Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

78 reviews

laura_nel13's review

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Classism

jj_whatsherface's review

dark funny hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

any book containing the phrase "Tommy Cox, defend us in battle," is an automatic win.

And then defeating the devil with a soda can, an eighties song, and the power of love is just the cherry on top.

Beautiful book, perfect cast, made me feel both happy and a little disgusted at the same time. A beautiful encapsulation of the 80s satanic panic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Drug use, Eating disorder, Rape, Toxic relationship, Blood, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Religious bigotry, and Car accident

lexybro's review

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Sexual violence, and Vomit

arthomas's review

adventurous challenging dark medium-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? Yes

4.25

This horror story was the perfect way to transition from summer to fall reading. It really felt like an 80s movie and the detail painted a pretty vivid picture of the decade. Some sections of this book were particularly gruesome and made my skin crawl and there are definitely a lot of trigger warnings! Even though I knew what direction the book was going in, I was still surprised with what happened along the way. Bonus points for making me cry in the last 3 pages! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

jordanog4's review

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, and Toxic friendship

hocuscrocus's review

dark emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.5

I usually don't like it when books set in the 80s go for the nostalgic references all the time, but the ones in this book felt natural and fun. I enjoyed it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

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.

whatsgoingonrnhelp's review

dark tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gore, Rape, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Eating disorder, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, and Pregnancy

thewhimsicallibrarian's review

dark tense

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, and Vomit