Reviews tagging 'Schizophrenia/Psychosis '

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

42 reviews

teresavanc's review against another edition

dark tense

• 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

2.0

In all honesty, I got this book because of the beautiful cover, and I was wanting to read something spooky for October. I did not realize that the author is the same one who wrote the southern book clubs guide to slaying vampires, a book I hate vehemently. I even wrote in my review of that book that I would not read anything by this author again and if I had made that connection earlier, I would not have bought this book.

As much as I hate his writing, the first half of the book gave me hope. I found the parallels between sexual assault and demon possession to be an interesting take and very poignant. And then he just lost all this momentum. The actual exorcism fell flat, cheesy, and lazy. Body horror has a time and place, such as with Margaret, it feel disturbing but appropriate. Within the exorcism, it felt cheap, just added in for the shock value. 

In the end, I didn’t hate the book as much as his other, but I am deeply disappointed. He had so much going for him in the first half of the book and fumbled it. He chose the lazy way out and used a generic exorcism template instead of doing something unique and creative. And the very end where they began listing major pop culture moments from the 80s - cringey and a cheap shot at nostalgia. 

I have learned from my mistake. 
Fool me once, fool me twice, there will not be a third Mr Hendrix. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Vomit, and Torture

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Drug use, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Alcohol, Eating disorder, and Rape

Minor: Racism

cecinamo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

I did enjoy the book a lot, but sometimes it was a little to gory for my taste. Still it was really well written and a great book for spooky season! 🎃 

I didn’t really get how they exorcized the demon in the end? It kinda just seemed like “yay! The power of friendship saved the day” ? Idk maybe I’m being nitpick-y 
Also Abby and Gretchen were definitely more than friends ;)

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, Mental illness, Violence, Torture, Stalking, Sexual assault, Sexism, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Racism, Religious bigotry, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Ableism

pages_with_puppies's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional lighthearted sad slow-paced

4.5

I absolutely love (most of) this book. It’s campy and fun for the first half then gets seriously nuts in the second half. Like I almost forgot I signed up for a horror book.
It was giving very much campy teen horror movie think Jennifers Body x Stranger Things. The chapter titles being songs was a hugely welcomed addition I was getting songs stuck in my head left and right.
The half star reduction was for that one scene near the end

most books where the dog dies gets a reduction im a strong believer that the author could have made their point in another way rip max you were loved

but besides that I had no other major qualms with this book. 
I was a bit bothered at first by the way the author wrote and portrayed female friendships in teenagers but after a bit it definitely started to come off as a caricature and like it was being purposefully exaggerated not just a case of men writing women poorly. I was even able to relate to the girls and their friendships a lot although sometimes it did go a little far.
And lastly who said it was ok to make me cry at the end of a horror? That ending hit so much harder than I was expecting.
Would recommend if you are into the supernatural, 80’s, female friendships, coming of age. 
Would not recommend if you are looking for a straight up horror with no deeper meaning.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Torture, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Rape, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Violence, Racism, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Eating disorder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Death of parent, and Car accident

jbfletcher's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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

5.0

It was a wonderful, wonderful ride. It's a story of friendship and love at any cost, despide all the odds. I really love Grady Hendrix stories, they usually stay with me for a long time. I also think that for my generation (i was born in the 80s), this is a more relatable representation of femal friendship than, for example, My brilliant friend. I'd just not inserted ableist and racial slurs (this just one), that for me were unnecessary, but a part from this i really loved this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Religious bigotry, Rape, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Eating disorder, Classism, Bullying, Body shaming, Body horror, Animal death, and Ableism

katiegraham00's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Eating disorder, Body horror, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Drug use, and Vomit

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Death of parent

figgyreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Animal death, and Gore

Moderate: Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

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

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

yungblonde's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Classism, Rape, Sexual violence, Animal death, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Physical abuse, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Self harm, Toxic friendship, and Vomit

Moderate: Racism, Death, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Excrement, Slavery, Drug use, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Lesbophobia and Homophobia

maddox22's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Torture, Violence, Sexual assault, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Medical content, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Eating disorder, Vomit, Bullying, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Gore, Self harm, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship