Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

163 reviews

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

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

vickymcckey's review against another edition

dark 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

3.0

Very well written and well thought out. The author makes sure readers know that he doesn’t support the glorification of serial killers, which is nice and (unfortunately) necessary, even if it was a bit heavy handed throughout the book.

I thought the first plot twist of Skye being the killer worked really well, but Stephanie’s role in it felt a little more forced while it was being revealed.

The description of violence in Lynn’s first “horror movie experience” I found to be a bit gratuitous, but I guess that’s what you get when you pick up this kinda book. The rest of it didn’t bother me, but the implied sexual violence and child violence on page 155-156 were a lot.

This is definitely the kind of story where a good suspension of disbelief will do you favors, not necessarily because of the serial killer aspects, but more because of the character’s personalities and logistics. Though once again, that’s kinda expected from this sort of book. Overall this was definitely out of my comfort zone but I did enjoy it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Child death, Gore, Violence, Gun violence, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Death, Blood, Torture, Death of parent, and Medical content

Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Car accident, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, and Stalking

Minor: Cannibalism and Animal cruelty

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.

sarahbrianne's review against another edition

Honestly I love the idea of this book, but living inside the main character’s made me feel more mentally ill than I already am

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Mental illness

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Child death, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Addiction, Death, Stalking, and Violence

letters_from_gabriella's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

1.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Medical content, Kidnapping, Gore, Toxic friendship, Misogyny, Death, Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, Cancer, Violence, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Cursing, Child death, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Murder, Medical trauma, Mass/school shootings, Drug abuse, Stalking, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Sexism, and Racism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Vomit, Alcoholism, Lesbophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

laurenexploresbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

3.5

This was a challenging work for me. I personally did not find this work to be enjoyable due to the mass amount of gore and trauma porn throughout the work. I appreciated the last 20 percent of the work, but again I felt like I did not fully get to connect with characters within this work. I kept going out of anger and horror than enjoyment. 

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Content Warnings

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

alexdefel513's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Stalking

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Mental illness, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Ableism

tiffanne11's review against another edition

tense fast-paced

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

2.75

The first 70% or so of this book was a great thriller. Our cast of characters are "final girls", reminiscent of the last one standing in a slasher film but they lived through these traumas. The main character, Lynnette, copes with excessive paranoia, locking herself away and not getting attached to anyone. 
Everything changes when one of the members of their group is killed. No one is sure who they can trust and Lynnette runs. 
The majority of the book is building up this tension about who is hunting the final girls and why. As a reader, you are wondering if it is all in her head or if there is a killer out there orchestrating this whole thing. 
Unfortunately, the "reveal" makes no sense. It's not evidenced in the text. You couldn't figure it out, and that is not what makes a good twist. A good twist is one that makes all of the pieces slot in together and make sense. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Medical trauma, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Gore, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Vomit, Violence, Torture, Kidnapping, and Death of parent