Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

135 reviews

abelle's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Violence, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol

buzzpoet's review

emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Self harm, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism

randomspirits's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Alcohol

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

bethnash's review

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Eating disorder, Gore, Violence, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug use, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Excrement, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent, 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

chris_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Rape, Torture, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting

Minor: Bullying, Drug abuse, Racism, Blood, Medical trauma, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic

ahh_listen's review

emotional funny hopeful tense slow-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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Sexual assault, Alcohol, and Classism

laura_nel13's review

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Classism

elleyena_rose's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

2.5

I wanted to like this book.  I really did. The pitch was promising, the cover and art inside are great (though some of the images are unreadable on kindle). I love 80s media like Heathers and all the songs in the book, and it's ultimately about the power of friendship (and that's one of the few things that caused me to boost my rating to 2.5 stars)

But some of the language and jokes at the beginning, while likely accurate for the time, weren't necessary to the plot and could/probably should have been cut. Thankfully that either dropped off quickly (or I just stopped noticing it when the descriptions got more graphic and I got ill while reading). 

Just as some reviewers don't understand a rating less than five stars,  I don't understand how anyone could rate it at a 4 or 5. This book ultimately wasn't for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Torture, Vomit, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Minor: Drug use, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

CW because animal death was not clear enough

the possessed character kills her dog

also there's graphic descriptions of

tapeworms

coming out of someone's mouth