Reviews tagging 'Excrement'

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

24 reviews

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

overall, i enjoyed reading this. the writing was so digestible and the characters were all so different and distinct. i think my biggest issue was the ending. i did not think it was realistic or well flushed out. it felt kinda cheap imo. also nobody ever talks about how graphic this. i was kinda caught off guard to be honest. please keep that in mind before reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Toxic friendship, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Stalking, Terminal illness, Murder, Sexual harassment, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Gore, Addiction, and Excrement

pageturn's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, and Body horror

Minor: Excrement, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Mental illness, Cancer, Child death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, and Vomit

annagoodman's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Gore, Death, and Gun violence

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, and Stalking

Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Excrement, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Drug use, and Vomit

phaas'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Torture, Cancer, Child death, Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Gun violence, Addiction, and Alcoholism

Minor: Excrement, Mass/school shootings, and Vomit

hapalyn's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Torture, Blood, Cursing, Death of parent, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Violence, Child death, Confinement, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, and Stalking

Minor: Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Car accident, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Misogyny, Police brutality, and Racism

jordangddrd's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Body horror, Death of parent, Blood, Cancer, Death, Murder, Terminal illness, and Violence

Moderate: Excrement and Mass/school shootings

Minor: Drug use, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Drug abuse

leahrosiee's review

challenging tense fast-paced

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

2.0

This was … wild. The author does a great job of making you feel just as crazy as the MC in the beginning. I just don’t think a male author could accurately write about the fears of women who have been preyed upon their entire lives. I felt the whole time it would be better as a movie. There wasn’t much “horror” at all, though there were so many twists and turns it became hard to keep track of who the target was.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Toxic friendship, Death, Gun violence, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Gore, Blood, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Mental illness

Moderate: Sexism, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Stalking, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

Minor: Child death, Death of parent, Cancer, and Excrement

wallywoahjack's review

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-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

2.25

Hendrix writes good charaters, but I just wasn’t very satisfied by the plot. I also think there’s times where you can really tell this is a story about women being written by a man. The ideas behind it are compelling for sure, and I like the mix of supernatural elements.

I also think this book could have worked simply as just a story of these women going to their final girl support group. Another issue I had was that I just personally hate the way most people write about school shooter/shooter inspired events. It just never feels like its done right. I did find the murder memorial/fans part quite intriguing,and I think he played that out as a very intresting concept. Another major issue I had is that it’s stated that Stephanie was groomed, when it sounds like both Lynette and (Krissy? Kristen?) were as well. Lynette by that awful cop. The group shames K for sleeping with her killer but I swear it also stated he was he godfather? The cop is just brushed off as a scheming dope who’s still trying to profit off of Lynette and nothing is ever really said about what he did to her. It just left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Drug use, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, and Vomit

seawarrior's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0

Having only read Hendrix's first novel, I didn't have high hopes for the quality of writing within this one. Thankfully Hendrix has impressively grown as a writer over the years, and most of my qualms about the characterization, or lack thereof, I might find within the book were settled. Lynnette is an interesting and whirlwind protagonist for many reasons. She's intensely paranoid but makes one poor decision after another, resulting in a ricocheting plot that hardly allows the reader to catch their breath. She's also immensely unlikable, but despite her selfish, judgmental and avoidant nature I found myself understanding and forgiving one of her mistakes after another. 

Hendrix has a lot to say about horror franchises and their repetitive, exploitative and misogynistic nature, most of which is done through the characterization and dialogue of Lynnette and the other woman of the Final Girl Support Group. In between chapters various fictional archival interviews and journal articles are plastered to the pages, adding to the realism of the story and to the mythology surrounding this group of survivors and their monsters. For the most part I felt this was done very well. I only felt dissatisfied with Heather's characterization; she serves as a stereotypical "junkie" figure and is widely disrespected by both the characters within the book and the narrative that gave them life. What she survived and how is also defined the least, which only becomes more disappointing as the book continues. The other women's stories are revealed in segments, by their own admissions, Lynnette's memories, or their respective archives. Since each of them were inspired by an existing horror franchise most readers can assume the bulk of the violence they witnessed and endured, negating the need to force the women to rehash the most traumatic moments of their lives. Lynnette is the only character who has in depth flashbacks of her encounters with her monster after a tortuous accusation of who was truly responsible for her family's slaughter. 

The book primarily focuses on Lynnette's efforts to survive in the present, while attempting to solve the mystery of who wants the Final Girls finally gone. Pieces of this puzzle were fairly obvious to me, while others came as a surprise. Ultimately though, the villains, their motivations, and their weapon of choice, all serve to make a statement about mass violence and horror franchises as a whole. This is a love letter to horror, but a scathing one, fully aware of its flaws and refusing to hold back. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, Terminal illness, Stalking, Police brutality, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Misogyny, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Gore, Grief, Blood, Confinement, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Car accident, Child death, Drug abuse, Excrement, Infidelity, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

romiress's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.25

I enjoyed it, but I have mixed feelings. I feel like the pacing suffered a bit and took a while to really get going. It just didn't hook me the way I expected it to.

Also, her mental illness is cured in the last chapter by brain damage.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Excrement, Medical content, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Mass/school shootings