Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

299 reviews

its_jess_m's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Rape, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Slavery, and Murder

randomspirits's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• 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, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Alcohol

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

mareikesrep's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Drug use, Eating disorder, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

Moderate: Ableism and Racism

bethnash's review

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Eating disorder, Gore, Violence, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug use, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Excrement, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol

james1star's review

dark hopeful mysterious 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

4.25

On the whole this was a very decent read and one I would recommend. The story follows Abby, an outsider who’s poor in comparison to others in the rich town and school she attends, who befriends the new girl Gretchen, a bit weird and has religious parents controlling her life. When they’re older they go skinny dipping, Gretchen gets lost and the next day starts acting weird which continues… what’s going on with her? I won’t say any more on the plot but it is quite creepy, strange and gets under your skin a bit. You do want to know what’s going on but does feel a bit slow picking up from the 200 page mark. 

My only real qualm with the book is that what went down doesn’t get fully explained so it’s a bit annoying and some parts towards the end are slightly frustrating. Additionally, it is a little gross and some of the horror-elements weren’t too much to my liking as it’s not really my genre. The best parts and what I throughly enjoyed was the exploration of the girl’s friendship, the coming of age nature being in their teens and also the 80s references which were spot on - I love books set in this decade and Hendrix did a great job with the music, film, fashion and cultural references. Whilst it’s not a new fave I do want to check out the author again and will certainly be doing so. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness and Sexual assault

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Rape, Self harm, Murder, and Classism

briannasam's review

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Drug use, Eating disorder, Blood, Vomit, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, and Car accident

peachmasen's review

dark mysterious 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? No

5.0

Grady Hendrix’s books never disappoint. I was so captured from the start that I finished this book in a day. It’s fun and easy to read, the plot is quirky and fun while still being dark and spooky, the 80s vibes and references add an extra element of nostalgia, and the tense, climactic, final fight passages are delightfully freaky.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

Moderate: Drug use and Eating disorder

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Mass/school shootings, and Death of parent

jennxreviews's review

dark emotional reflective medium-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

ahh_listen's review

emotional funny hopeful tense slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Sexual assault, Alcohol, and Classism