Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

16 reviews

mallory10100's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

based on the cover, i expected this to be a campy fun horror, but it was actually quite disturbing. pay attention to content warnings!! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Excrement, Gore, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Addiction, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Ableism, and Gun violence

Minor: Death of parent, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Infertility, War, Confinement, Racism, Medical trauma, Classism, Child abuse, and Bullying

i recommend this for spooky season!!

littlefemur's review against another edition

2.25

This book could have been amazing if it hadn’t resorted to cheap tricks like taking on the problematic language of the 80s. How unimaginative do you have to be to take us back into the past by using fucked up language? It was so hard to enjoy the story because fairly often I was jolted out of it by poor choices from a white man writing in 2016. 

 Here’s a sampling:
AIDS jokes

Weird gross sexualizing of a Black woman and making her a joke

Jokes about brain damage 

Using the r word
A retro version of “no homo”: dearly but not queerly

Queer as slur

“Spazzing” out and “spaz” - this one was everywhere 

AIDS jokes

Blackface

Sitting Indian style

Slave day

Casual fatphobia

“You look like an Ethiopian” to someone who’d lost a bunch of weight. 

 
So edgy. Wait no, I meant unimaginative and disappointing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit

Moderate: Violence, Alcohol, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Drug use

Minor: Animal death, Addiction, Child abuse, Sexism, Religious bigotry, and Adult/minor relationship

mariespuna's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Gore, Self harm, Torture, Animal death, Vomit, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Moderate: Classism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Drug use and Medical content

kaylee1957's review

dark funny 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

4.0

Campy, dramatic, hilarious, thrilling horror novel about the power of friendship and demonic possession. The 80s theme is hilarious and well done. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

cyanide_latte's review

dark emotional tense 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? Yes

3.25

Overall I'm not entirely sure where I stand with this one.  I enjoyed my time reading it for the most part, and Hendrix's writing style is fairly easily accessible.  I guess this book just wasn't for me, in the end?  It wasn't bad at all, but I couldn't really connect with or bring myself to care about any of the characters by the time we got to the eleventh hour, and it's one I think I am okay with never reading again. I'll likely be selling my copy to a used bookstore.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Vomit

thedinosaurkid's review

dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

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

4.0

A good book. It was very quick to get through and it was pretty good. I didnt find it scary persay, but it was freaky.

I did get super pissed when Abby tried to tell the Langs that Gretchen was raped. Just the fuckin audacity. Making themselves the victims and gaslighting, ugh.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Death, Rape, and Self harm

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Bullying

Minor: Child abuse and Child death