Reviews tagging 'Eating disorder'

Final Girls by Riley Sager

24 reviews

davidrb's review

dark mysterious 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

1.0

Christ.

No spoilers, but this is a tedious mess. For a thriller (and make no mistake: this is a thriller and not a horror), the pace is unbearably slow. The characters are beyond flat and contrived. The writing style gives absolutely nothing. Most damningly, the author takes a very dismissive approach towards more "traditional" trauma victims (i.e. survivors of rape and assault) in favor of his prototypical final girl, which is both uncomfortable to read and doesn't at all serve the story, considering it's a narrative about how trauma shapes people. Ostensibly.

Horror satire can still be suspenseful and scary (think Scream), but this forgoes any meaningful commentary in favor of cheap twists, and, in fact, has very little to say about the genre at all. I only gave it 1 star because I gave The Maidens 1 star, and I wouldn't say I hated it more. (I'm really striking out with thrillers lately.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Stalking, Toxic friendship, and Violence

ging090803's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Murder, Drug use, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Addiction

Minor: Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Rape, and Mental illness

rileyreadsbooks's review

dark mysterious sad tense slow-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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Death of parent, Drug use, Torture, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Sexual content

Minor: Eating disorder, Infidelity, and Stalking

sonygaystation's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.0

This was NOT the book for me!!! I predicted who was really behind everything from the minute we're first introduced to them so I didn't even really feel all that satisfied cuz I could've DNF'd it and known the entire plot. I really liked Sager's Home Before Dark so maybe his books are just a hit or miss for me. Sometimes when books irritate me I can't stop asking myself what the book added to the genre, and this was definitely one of those. I also kept asking myself why it was necessary for a man to tell a story about a woman's trauma especially when it concerns graphic physical, emotional, and sexual violence. Like why did HE of all people feel compelled to tell that story? I don't even really think he did it in a way that was sensitive either. For books with graphic discussions of suicide I feel like that needs to be addressed with care, which means literally two (2) seconds of research on the topic would churn up the fact that "die by suicide" is a much better and less stigmatizing phrase to use than "committed suicide." This is minor but it also pissed me off that one of the scenes discussing one of the character's first times having sex actively talked about how painful it would be. It bothers me that the painful first-time penetration narrative gets pushed by people (more alarming that a man is perpetuating it like damn dude that's telling) who clearly missed some important parts of sex education (news flash: it should not be painful the first time ever). This next feeling is more major, but I was also pretty frustrated that one of the pivotal scenes that help develop the MC's personality involved a homeless man with a drug addiction who just HAPPENS to be latinx/e. Like, really?? We gotta add on racism, as well?? This book was just predictable and boring and pretty much was insensitive with regards to literally every "gritty" topic it covered.

At least Sager reinforced the ACAB narrative. My distrust of c*ps came in handy this time lol.

content warnings: graphic violence, grief, death, murder, suicide, abuse (physical, emotional, and sexual), mental illness (PTSD, trauma), drug addiction and abuse (talks about crack and xanax)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Minor: Car accident, Eating disorder, and Vomit