Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

40 reviews

peskilanim's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Excrement, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Body horror, Rape, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Blood, and Classism

Moderate: Suicide, Slavery, Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Gun violence, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Drug use

jerbarger's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes

3.75

At first, MY BEST FRIENDS EXORCISM really annoyed me because it felt like a man writing about teenage girls (which it is, obviously, but there often comes this sort of tone and misunderstanding of what it is to be a teenage girl—and sometimes even this underlying dislike). 

I also didn’t appreciate all the casual racism and references to sexual assault. I see what Hendrix was trying to do and set the picture of the South, but it wasn’t ever really indicted? Like it seemed he did not approve from the tone of the main character when she mentioned these things but it was totally glossed over and also THERE WERE ONLY WHITE PEOPLE, so tell me how this improves the conversation? It doesn’t. And it almost made me stop reading the book. 

With all of that being said, it is a rather interesting and unique coming-of-age story. Her best friend is possessed by a demon, but who’s the real monster? The adults who don’t believe children? Society? Classism? The way Abby goes from feeling like a child to having the understanding that we are all truly alone in this world is devastating. And that’s what MY BEST FRIEND’S EXORCISM did best. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Violence, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Animal death, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Classism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Cursing, Rape, Drug use, Racism, and Slavery

Minor: Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Suicidal thoughts, Cultural appropriation, Excrement, and Racial slurs

katiebella_reads's review

challenging dark hopeful 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

5⭐️

Tigger Warning ⚠️ 
* dead abused animals
* rape talk
* Demon Possession 


Summery 

Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since they were 10yrs old. It's the summer of 1988, and as teens, they are coming into their own. Growing up and doing all the things they have always been told not to. They are young. They are honor students. They are invincible. Until they aren't. 

Gretchen is from the right part of town. Her parents belong to the right social clubs. They go to the right church. These kind of things don't happen to people like them.

Something is definitely wrong with Gretchen, but only Abby seems to understand that it's so much more than teenage angst. Gretchen is changing. Acting strangely. This isn't Gretchen.

My Thoughts 

Wow!!!! I loved it. The 80's child in me couldn't get enough. It is written exactly like the old style horror movies before the world was all AI and CGI. When movies were gritty and you could feel the fear of the actors. When you could relate to the bumps of an old car on a dirt road because it was really being driven, not special effects. This book is corny and cheesy in all the best ways!

Abby is the perfect example of a true high school teenager. Imperfect skin, worrying about her grades, and just trying to fit in. She is real and authentic. She shows true friendship to the extent she is willing to go to to save the people she cares about, even when it seems they no longer care for her. The author wrote her with such clarity that I could picture her walking down the school halls, hanging with friends, and bopping along to the soundtrack of life. It was easy to empathize with her. She is likable. She grows as the book goes along.

There is no doubt that Hendrix can write! This is the second book in a week that I have read by him, and as soon as I finished, I jumped online to order another. He protays horror in the way it should be done. The way I remember it growing up. Hitchcock and The Omen sprinkled in with some vibes of the movie The Craft. All the nostalgic feels with this read while keeping me turning pages and a breakneck speed. Goosebumps all grown up.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Blood, Animal cruelty, Rape, Animal death, Bullying, Toxic friendship, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Violence, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Death, Drug use, and Self harm

ynadavis's review against another edition

challenging medium-paced

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

0.5

If you catch me reading another Grady Hendrix, book, please assume that *I've* been possessed.

Like it's so easy to compare him to Riley Sager in the men using androgynous names to write exclusively female main characters club but at least Sager doesn't include discussion of sexual violence against literal children in all* of his books?

* Don't come at me if it's not ALL of them, this is book three of three at this point and I'm over it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, and Vomit

Minor: Lesbophobia, Animal cruelty, Death, Alcohol, Suicide, Bullying, Blood, Forced institutionalization, and Slavery

lizziaha's review against another edition

2.75

Ultimately, the focus on Abby and Gretchen’s friendship is this book’s saving grace. Some aspects of the horror were well-done as well, but I was annoyed that some things seemed to be put in for pure shock value, without ever being explained. This was also slightly more low-stakes than I expected it to be. And I disliked Hendrix’s cavalier bigotry for the sake of the “authentic” setting (the south in the 80s). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Torture, Animal death, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Bullying, Suicide attempt, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Moderate: Self harm, Confinement, Slavery, Sexual assault, Ableism, Abortion, Child abuse, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Racism, Sexual violence, and Mental illness

Minor: Mass/school shootings, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, and Homophobia

ahopper7's review

dark funny medium-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

3.0

This book was overall a disappointment for me. I was really hoping for 80s horror like Strangers Things, but you can really tell this was written in current times, in a bad way.

Here is what I loved:
- the main theme of besties for life, especially the way it ended
- the 80s references (caveat for the unnecessary slang that is now problematic, see below for dislike)
- the exorcism was hilarious for me, top notch 80s horror comedy scene 

Here is what didn’t work for me:
- overall the characters weren’t really likeable, like any of them, I feel like I can tell that a middle aged man wrote these teen girls 
- the wholly unnecessary problematic language (e.g. DBNQ, the ‘r’ word, comparing someone that to an Ethiopian child, “slave” day, etc.); I get it, the story is set in the 80s, it was a different time, etc. but the book was still written in 2016 and those references do NOTHING to advance the story or add to it, so I found it off-putting and unnecessary

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Animal death

Moderate: Eating disorder, Bullying, and Rape

Minor: Slavery, Drug use, and Alcohol

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

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

skylarkblue1's review

dark 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

1.75

Content Warnings: Racism, Ableism, Homophobia, Gore, Body Horror, Vomiting, Blood, Sexual Assault, Animal Death, Suicide Attempt/Thoughts, Drugs/Drugging, Violence, Death, Misogyny, Virginity Tests, Child Abuse

This was a conflicting read for me. On one hand, I love Grady’s other works and really enjoy his writing. On the other hand….. Were these many slurs needed (*literally*) constantly? I get it’s the 80s, but everyone knows those slurs and bigotry went unchecked heavily back then and it’s included in this book as just throwaway jokes and not really any commentary about that of the time.

This book is essentially the story of someone’s best friend being slowly possessed more and more as time goes by and everyone around them just seems to.. Not care. She’s trying to kill others and being seriously down-right evil but no it’s everyone around her who’s the problem - including the main character.

This book is incredibly slow, the odd moments happening here and there and like 85% of the book is just the main character trying to get *anyone* to believe their - what seems to be - insane story.

I loved Horrorstör so when I saw this one was another of his highly acclaimed books I needed to read it. But now I’m just kinda… confused? The horror wasn’t overly good and I didn’t really feel like there was any tension there. The only parts I reacted to was the

tape worm scene

just because of the graphic description rather than any actual horror or tension that was built up.

The ending was certainly a mixed bag. Badly timed attempts at comedy in the middle of what should have been tense and emotional, even more slurs randomly thrown in, abuse and then a very emotional bittersweet ending slightly ruined by the fact they’re “just” best friends (very minor spoiler on this topic:

despite literally saying this exact phrase in a serious way “I love you queerly” (yes, in a slur way but still. It was written to be taken seriously)

.

I think the ending could have saved a decent chunk of this book without the slurs and the “best friend” syndrome, but with those it kinda just fell a bit flat to me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Slavery, Ableism, Violence, Sexual assault, Eating disorder, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Physical abuse, Drug use, and Body horror

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Suicide attempt, Vomit, and Misogyny

jareadforfilth's review against another edition

challenging dark funny 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Gore, Vomit, Kidnapping, Animal death, Toxic friendship, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Sexism, Gun violence, Slavery, and Rape

Minor: Adult/minor relationship