Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

88 reviews

katertotz's review

dark mysterious 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? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Racism, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Drug use, Eating disorder, Animal death, Child abuse, and Classism

amberbjorge's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Body horror, Vomit, Eating disorder, Torture, Dysphoria, Fatphobia, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Drug use, Alcohol, and Animal death

pages_with_puppies's review

challenging dark emotional lighthearted sad slow-paced

4.5

I absolutely love (most of) this book. It’s campy and fun for the first half then gets seriously nuts in the second half. Like I almost forgot I signed up for a horror book.
It was giving very much campy teen horror movie think Jennifers Body x Stranger Things. The chapter titles being songs was a hugely welcomed addition I was getting songs stuck in my head left and right.
The half star reduction was for that one scene near the end

most books where the dog dies gets a reduction im a strong believer that the author could have made their point in another way rip max you were loved

but besides that I had no other major qualms with this book. 
I was a bit bothered at first by the way the author wrote and portrayed female friendships in teenagers but after a bit it definitely started to come off as a caricature and like it was being purposefully exaggerated not just a case of men writing women poorly. I was even able to relate to the girls and their friendships a lot although sometimes it did go a little far.
And lastly who said it was ok to make me cry at the end of a horror? That ending hit so much harder than I was expecting.
Would recommend if you are into the supernatural, 80’s, female friendships, coming of age. 
Would not recommend if you are looking for a straight up horror with no deeper meaning.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Torture, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Rape, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Violence, Racism, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Eating disorder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Death of parent, and Car accident

beepbopbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Violence, Blood, Drug use, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Gore, Rape, Self harm, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Homophobia and Racism

tiernanhunter's review

dark emotional funny 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Eating disorder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Confinement, Drug use, Homophobia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Medical content, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Grief, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Torture, Gun violence, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Violence

Minor: Cursing, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, and Forced institutionalization

moonlitemuseum's review

adventurous emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Energetic and addictive, I started this book because a friend was reading it and then devoured it over the course of a day. The author works fast to make you as invested in Abby and Gretchen's friendship as Abby herself is, and as everything begins to unravel the pain feels almost as present as if these were real events that happened to you or people you love. Gritty and firmly anchored in its era, this feels perfect for anyone who wants to slurp up a nostalgic slice of millennial horror.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Mental illness, Eating disorder, and Bullying

Moderate: Violence, Torture, Cursing, Classism, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, and Racism

Minor: Child death, Drug use, and Slavery

gfue's review

dark funny sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, and Eating disorder

msmollyanne's review

dark funny mysterious tense fast-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Violence, Self harm, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Body horror, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Animal death, Toxic friendship, Drug use, and Cursing

mickraine's review

adventurous dark lighthearted 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Classism, Body horror, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Grief, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Religious bigotry, Violence, Gaslighting, Confinement, and Animal death

Moderate: Excrement, Medical content, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Abortion, Torture, Gore, Miscarriage, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, and Bullying

Minor: Rape, War, Blood, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

theyannibannireads's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

2.75

extra stars for the depiction of female friendships, that bit felt real the rest if the book was fine, kinda scary but that might just be cuz i read it alone at night. characters were stereotypical. i hated everyone who wasn't the girls but kinda got that was vibe the book was going for. like it was fine, a good distraction 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Body shaming, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Abortion, Blood, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Classism, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship