Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

34 reviews

starsnotshadows's review

challenging dark tense 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? Yes

2.0

I think this book taught me that I don't care for exorcism stories. I was interested in the sort of interpersonal drama and what possessed!Gretchen was going to do to sow chaos. But when it got to the exorcism, I was wildly turned off and grossed out and stressed out. I will definitely chalk that up to this not being my cup of tea. What I will attribute to the writing is the disappointing epilogue.

The entire book is centered on the power of friendship- it is in fact what makes the exorcism work- and youre telling me they were JUST "on and off best friends" who sometimes stopped talking completely for months at a time? hell no, the power of friendship is so much stronger than that. While I'm here in spoilers land, Good dog Max deserved way better. I really thought that the sedative was going to kick in before Gretchen could do what she was going to do.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Vomit

Moderate: Eating disorder, Rape, Blood, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Child abuse, Drug use, and Body shaming

Minor: Forced institutionalization and Homophobia

smylieman's review

dark medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Death, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Violence, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Car accident, Animal death, Body horror, Animal cruelty, Drug use, Eating disorder, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, and Rape

tiernanhunter's review

dark emotional funny 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Eating disorder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Confinement, Drug use, Homophobia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Medical content, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Grief, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Torture, Gun violence, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Violence

Minor: Cursing, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, and Forced institutionalization

nokibay's review

medium-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Sexual assault, Vomit, Torture, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, and Slavery

Minor: Domestic abuse, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, and Drug use

theyannibannireads's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

2.75

extra stars for the depiction of female friendships, that bit felt real the rest if the book was fine, kinda scary but that might just be cuz i read it alone at night. characters were stereotypical. i hated everyone who wasn't the girls but kinda got that was vibe the book was going for. like it was fine, a good distraction 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Body shaming, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Abortion, Blood, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Classism, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

geektastically's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

3.0

This was a really interesting and well written book. You feel the inspiration but once you get to the later half of the book some of the content really got to me because of how well the relationships and characters were written. Be careful reading this for sure. I'm only giving it a lower score because the back half really shook me and I had a hard time with it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Torture, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Classism, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Body shaming, Forced institutionalization, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Eating disorder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide attempt, Violence, Blood, Grief, Sexism, Bullying, Car accident, Chronic illness, Vomit, Body horror, Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Excrement, Misogyny, and Physical abuse

kurumipanda's review

dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Eating disorder, Chronic illness, Classism, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Death, Animal death, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, and Mental illness

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Body shaming, Terminal illness, Infidelity, Rape, and Forced institutionalization

the_comfy_cosy_corner's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Classism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Miscarriage, Addiction, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Body horror, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Colonisation, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, and War

nikogatts's review

dark emotional hopeful tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Gore, Toxic friendship, Body horror, Vomit, Eating disorder, Animal death, Self harm, Murder, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Alcoholism, Rape, Bullying, Car accident, Grief, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Sexism, Alcohol, Classism, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Sexual harassment, and Physical abuse

Minor: Death of parent, Mass/school shootings, Forced institutionalization, Slavery, Adult/minor relationship, and Terminal illness

eed8's review

adventurous dark funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Gore, Animal death, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Medical content, Drug use, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Mental illness, and Sexual assault