture, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Rape, Self harm, Mass/school shootings, and Slavery

acwhite's review against another edition

dark funny 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Drug use, Blood, Self harm, Eating disorder, Animal death, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, and Vomit

Moderate: Abandonment, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Rape, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, and Slavery

honeywine's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Loved this book, but it’s definitely not for the faint of heart.

The story trucked along and was somewhere between medium and fast paced. There weren’t many lulls throughout the book which made it an easy read to get lost in. 

Great demonic possession story. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Rape, Vomit, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Eating disorder

Moderate: Mass/school shootings, Gore, Alcohol, Body shaming, Abandonment, Bullying, Child death, Religious bigotry, Death, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Confinement, Torture, Slavery, and Gaslighting

viccreadsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

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

4.5

Although I really enjoyed this book there were just a few elements that threw me off and interrupted my reading experience that kept me from giving it a full 5 star rating. The elements of friendship were really beautiful, and by the end, I was attached to Gretchen and Abby. The ending actually made me tear up - which was unexpected. The horror elements were fantastic - it read like you were watching a slasher movie (not really scary per say but entertaining). I also loved that it was set in the 80s and that all of the chapters were named after 80s music. 

What I didn't like was the elements of racism and homophobia that were thrown in - especially knowing the author is a white man. It was addressed in the book as if it was just "an element of the time" which I'm sure to some extent is true, but it felt overall unnecessary to have in the book as it didn't add to the story and every time I read about it - it took me out of the story and put a bad taste in my mouth. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Animal death, Bullying, Gore, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Vomit

Minor: Homophobia, Gun violence, Cultural appropriation, Eating disorder, Mass/school shootings, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Violence

codexqueen's review against another edition

dark funny tense medium-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, and Vomit

Moderate: Rape, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Eating disorder, Religious bigotry, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Cursing, Mass/school shootings, and Adult/minor relationship

oncasette's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Rape, Self harm, and Mass/school shootings