Reviews tagging 'Violence'

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

199 reviews

randomspirits's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Alcohol

elonn's review

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

3.5

This was a story about friendship, trauma, and the horrors of both the supernatural and the real world. The bond between the two main characters felt authentic, and I appreciated that the girls in the friend group weren’t typical female stereotypes found in most high school or coming-of-age stories. It also accurately captured how school friendships are often based on proximity rather than shared interests—the girls barely liked each other but were still “friends,” which felt very true to real life. I also loved how

the final exorcism drew on symbols of Abby and Gretchen’s connection

. The power lifter evangelists made me laugh as I vividly remember guys like that performing at church as a child.

What stood out most, though, was how the cruelty of the time shaped the girls’ experiences. The apathy, ignorance, and casual cruelty from family, friends, teachers, and authority figures were just as awful—if not worse—than the actions of the demon. The story unflinchingly portrayed the racism, rape culture, and exploitation of young girls in the 1980s, capturing a world where they had no allies, not even each other.

Some things didn’t work for me. The inclusion of images like magazine quizzes and food journals felt like a good idea in theory, but their sudden appearance late in the story and abrupt disappearance made the concept feel out of place and unfinished. The ending also

dragged on unnecessarily into old age, and the lack of resolution around Molly’s murder felt like a missed opportunity.

Despite its flaws, this messy, imperfect story accurately depicts the terror and heartbreak of being young and vulnerable in a cruel world.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Murder, Lesbophobia, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Suicide, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

nutmegandpumpkin's review

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

***major MAJOR emetophobia warning
**as well as those grossed out or who have a fear of bugs, worms, and parasites
*there is also vivid descriptions of cadavers opened up & dead fetuses

Not my kind of horror. It went more the gross route than scary/spooky route.

The cover and how I’ve heard people talk about this made me have much different expectations. I thought it was going to be Stranger Things meets The Conjuring. But it was more just 80s pop culture references meets The Exorcist with some high school girl drama.

I was disappointed to say the least.

None of the characters were likable apart from Abby (well most of the time anyways) and her mother. All the adults apart from Abby’s mother are infuriating. And actually, this book infuriated me many MANY times, and left me feeling extremely grossed out & ill even more times than that.

I will give credit where credit is due, the last two pages were very sweet and lovely.

I think he was going for 80s campy horror movie but it just fell flat and like he didn’t fully commit either. 

Don’t hate me but, dare I say, this was way overhyped

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Classism

Minor: Rape, Sexual content, and Suicide

alyshaautumn's review

emotional funny medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Eating disorder, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and Vomit

bethnash's review

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Eating disorder, Gore, Violence, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug use, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Excrement, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol

bringmorecoffee's review

dark emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated

4.0

The book does read exactly like a summer horror flick. It's giving Jennifer's Body, a little bit of Stranger Things, some of the vibes from the Fear Street series on Netflix. It was very fast paced, going through many years in a short amount of time while making it seem like a thoroughly fleshed out montage. 

Sometimes horror being set in the protagonist's teen years feels "overdone," but I think part of the digestible horror of it is how little agency a young adult has and how much they are never believed for the hardships they are going through. 

Anyway, the friendship that Hendrix shows us is one that I think most people have either experienced or had a taste of, which makes the pain of the story all the more potent. 

Very recommend for a fast, fun read. Like a good 90 minute movie. 

Spoiler ahead 

Hendrix really ended this book by rhetorically asking 

"What could be more holy than friendship? What could be more pure than the love of a young heart and a shared history? What is more evil than the world we live in and the things we do to each other, and what is a better light against that darkness than the spark of hope and belief in another person?" 

I was bawling, I was a wreck. As Abby recited every inch of their shared history to expel a demon from her friend, I cried because that love is honestly everything. I thought of every person I could exercise with this "incantation," every friend whom I love and could recite the building blocks of our relationship for. I hope that was Hendrix's aim, too.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, and Classism

jennxreviews's review

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

dummythicc's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

This book was hard for me to read at times, I'm not sure if it is because the book is stuck between comedy/horror, and I couldn't get a good grip on it. 

If you like 80s nostalgia and a good exorcism story, this book will definitely interest you. For me, the writing was a little too juvenile at times, and the ending was kind of lack-luster. But I still enjoyed it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, and Suicide attempt

jesikakaley's review

dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

efm2110's review

dark emotional funny 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug use, Eating disorder, and Self harm