Reviews tagging 'Grief'

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

33 reviews

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

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

fanboyriot's review

dark mysterious 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? Yes

2.0

Read For:

✓ Exorcism

✓ 80s Horror

✓ Teen Angst 

✓ Childhood Trauma 

✓ High School Setting

˗ˏˋ ★ REVIEW ★ ˎˊ˗

Had decent hope for this after watching the movie but the book was disappointing.  While there were more details in the book, it overall felt a bit lackluster.

The build up dragged out for a bit longer than I would have liked.  The set up started out good enough but when it came down to the actual plot it felt like we would always learn something we should have already known.  And of course the dog death seemed unnecessary; it added nothing to the plot and felt too much like a last minute shock factor.  Lastly, the ending was disappointing, all of that just for friends to drift away?

Spice Level: n/a

Angst Level: 💧💧

POV: Third Person

Release Date: 17, May 2016

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

erika_winters's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-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

4.25

This book was definitely everything the blurbs on the front and back covers said it was; The Exorcist meets Heathers for sure! It brought us into the 80’s and showed us teen life during the decade of big hair and pop music. The time period itself acted as a character; living throughout the text as the characters sing to the likes of Madonna and Phil Collins, which Hendrix cleverly includes as each chapter’s title. The roller rink, the bright makeup, the patterns; all of this added to the texture of the time period and made it easy to visualize the atmosphere of a 1980’s horror film. I loved the friendship that Abby and Gretchen have; the inside jokes, the fake lyrics they come up with, the times spent together almost every day of the week that end in nightly phone calls. This is the kind of friendship all of us want and crave. Their bond eventually weakens when Gretchen gets possessed by a demon, which is truly such a disheartening thing to happen. It really broke my heart to see how Abby tries to save her friend and has to come to terms with her new reality while Gretchen suffers to find herself in the midst of demonic possession. It’s sad, slightly scary, grotesque, vile, and bloody, so stay cautious of that while reading, but overall, it was a great read! My only hang up in the book is that it didn’t start to take off and become engrossing until around page 100 (for me). I understand the foundation Hendrix wanted to lay down, and respect that, but the action builds up to that point (page 100) and then keeps getting more interesting from there! The ending made me sob as I read the last few pages under lamp light before heading to bed to start a new week, so I thank Hendrix for the beautiful and relentless female friendship he wrote into this book; it was truly special to see that kind of bond go through so much and make it out on the other side of things.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Violence, Blood, Vomit, and Grief

Moderate: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Please be aware of the above content warnings. This book is chock full of triggers for many folks, and can be very graphic at times when describing bodily harm and fluids!

arthomas's review

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

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

4.25

This horror story was the perfect way to transition from summer to fall reading. It really felt like an 80s movie and the detail painted a pretty vivid picture of the decade. Some sections of this book were particularly gruesome and made my skin crawl and there are definitely a lot of trigger warnings! Even though I knew what direction the book was going in, I was still surprised with what happened along the way. Bonus points for making me cry in the last 3 pages! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

haileyhardcover's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Not my favorite Hendrix, but a really good read nonetheless. The middle of this one kind of lagged for me. Things really ramp up in the final third, though, and I really enjoyed it from that point on. It’s gruesome and sad and yet also heartwarming? I may or may not have teared up while reading the last few paragraphs (I did). 

Very happy to give this book a permanent home on my shelves! Also can we talk about the cover?! Stunning. It makes me think of IT, probably because of the balloons. I love it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Eating disorder, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

celery's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

rosesofthespring's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Eating disorder, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Fatphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol

Minor: Rape

lancemama's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

izypup's review

emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Drug use, Gun violence, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail