Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

239 reviews

hxlleann's review

challenging dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting

Minor: Bullying, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Excrement, Mass/school shootings, and Alcohol

lonerangerl30's review

dark funny mysterious reflective 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

Overall, the story of Abby and Gretchen’s friendship (and an exorcism) was well worth reading. I did not expect to feel so much at the end of the story, so it was a nice surprise after such an intense journey! I  appreciated many of the characters, who often provided a glimpse into the challenges of being a teenager during a different time period than my own. 

I would suggest checking content warnings prior to reading, as some parts of the book were very descriptive.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Drug use, Eating disorder, and Racism

Minor: Death of parent

hocuscrocus's review

dark emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.5

I usually don't like it when books set in the 80s go for the nostalgic references all the time, but the ones in this book felt natural and fun. I enjoyed it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

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

themichellegray's review

dark emotional 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

5.0

I wasn't anticipating a book paying homage to the 80's while being inundated with body horror, religious bigotry, and racism to make me cry but here we are.

Grady Hendrix's writing gripped me from the first page and each multi-faceted character intrigued me until the very end. While I was waiting for a big twist for the majority of this story, I appreciated the ending so much more than anything my imagination could conjure up.

At the end of the day, this was a story about the strength of genuine friendship and how it can stand the test of time. If you can tolerate the trigger warnings I highly recommend picking this up during the spooky season!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Racism, Self harm, Violence, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Drug use and Sexual assault

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

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

toto8's review

dark funny 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? No

4.0

different to the horror books I usually read but it was quite enjoyable. I'd describe the vibes as classic horror comedy if it was a teen flic marketed towards girls. I loved that the focal point was friendship despite this being a horror novel 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Suicide attempt

Minor: Homophobia

ssummar's review

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

mama_turtlez's review

adventurous dark emotional funny sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Rape, and Classism

ericaaaaal's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Vomit

Moderate: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Suicide attempt, and Cultural appropriation