Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

46 reviews

elonn's review

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

3.5

This was a story about friendship, trauma, and the horrors of both the supernatural and the real world. The bond between the two main characters felt authentic, and I appreciated that the girls in the friend group weren’t typical female stereotypes found in most high school or coming-of-age stories. It also accurately captured how school friendships are often based on proximity rather than shared interests—the girls barely liked each other but were still “friends,” which felt very true to real life. I also loved how

the final exorcism drew on symbols of Abby and Gretchen’s connection

. The power lifter evangelists made me laugh as I vividly remember guys like that performing at church as a child.

What stood out most, though, was how the cruelty of the time shaped the girls’ experiences. The apathy, ignorance, and casual cruelty from family, friends, teachers, and authority figures were just as awful—if not worse—than the actions of the demon. The story unflinchingly portrayed the racism, rape culture, and exploitation of young girls in the 1980s, capturing a world where they had no allies, not even each other.

Some things didn’t work for me. The inclusion of images like magazine quizzes and food journals felt like a good idea in theory, but their sudden appearance late in the story and abrupt disappearance made the concept feel out of place and unfinished. The ending also

dragged on unnecessarily into old age, and the lack of resolution around Molly’s murder felt like a missed opportunity.

Despite its flaws, this messy, imperfect story accurately depicts the terror and heartbreak of being young and vulnerable in a cruel world.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Murder, Lesbophobia, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Suicide, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

chris_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional 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: Child abuse, Confinement, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Rape, Torture, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting

Minor: Bullying, Drug abuse, Racism, Blood, Medical trauma, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic

laura_nel13's review

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Classism

kirsty_irwin's review

dark sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Rape and Mass/school shootings

refrejarator's review

dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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? No

4.0

This was described as the Beaches x The Exorcist crossover and it did not disappoint. How did this leave me teary eyed and heart-warmed? I don't think I can describe it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Eating disorder, Blood, Excrement, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Rape

hxlleann's review

challenging dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting

Minor: Bullying, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Excrement, Mass/school shootings, and Alcohol

celery's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

shaun_dh's review

dark funny tense slow-paced

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

3.0

This was good, but it was way too long. It’s hard for me to believe horrors need to be longer than 280-300 pages. The 80s vibes were immaculate, but, reading this in 2024, it’s hard to read the slurs used and the misinformation around the AIDS epidemic—even if it’s accurate to how ppl acted in the 80s

The horror was really good and gross and I enjoyed reading this, even if I don’t love that it’s a slow burn

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement and Medical content

Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

chicaso's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

thesupermassive's review

dark emotional tense

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Drug use, Eating disorder, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Gun violence and Lesbophobia