Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

96 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

whitelotusreads's review against another edition

fast-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? It's complicated

0.25

i didn’t find the story particularly compelling and it was too corny for my taste - just not for me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death

Moderate: Homophobia and Racism

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

itshrewsbury's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, and Vomit

Moderate: Homophobia and Classism

Minor: Child abuse, Drug use, and Rape

maddierose0709's review

dark slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Eating disorder, and Vomit

Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Self harm, and Slavery

Minor: Child death, Drug use, and Suicide

fanboyriot's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

Read For:

✓ Exorcism

✓ 80s Horror

✓ Teen Angst 

✓ Childhood Trauma 

✓ High School Setting

˗ˏˋ ★ REVIEW ★ ˎˊ˗

Had decent hope for this after watching the movie but the book was disappointing.  While there were more details in the book, it overall felt a bit lackluster.

The build up dragged out for a bit longer than I would have liked.  The set up started out good enough but when it came down to the actual plot it felt like we would always learn something we should have already known.  And of course the dog death seemed unnecessary; it added nothing to the plot and felt too much like a last minute shock factor.  Lastly, the ending was disappointing, all of that just for friends to drift away?

Spice Level: n/a

Angst Level: 💧💧

POV: Third Person

Release Date: 17, May 2016

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

elleyena_rose's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

2.5

I wanted to like this book.  I really did. The pitch was promising, the cover and art inside are great (though some of the images are unreadable on kindle). I love 80s media like Heathers and all the songs in the book, and it's ultimately about the power of friendship (and that's one of the few things that caused me to boost my rating to 2.5 stars)

But some of the language and jokes at the beginning, while likely accurate for the time, weren't necessary to the plot and could/probably should have been cut. Thankfully that either dropped off quickly (or I just stopped noticing it when the descriptions got more graphic and I got ill while reading). 

Just as some reviewers don't understand a rating less than five stars,  I don't understand how anyone could rate it at a 4 or 5. This book ultimately wasn't for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Torture, Vomit, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Minor: Drug use, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

CW because animal death was not clear enough

the possessed character kills her dog

also there's graphic descriptions of

tapeworms

coming out of someone's mouth

maxximus's review

4.25

I can get past some of the unseemly things since it is very accurate to the time period. The thing that saved this from being 3 stars was the last 25%. what a ride that was

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Vomit, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Fatphobia

haileyhardcover's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Not my favorite Hendrix, but a really good read nonetheless. The middle of this one kind of lagged for me. Things really ramp up in the final third, though, and I really enjoyed it from that point on. It’s gruesome and sad and yet also heartwarming? I may or may not have teared up while reading the last few paragraphs (I did). 

Very happy to give this book a permanent home on my shelves! Also can we talk about the cover?! Stunning. It makes me think of IT, probably because of the balloons. I love it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Eating disorder, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

librosdeunamestiza's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-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

4.25

Este libro muy fuera de mi zona de comfort me sorprendió totalmente. 
La historia se ubica en la década de los 80s en un pueblito estadounidense bastante conservador e hipócrita, del tipo que esconde los desastres debajo de la alfombra y nunca más los menciona.
Las pistas de patinaje, los peinados y maquillajes, la música y el pánico religioso/satánico ochentero no faltaron.
Cada capítulo tiene el nombre de una canción famosa de la década y me pareció una excelente idea, muy bien pensados. No son ni largos ni cortos, pero se leen volando, al igual que todo el libro.

La narración en primera persona de Abby es muy atrapante y adictiva. 
Me gustó como protagonista. Empaticé un montón con ella y sentí que realmente llevó la trama sobre su espalda con sus decisiones y acciones.
La representación de las amistades y de transitar la adolescencia en el colegio secundario me pareció acertada en muchas cosas.

Los eventos que ocurren son muy perturbadores, repulsivos y traumáticos, me pusieron nerviosa y asqueada, pero nunca me sentí con miedo, así que diría que es un terror ligero.
El terror se va desarrollando de a poco, una cosa horrible a la vez. La trama me sorprendió constantemente, dando giros inesperados y desesperantes. 
Realmente lo recomendaría.

Trigger warnings: violencia, abuso sexual, trastornos alimenticios, consumo de drogas, violaciones, muerte, asesinatos, tortura, muerte de animales, descripciones gráficas, racismo y homofobia.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

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