Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

40 reviews

themissyreads's review

dark emotional hopeful 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

5.0

This one Creeped me OUT. Made me CRY. Had genuine social commentary and did a spin on an old story in a way that felt New and Different. 5/5 would reccomend. Check the TW/CWs tho. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Vomit, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Minor: Rape, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, and Cultural appropriation

Restrictive dieting, parental neglect, discussion/referenced Satanic Panic, referenced divorce, Institutional violence, powerlessness,

Main Character Death (but not the way you think)

liahopkins's review

dark emotional 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? No

5.0

This review contains slight spoilers!

I loved this book! It was funny, wholesome, at some points sad, grotesque (the worm scene) and even scary, but not true horror. The focus was more on the friendship between the protagonists, Abby and Gretchen. It was such an amazing depiction of intense platonic love (so intense that I wished it turned into romance at times, but I'm actually pretty glad it didn't), especially the ending was so touching. 
I also loved how the author picked up on classic horror tropes, but twisted them to make them more fun (for example the exorcist not being an old priest, but a gym bro in his 20s; or the ending of the exorcism scene). 
The overall makeup of the book is also amazing. The cover is so unique, as well as the dedication in the beginning, the authors note, and the fact that all the chapter titles are song titles. It was so fun listening to the playlist while reading; it really helped to feel those 80s vibes, and I also ended up finding some new songs to add to my own playlists.
Overall, I really, really enjoyed this book, even though it's not the kind of genre I usually read. I already bought another one of the author's books, and I can't wait to start it.

(PS: I recommend to check the content warnings if there are some things that upset you (like vomit. a lot of vomit.))

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Eating disorder, Torture, and Vomit

Moderate: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Addiction and Drug use

snazzy10101's review

emotional funny tense fast-paced

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

4.0

wasn’t expecting it to end the way it did and now i’m crying

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Emotional abuse

moraina's review

funny lighthearted 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? It's complicated

4.0

Cute read, very reminiscent of Stranger Things and Goosebumps. The ending felt a bit rushed and I wasn’t super attached to the characters, so it didn’t feel very impactful. Overall, it was a fun, casual summer read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Blood, Vomit, and Toxic friendship

sydneynorman's review against another edition

dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

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

3.0

TRIGGER WARNINGS: SEXUAL ASSUALT AND MURDER OF PET DOG

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Racism, Blood, and Alcohol

nokibay's review

medium-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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Vomit, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Slavery, and Alcohol

Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, and Cultural appropriation

ladyinverse's review

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.5

this was a deliciously 80s campy horror cheesy summer flick in book form. i definitely cried at the end.

the dog does die, sorry

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Blood

Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Death of parent, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, and Alcohol

mcmanduke's review against another edition

dark funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.0

Audiobook Review

This was a nice audiobook for a car trip. A little slow but with enough 80s references and humor to make it work. 

I wish there had been more supernatural stuff. The parts that were intended to be scary were just kinda gross. 

Although I really enjoyed how the author managed an exorcism that did not rely on catholicism or religion in general.

Overall it was a cute story about friendship with some demon stuff thrown in. 😆 I'm definitely interested in reading more Hendrix. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, and Vomit

Moderate: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, and Classism

FYI there are animals and pets in this book:

The pet dog gets killed in a pretty graphic way. 😥 If I had known, I probably would've skipped this. But I made it through ok. Still a bummer.

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: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Classism

starry's review

dark emotional funny 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

4.25

This was the first horror novel I've ever read, and it was the perfect introduction into the genre for me. Abby and Gretchen's story hooked me from page one, and Hendrix expertly entwined the supernatural horrors of demonic possession with the everyday horrors of being a teenage girl. This was truly a page-turner, as Abby's tone is so thoroughly teen-y and unserious that even in the face of emotional bombshells, she moves on rather quickly, keeping readers with her. The horror elements in this book were definitely scary, but there was less horror than I'd been expecting. Instead, there are stunning, terrifying experiences inlaid in an otherwise very typical coming-of-age story set in the '80s. Hendrix's portrayal of female friendship felt so authentic; the girlhood in this book was palpable. I'll definitely be picking up his other books in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Eating disorder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Torture, Blood, Vomit, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Drug use and Rape