Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

20 reviews

poppyseedromance's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0


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eed8's review

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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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mallory10100's review

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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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puzzling_penwing's review

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dark funny tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0


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amorg2013's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.75


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blklagoon's review

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adventurous dark emotional sad 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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deadchupacabra's review

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Author is a creep, and it shows in the book.

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alycatlovesbooks's review

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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? Yes

4.75


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coffinfinite's review

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dark emotional 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

I went into My Best Friend's Exorcism expecting a fun horror romp with some 80s nostalgia. Instead I found a harrowing tale of evengelical Christian purity culture amplified by the satanic panic of that same era. While the nostalgia element was still present for the pop culture of the time, the oppressive nature of the 80's Southern American values and prejudices are what really power the story of Gretchen Lang's possession and the havoc that it wreaks upon the lives of her friends.

The friendship between Gretchen and perspective protagonist Abby is what lends the book much of its emotional weight. Together they face injustice and violence at the hands of the incompetent and sometimes malicious adults who control their lives, and the sense of hopelessness that grows as the book progresses is palpable, and where much of the true horror comes from. By the book's conclusion I was far more frightened by the small minded mentality of the story's town than I was of the literal demon sowing chaos there.

I would highly recommend this book to those who love Final Girl horror, to those who enjoyed both The Exorcist and Mean Girls, and to anyone who wants to see why purity culture is a far bigger threat to young women than Satan.

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readingdanger's review

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dark funny hopeful medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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