Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

260 reviews

woosh's review against another edition

challenging mysterious 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? Yes

3.0

I think maybe Grady Hendrix's style of horror is just not for me. Both books I've read so far, I've walked away feeling more disgust than awe/fear that I get from horror books I've enjoyed more. I did manage to get through this easier than The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires. I might have DNF'd if I wasn't reading this as a part of SPL's book bingo – not sure I can say this isn't a good book, it's just really not for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Gore, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Torture, and Death

jadeejf's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.75

This one took me a bit to get into but once I did, it was an absolute page turner with a lot of unexpected twists and turns. The premise was so unique, too. 

Hendrix did a masterful job of creating an unreliable narrator (or is she?), and weaving in a lot of excellent horror movie Easter eggs. It did occasionally veer into the gory, but it's a book about final girls, so you have to kind of expect that. I really enjoyed it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Murder, Violence, Death, Stalking, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Car accident, Blood, Chronic illness, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship

jackiepreston's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Body horror, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Vomit, Blood, Gun violence, and Violence

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Homophobia, Kidnapping, and Cannibalism

crimsonash606's review against another edition

dark funny inspiring 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? Yes

4.25

An incredible read for any slasher fans. A great mix of deadly stakes and humor.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Blood

Moderate: Mass/school shootings, Alcoholism, Cancer, Cannibalism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Confinement, Cursing, Grief, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Terminal illness, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Child death, Alcohol, Torture, Violence, Car accident, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Sexism, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, and Murder

lue_moon's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

This is a difficult book for me to rate. The premise is good and it did draw me in. I was more into it in the last 100 or so pages, which had many pieces i did not see coming and was overall intriguing. But I spent a good portion of the book confused and had a hard time following a lot of the characters and their stories/monsters. I found myself googling a character list because I felt lost and didn't want to re-read. Came across the helpful suggestion to link each of the final girls to the horror movies their stories were seemingly based on (click spoiler below if you want the list). After that information, it was much easier to follow. I suspect if I was more knowledgeable about horror movies, I may have picked it up quicker, but I do not watch nor like horror movies (books I can sometimes do, but movies are a no go).

May be a better read for you if you are already a horror movie fan? 

● Lynette-had to deal with a situation dubbed the "Silent Night Slayings" (Silent Night Deadly Night)
● Marilyn-was attacked by bloodthirsty cannibals(Texas Chainsaw Massacre)
● Dani-brother Nick escaped from a mental asylum and on Halloween, slaughtered anyone who stood between him and his sister.(Halloween)
● Julia-was left a final girl after her boyfriend and one of his friends decided to turn her into a final girl (Scream)
● Heather-had to face a "Dream Killer" (Nightmare on Elm Street)
● Adrienne-survived the slaughter at Camp Red Lake(Friday the 13th)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Child death, and Body horror

Moderate: Terminal illness, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Excrement, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Gun violence, Police brutality, and Torture

Minor: Cannibalism

sstewart89's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Torture, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Violence, Child death, Cannibalism, and Blood

gamerreaper13's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I was very unsure at the beginning whether or not I would enjoy this one, but then the plot very quickly drew me in, holding me in a chokehold for hours! I slowly came to love and adore the main characters after beginning to understand their experiences.

The plot is fast paced and thr book quickly becomes impossible to put down. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Torture, Toxic friendship, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Police brutality, Cancer, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, and Gore

kazy's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.25

a thrilling, fast-paced homage to the slasher genre and their final girls, whose main characters are middle-aged women surviving their trauma with scars fully on display. 
really enjoyed! it’s always fun to see things that are so clearly love letters from the author to the genre itself (not without its own criticism of the genre as well). it certainly felt like watching a contemporary slasher movie, the kind made by someone who’s seen every one and had some notes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Gun violence, Cancer, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Child death, Death of parent, Violence, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Torture, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, and Misogyny

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexism, and Mental illness

Minor: Ableism, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Suicide, Cannibalism, Drug abuse, and Incest

mentions of victim blaming (both external and heavily internal),

mental health professionals violating patient’s trust

, extreme agoraphobia.

A lesbian dies through terminal illness. the black character dies first, though remains relevant to the plot and characters throughout the rest of the book. adult men taking advantage of traumatized young women, including minors, including a man who knew the girls’ father before he died and used his death as a jumping off point to groom her. one of the final girls (though not of the main group) is in a relationship with her slasher, and another is accused of conspiring with hers to kill her family as well as sleeping with him. one of the girls is mentioned to have been “forced to wear a suit made of human skin” during her traumatizing event. at least two young children are explicitly murdered violently, the murder isn’t described in extreme detail but with enough description to fully understand what happened. Someone’s diary/vent journal/mental health exercise is published without their consent.

justmys's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Vomit, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Torture, Murder, Misogyny, Stalking, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Body horror, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, and Sexism

Moderate: Confinement, Car accident, Cursing, Suicide attempt, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

Not sure if I'll actively search out to read any more by Grady Hendrix. This is only my second book and it feels a little...icky? For lack of a better term. He's so determined to have women go through such harrowing events and it's just starting to feel like...like every other man making a living off of women's suffering????? Maybe the others are different but for now I need a break.

rainbownp's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

The book was very interesting at points but had many periods where it just felt insane. I honestly started questioning so many things because it was all over the place.  The premise was very good and it was not horribly written, just not great. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Murder, Death of parent, Blood, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Cancer, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Addiction, and Self harm

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Mass/school shootings, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness