Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

38 reviews

theakilahbrown's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 
This was a fast read for me, in that I burned through about half of it in one day. The premise is basically "What if horror movies were real? What happens to those final girls after their movies are over?" The short answer is that they would form a support group. The long answer is that the horror is never truly over for them for a variety of reasons.

This is a horror book that critiques horror books, so, on the one hand, a lot of the commentary was on point, but on the other hand, I found myself wishing at times that it wasn't a *horror* book so that the point could be made in other ways, but that's not really the point of the book. As much as it is about movie monsters, it's also about real life monsters and the impact they have on the women (and children) they harm and what the glorification of movie monsters means. So, basically, it's like Scream but with a feminist bent.

I thought Lynnette was an interesting choice of a main character for many reasons, but one of the big ones is that she's not a "true" final girl because she didn't kill her monster like the other women did, and she also has the smallest life and is the most paranoid. I think there was a missed opportunity for Hendrix to get into WHY the other women made different choices because it almost seems like he's saying Lynnette made the right choice, which I don't necessarily agree with. There also should have been way more female friendship stuff in here, but it is there so I can't complain too much.

Those are relatively minor quibbles, though. I liked the book overall and thought it was smart and engaging. I wasn't sure at first how I felt about the ending, especially who the real life monster turned out to be, but the more I think about it, the more I like and appreciate it, so there's also that.

Some quotes:

Does this ever end? Will there always be someone out there turning little boys into monsters? Will we always be final girls? Will there always be monsters killing us?

I won't let messed-up parents keep making monsters, and I won't let these boys keep making more final girls. It's not some profound and ancient ritual. It's just a waste of life.

All in all, I would recommend it, especially if you're a fan of horror movies and/or badass women. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction and Chronic illness

Minor: Animal cruelty, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual violence

artistneutral's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Gun violence

Moderate: Mental illness

Minor: Sexual violence

middumullu's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-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

3.25

definitely a book with an unreliable narrator! it was really interesting and since i like horror, using the slasher genre as the backdrop for everything happening was engaging - especially thought the chapter titles were funny. i was impressed with how accurately this author conveyed the fear of men that people can experience, and all of the intricacies of cult obsession with serial killers. i liked the ending of it, that the whole book focused on older women. the phrase "final girl" was kind of overused throughout the story, but i liked reading the conversation about these different stereotypes or constructs people can place themselves in. would have liked to see more of the ideas or themes followed through more consistently, it definitely wrapped up quickly.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Police brutality, Stalking, and Car accident

Minor: Sexual violence

sheaisaliterarywreck's review against another edition

dark 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

3.0

I wanted to love this book. I did. I did. I did.

I did not.

Trigger warnings: depictions of violence, gore, gun violence, emotional and psychological abuse, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, discussion and implication of sexual trauma and assault, instances of negative/derogatory language about mental health issues.

Trope-y Summary: Unreliable Narrator sees a major danger coming, but no one believes her—the girl who cried wolf and all that. Now UN must embark on a dangerous quest to both save her friends and convince them they need to save themselves.

Hendrix's writing is fast-paced and easy-to-read. I actually quite liked the odd glimpses of reddit threads and newspaper clippings that were interspersed between chapters, as well. My good things to say about the book might end there.

I'm a sucker for an unreliable narrator, but I'm not certain I've ever encountered one quite as unreliable as Lynne. I found her distorted reality actually quite difficult to try to co-exist in with her (I found reading from her perspective quite anxiety-inducing—as was the point, I'm sure). I think Lynne is supposed to have OCD—(view spoiler)—, but the portrayal was lacklustre. Granted, as someone who has OCD, I am overly bored of OCD only being depicted through pushed-to-the-brink recluses and what I like to call one-hit-wonders (characters who miraculously have their OCD show up in only one "theme" or tiny area of their life that never evolves as their values shift like the chronic ego-dystonic illness actually does). Lynne is somehow both of these tropes I dislike.

Also, MAJOR ENDING SPOILER:

I did not like how the book tied together slasher films and mass shootings in its ending. The nearly school-aged children using automatic rifles for glory...

It made a point, but not an insightful one IMO

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Sexual assault and Suicidal thoughts

atisha27's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Cannibalism, Stalking, and Sexual harassment

jenny_librarian's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

3.5

I have to say, as disturbing as it was, I enjoyed The Book Club's Guide a lot more. This book is just a slasher in novel form, and the transition from screen to written word just doesn't work.

It's a thriller (there's little gore apart from details of mutilated bodies here and then) and it feels too easy and not thought out enough to really hit the mark. It's enjoyable, but nothing amazing.

I also kept wondering if this kind of story really should be written by a man. The commentary on slasher movies and the violence done to women didn't feel as genuine knowing they came from someone who isn't subjected to this kind of things.

Not completely devoid of interest, but stick to slasher movies if you like the genre.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Gore, Gun violence, Car accident, and Gaslighting

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Vomit, Medical trauma, and Stalking

davidrb's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

4.5

If you read Sager's Final Girls and was wildly disappointed like I was, this is the perfect balm. The plot moves, the characters are dynamic and sympathetic, and the story is wonderfully steeped in horror tropes. It plays with the genre and critiques it while also maintaining a wonderful respect for it.

Points deducted for

killing the black character first, a horror trope that this book sadly does not subvert

.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

chelseydenney's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

I really enjoyed this book. The pace varied but I often found myself not wanting to put it down and reading far more than I intended. I haven’t really been reading much recently but I got through this book in 4 days. 
The only gripe I have is that I personally realised the perpetrator very early on. It was also a little confusing to try and work out which last girl some of the additional information was about between chapters but that could have been intentional. All in all a very solid read and I’d definitely recommend… but only if you have a strong stomach because it’s DARK. No graphic sexual violence but there is a lot of very gory moments. Particularly in the flashbacks. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Police brutality, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Sexual violence, Vomit, and Stalking