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emry's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death
themissyreads's review
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Vomit, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Classism
Minor: Rape, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, and Cultural appropriation
Restrictive dieting, parental neglect, discussion/referenced Satanic Panic, referenced divorce, Institutional violence, powerlessness,cwallace1005's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Eating disorder, Gore, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Cursing, Physical abuse, Violence, Kidnapping, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Drug use and Rape
sea_sea's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Also Abby and Gretchen were definitely more than friends ;)
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Racism, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Ableism
tifftastic87's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Synopsis
Abby is a scholarship girl at a prestigious private school in South Carolina in the 80s. By the standards of the era and the region, she is an outcast. That is until a new girl comes to town, Gretchen, and becomes Abby's ride or die. Everything goes down hill when Gretchen runs off to the woods one night and comes back a little wrong. Gretchen's behavior starts spiraling out of control, none of the adults believe Abby and she finds herself ostracized and on the verge of expulsion. It all culminates when the only adult that believes Abby is a muscle bound, neon clad, evangelist. But will his faith and Abby's determination be enough to save Gretchen?
High Camp Tension
This was so campy and satirical that it really made the story for me. I have a lot of religious trauma around "deliverance" so was really pleased that it was handled in such a campy way, that made the uncomfortable bits a little easier to stomach. Every time I felt my stomach clenching there would be some sort of comedic relief. If that is not necessarily something that you look for in a horror, and I usually don't either, then maybe this one isn't for you.
Girl Crew
At first Abby is extremely unlikable, at least to me, she is selfish and whiny and somewhat rude. But she has a good moment where she makes a decision on who she wants to be and her character just changes from there to a very likeable, if not frustrating (stand up for yourself woman!), character. The friendship dynamic among the girls is actually pretty relatable to growing up in the 80s/90s. I don't know how teens treat each other now, but even in to the very early 00s this felt pretty true to form. I have heard from some reviewers that Grady Hendrix is "banned" from writing women after Final Girl Support Group, but I actually really liked how he did it here.
The Satanic Panic of it All
This, combined with the War on Drugs, was so perfect. I think this is what I wanted out of Whisper Down the Lane and was severely disappointed in that book. Abby is accused of selling drugs and committing satan worship, when she's probably the most quintessential high school student, but doing it all with perfect grades. Any time any of the kids has an emotion the adults are quick to ask "are you on drugs?" Which feels so, well, real. I have strong memories of very similar conversations in my youth.
In Short
I really enjoyed this book, I thought some of it could have been better. But only by bits and pieces. I really loved all of the chapters being named after songs from the era and how important music was to the story itself. I think this is a case where pop culture references were done very well. I would definitely recommend this to people who are new to horror, as it is very light on the horror. Though do check the content warnings.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, and Sexual content
killmoore_'s review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Okay.. first.. are we not going to talk about the amount of times Hendrix wrote Abbys parents as "Mr or Mrs Lang" instead of Rivers? It bugged the hell out of me. The editing in this was attrocious. Multiple weird character mixups throughout that I latched on to, and it honestly kind of ruined the rest of the book for me, haha. Also, what was the point of the entire first chapter?
It was slow. It was corny. It was a bit painful to read at times. The exorcism itself was a bit lack luster, and the characters were shallow and forgettable (looking at you Lemon). The only saving grace here was Margaret's story, and honestly, she deserved it.
If 80's cheese horror/teenage bimbo drama is your cup of tea, Grady nailed it. Lots of feel good friendship moments, some mildly yucky body horror, and a lot of language that is frowned upon these days.
Considering the rhythm and quality of Hendrixs other novels, this truly felt like he had a deadline coming up and pushed this out as quickly as possible. It's a shame.
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
smylieman's review
- Loveable characters? No
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
itsheyfay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Drug use, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Abandonment, and Classism
Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Racism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, and Physical abuse
joscelynhe's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
thehhugg's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Eating disorder, Gore, Self harm, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Addiction, Body shaming, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Alcohol, and Classism