Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

99 reviews

ssummar's review

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

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

vidalia_reads's review

dark emotional funny medium-paced

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

5.0

 Would your friendships survive the ultimate inside attack from the depths of Hell?

My Best Friend’s Exorcism is a refreshing breath of hot Florida air, with a lingering stench at the end. This book is a fantastic read for any fan of the Exorcist or Mean Girls. Hendrix does a wonderful job of blending teen drama with the horrors of demon possession. You’ll be asking yourself if this is a normal phase for teenage girls, is it PMS, or is it Satan? Set in the 80’s this book has a totally tubular playlist of the hottest hits to keep your ears occupied as you flip through the pages.
Main characters Abby and Gretchen have been inseparable since fourth grade, but will their friendship survive high school? Will they survive High School? Grady Hendrix does a wonderful job blending together a story of perfectly placed references and jump scares that will have you wondering if you should turn out that light.
Be warned that some of the language and slang is accurate to the time and may not be politically correct now. This novel is a fantastic horror read, and an even better story of the strength of friendship that has me excited to listen to Phil Collins. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

This book is set in the 80's a lot of the slang and terminology is no longer politically correct. As well as this being a horror novel that comes with the regular gore and mistreatment.

drewanslee's review

dark emotional funny 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Gore, Torture, Violence, Vomit, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug use, Gun violence, and Rape

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

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

thirdtimesacharm's review against another edition

dark funny reflective sad tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Drug use, Sexual violence, and Alcohol

calamitydane's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book had me ravenous. I couldn't wait to read the next part as I finished each chapter. The scares were well-written and often had me physically recoiling. I even had to put it down for a good ol' "nope" at one point. I might have to re-read this for my October scares.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

writewithapendragon's review

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

I love Grady Hendrix’s writing and stories but I wish he could complete a book without including sexual assault. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Eating disorder, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Mass/school shootings, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Genre-typical content for a horror book, hits a lot of 80s slasher tropes and some gore.

peskilanim's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Rape, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Drug use

izypup's review

emotional inspiring sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Drug use, Gun violence, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail