Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

92 reviews

cimmarion's review

dark fast-paced

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

3.75

It was. interesting. there were some parts i really did enjoy and others im like. was this necessary??!?!? i have conflicting feelings lmao. the ending was good though

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

bookishgoob's review

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

irene_g08's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad 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

4.0

This book was so interesting, and had such a good plot. There was a lot of plot devices introduced early in the novel that played a big part later on into the story. The beginning to the end was such a rollercoaster that I was confused but I loved it. This is the types of horror novel that keeps you aware but it won’t scare you. The details were written in a way where you could feel and see them and will have a physical reaction to some of the writing. Definitely a 4 star read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Toxic friendship

fernyfh's review

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death and Abandonment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Classism

seawarrior's review

4.0

I have mixed feelings about this book, mostly because I hate the ideas usually put forth in exorcism stories. However, Hendrix worked to subvert the expectations of what exorcism entails, and was critical about the satanic panic that was popular during the era in which this book was set. His exploration of how young women are not believed when making accusations of harm were decent, yet I feel that he muddies his own message since the allegations Abby made on Gretchen's behalf were mostly, yet inadvertently, false. Hendrix's quick mentions of time-period "appropriate" racism were also jarring, given how they seemed almost thrown into the work to represent how vile people could be at this time, although he did not provide this subject with the seriousness it deserved before moving on. I did think Hendrix excelled at creating "gross-out" scenes that almost felt antagonistic, and that the resolution of the book was rewarding. After watching the movie, Hendrix's original work almost seems genius in comparison. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy stories that use typical horror conventions to make social critiques, even though I do feel its messages could have been sharpened. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Vomit, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting

Minor: Racism and Rape

lucimolri's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

3.5

3,5. La verdad me ha sorprendido bastante! Después de la decepción de The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires no me esperaba que este me fuera a gustar. La razón por la que no le doy 4 estrellas es porque me da mucha rabia cómo están escritos los personajes antagonistas, pero por lo demás ha estado muy bien (el capítulo 22??? 

la forma en la que describe todo lo de los gusanos buf buuuff

  Que maravillaaa, casi poto en el coche). Mis dieces a la narradora, lo hace genial!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Child death and Car accident

owenwilsonbaby's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.0

"The devil is loud and brash and full of drama. God, he's like a sparrow."

This was camp and fun! I loved it. Scary enough to be a quick, compelling read but not so disturbing that it interfered with my love for the characters. Hendrix's depiction of teenage isolation and anxiety was at times painful to read but delicately amplified the wider horror plot and tropes at work. The real demon is high school!!

Not going to articulate this very well but I think this book's willingness to tackle both the joy and terror of growing up in the eighties is its primary strength. There's a romance and excitement to the setting and time period but it avoids indulging a simplified, homogenised version of the American past that Myke Bartlett identifies in media like Stranger Things. Its exploration of class, racism, ableism and rape culture works to create an uneasiness at the heart of this horror story. Abby has to face down the devil whilst also battling prejudice and a lack of understanding from her peers and the adults in her life.

I don't have many criticisms, and those that I do have I think I can put down to the fact that this book is first and foremost oriented towards young adult readers and therefore written with a different demographic in mind. I did at times wonder if the story may have benefited from the complexity of exploring queerness (hence Abby's penultimate 'dearly and queerly!' confession) but I can appreciate the centring of platonic love and female friendship when recent nostalgic outings like Stranger Things and the IT movies seemed to, at least initially, explore male friendship. All that said, I really enjoyed this book. It made for a good break from long reads, and the pacing, prose and imagery were particularly fantastic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

mallory10100's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? No

5.0

based on the cover, i expected this to be a campy fun horror, but it was actually quite disturbing. pay attention to content warnings!! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Gun violence

Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Infertility, Racism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, and Classism

i recommend this for spooky season!!

kyrstin_p1989's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

A cute and creepy book about 2 teenage girls and their love for one another overpowering even the most powerful of demons. I loved that the titles of each chapter were a 80’s song title. The characters were lovable even when they were being jerks. The story, while unbelievable, was fun and lighthearted and made me think of a campy 80’s horror film. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

honeywine's review

adventurous dark sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.25

Loved this book, but it’s definitely not for the faint of heart.

The story trucked along and was somewhere between medium and fast paced. There weren’t many lulls throughout the book which made it an easy read to get lost in. 

Great demonic possession story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Slavery, Torture, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Dysphoria