Reviews tagging 'Racism'

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

113 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

mistercrow's review

adventurous dark fast-paced

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

4.75

Thoroughly enjoyed this one.  Just FYI; this is a horror book set in the 1980s, in a southern high school. The author didn’t shy away from that authenticity.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Death, Animal death, and Body shaming

Minor: Sexual violence, Mass/school shootings, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Slavery, Blood, Homophobia, Body horror, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Racism

vreyna20_2004's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

The story had potential but fell flat. Grady said he had the title planned and not the plot and you can tell by how slow it started and how fast pace it ended. The plot picks up 40% into the book. FOURTY PERCENT. And that’s only when Gretchen brings it up. It takes until page 254 or 56% for Abby to do anything. It’s fine when authors want to explain the backstory of things to get into detail about what is going on before we’re face into the issue, but 56%?? Seriously??? This book could’ve been cut in HALF if Abby had the BALLS to just ask her friend Gretchen what was going on with her but instead she didn’t. They’re high schoolers, yes I know that but seriously even that time kids were curious of things and had no filter. I’ve heard that the story was “a happy ending” but it left me unsatisfied. I wanted Margret to get dumped by Gretchen and Abby. I wanted Glee to come and for the girls to tell her off (she was as bad maybe more than Margaret) and I wanted a better ending for Christian Lemon. When he “confessed” to his crimes I was shocked I didn’t want him to do it but understood why he did it but for him to end up working as an instructor just felt unsatisfying. The story had potential and it fell flat. I would not forgive Grady for killing Max.

I’ve heard people saying how this is how they talked during the 80s and that it’s totally okay and that’s why they love this book. Grow up. Honestly. This book may take place in the 80s but the book was written in 2016. If you can’t do the math I’ll help you, that’s 7 years ago. And the author (a WHITE CIS-MALE mind you) wrote this book should’ve been my first red flag but it was free to hear so I didn’t mind it. Besides the whole fetishization of Abby’s father’s part with having a big black woman on a vhs tape, the school having a “slave day”, Abby and Gretchen having to say “Dearly But Not Queerly” just to say they love each other, the casual mention of slurs, and the purity talk (I don’t mind this since everyone had the right to choose when to sleep with someone), and worst of all the blackface. Also some people on Goodreads are saying that cancel culture is gonna cancel this book. No one is saying that they’re canceling Grady for writing this. The issue is him contributing into it and using the excuse of “we did this back in the day” well this was written 7 years ago he knew not to put the r-slur in the book but he did. He also knew not to put the over sexualization of a black women (which thanks to porn is still happening). The reason why people bring such topics up in their reviews is to warn others to not read this if they don’t want to. And I haven’t seen a page in the book with trigger warnings. I only found out because of tiktok that this would happen.

But besides all that, the one thing that made me not give this not even a 2.50 rating was the fact that Christian Lemon confessed to the crimes and that Good Dog Max died. I would never forget Grady Hendrix.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Racism, Animal death, Drug abuse, and Eating disorder

Minor: Rape and Violence

Black face. It has black face and fetishization of black women.

itsheyfay's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Eating disorder, Classism, Body horror, Animal death, Sexual assault, Violence, Vomit, Abandonment, and Drug use

Moderate: Kidnapping, Racism, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Gun violence, and Child death

Minor: Child abuse, Homophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Physical abuse

wivtch's review against another edition

mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Eating disorder

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Sexual assault

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

morag's review

dark emotional funny 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Eating disorder, Torture, and Bullying

Moderate: Racism and Rape

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

nickitaylor915's review

adventurous dark funny mysterious 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? No

3.0

"My Best Friend's Exorcism" is a horror novel that takes place in the 1980s and follows two best friends, Abby and Gretchen. After a night of experimenting with drugs, Gretchen begins to act strangely, leading Abby to believe that she may be possessed by a demon. The book is a blend of horror and comedy, and while I found some parts of the story to be genuinely scary, I also found other parts to be a bit too over-the-top and cheesy.

One of the strengths of the book is its exploration of the theme of friendship. The relationship between Abby and Gretchen is at the heart of the story, and the book does a good job of capturing the complexities of teenage friendships. The book also touches on themes of mental illness and the dangers of peer pressure.

While I enjoyed some aspects of "My Best Friend's Exorcism," I found the pacing to be a bit uneven, and some of the horror elements to be a bit too predictable. However, I would still recommend it to fans of horror-comedy and anyone looking for a fun, nostalgic read.

Summary:

"My Best Friend's Exorcism" is a horror-comedy novel set in the 1980s. The story follows two best friends, Abby and Gretchen, as they navigate the challenges of adolescence. After a night of experimenting with drugs, Gretchen begins to act strangely, leading Abby to believe that she may be possessed by a demon. The book explores themes of friendship, mental illness, and the dangers of peer pressure. While I found some parts of the story to be genuinely scary, I also found other parts to be a bit too over-the-top and cheesy. Overall, I would recommend this book to fans of horror-comedy and anyone looking for a fun, nostalgic read.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Racism

lilyintheshadows's review

dark emotional tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Body horror, Self harm, Excrement, and Animal death

Moderate: Bullying, Suicide attempt, Rape, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Racism and Homophobia