Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

14 reviews

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

zskadina's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Great book!

BUT WHY DID THE DOG HAVE TO DIE HUH?????

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Blood, Abortion, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Drug use, Rape, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual harassment

shaunashares's review against another edition

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Eating disorder, Gore, Blood, Abortion, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Mass/school shootings

lizziaha's review against another edition

2.75

Ultimately, the focus on Abby and Gretchen’s friendship is this book’s saving grace. Some aspects of the horror were well-done as well, but I was annoyed that some things seemed to be put in for pure shock value, without ever being explained. This was also slightly more low-stakes than I expected it to be. And I disliked Hendrix’s cavalier bigotry for the sake of the “authentic” setting (the south in the 80s). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Blood, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Confinement, Gore, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Abortion, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Homophobia, and Mass/school shootings

arielroots's review

adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

This was a super fun read! It was fast paced but it had the perfect amount of build up for the pay off, and I felt satisfied by the ending. A true book for bestiea. There were some parts that may be triggering to some readers so be cautious as there are some darker themes present but they are covered tastefully....at least as tastefully as it can be in a book about exorcism.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Torture

Moderate: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Abortion

franksalot's review

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Eating disorder, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Drug use, Fatphobia, Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Racism, and Abortion

mickraine's review

adventurous dark lighthearted 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Excrement, Medical content, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

Minor: Homophobia, Rape, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death of parent, and War

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

juliamb's review

dark 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? No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Vomit, and Abortion

Moderate: Addiction, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Toxic friendship

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