Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

101 reviews

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

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

nessafurtado's review

adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious 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

5.0

If I could give 10 stars I would. I finished it in one sitting; I could not stop reading I needed to know what happened - “will Gretchen be ok? I can not believe Abby made such a rookie mistake omfg!!! IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING? “ were some of the things I caught myself saying while immerse in this story. I highly recommend this book; made me feel nostalgic for a time I wasn’t even born (80s), made me feel happy, confused, sad and a longing to have a friendship like Abby and Gretchen. 
Ps. It’s about demonic possession - the demon does some crazy not family friend stuff so be aware there’s may be something triggering for you.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Blood, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Alcohol

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

Moderate: Homophobia and Racism

joscelynhe's review

emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.5

I’m so glad I decided to read more Grady Hendrix after last year. I really enjoyed Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, and after reading another of his novels I can tell he has a very unique, fun writing style that I can’t get enough of. It’s absurd, classic horror that never feels like too much or too little.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

katiegraham00's review

dark mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Eating disorder, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Drug use, Mental illness, Vomit, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Death of parent

bingo_banjo's review

adventurous dark funny hopeful mysterious 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

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

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

Minor: Child death, Drug use, and Slavery

cultbyproxy's review

dark mysterious 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? No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Eating disorder, and Vomit

Moderate: Drug use, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Mental illness, and Racism

chelseylb1988's review

dark emotional hopeful fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

reedcodes's review

adventurous dark funny inspiring reflective tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, and Eating disorder

Moderate: Gore, Gaslighting, and Classism

Minor: Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol