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elderwoodreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Murder, Blood, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Stalking, Alcoholism, Cancer, Car accident, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Addiction, and Kidnapping
Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, Ableism, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, and Confinement
punkrockingnerd's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Violence, Cancer, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Death, Mental illness, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Alcohol, Car accident, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Ableism, Animal death, Torture, Cannibalism, Self harm, Confinement, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, and Emotional abuse
travelseatsreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
A great fun read which plays of many horror/slasher tropes but I felt the end got a little too Rambo-ish for my liking which distracted from my enjoyment of some great twists.
I really enjoyed Grady's writing style though so will be going back for more.
Full review to come.
Graphic: Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Toxic friendship, Grief, and Stalking
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Animal death
ricksilva's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
So the concept is a support group for survivors of the "real events" that inspired those slasher films. The author uses renamed but pretty obvious stand-ins for Halloween, Friday the Thirteenth, Nightmare on Elm Street, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Scream, Silent Night Deadly Night (really kind of an amalgam of holiday-season horror tropes), and (I am guessing a bit here; this one got the the fewest details) Leprechaun.
The survivors, now middle-aged, meet regularly for group therapy with a therapist specializing in survivors of violence. Now, the violence has found them again. Holiday season massacre survivor Lynette had dedicated her life to isolation and self-protection, but her carefully-laid defenses fall apart and events go out of control rapidly.
This was a fun story with a lot of nostalgia and some solid deconstructing of the horror movie tropes that inspired it. The characters are all flawed and scarred, but they were great fun to cheer on. The plot was loaded with twists, some predictable, but a decent amount unexpected.
The story is extremely violent, especially in the flashbacks to the horror movie scenarios, which are made more disturbing because we get to see the realist aftermaths of movies that normally cut to credits the moment the action is over. The grief, trauma, and long-term injuries give further impact to the violence of the various murder sprees.
The worldbuilding based on the premise that all of the slasher films were actual movies but were adaptations of the stories of real crimes was intriguing, and there was enough left unanswered (especially about this world's version of Nightmare on Elm Street) to warrant a sequel. Which is something every good (and almost every bad) slasher film should have.
Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Violence, Blood, Gun violence, Mental illness, and Child death
Moderate: Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, and Police brutality
Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death
ksanderss's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, and Murder
Moderate: Torture, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Car accident, and Violence
eve_reads's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
⁕ This book is a (somewhat comedic ode) to the final girls of slasher films like Chainsaw Massacre, Nightmare on Elm Street, etc. There are supposedly lot's of hidden gems referencing these films throughout the novel. As someone who's not the biggest fan of the horror film industry, I missed most if not all of these connections.... BUT, overall, I still was able to understand and enjoy the plot on its own without external knowledge of those films.
⁕ As previously mentioned, this book teeters on the edge of dark humor. Yes, there is some very real, very tough commentary on gender-based violence, trauma, and the impact that media can have on these topics. However, this is still a Hendrix novel. It's grandly ridiculous and the reader must be willing to adhere a higher level of suspended disbelief in order to enjoy it for what it is.
⁕ The main "message" Hendrix tries to hit home at the end of the novel seems to be one of solidarity across the experience of womanhood (and all the trauma that comes with it). My issue with this is that (a) this theme was pretty half-baked throughout the action of the book until it was brought to the forefront in the conclusion, and (b) I have mixed feelings about a male author profiting off of a book that is based at its core on violence towards women.
To read my full review, visit: https://evereads.online/
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Graphic: Stalking, Blood, Torture, Child death, Body horror, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Gun violence, Animal death, Gore, and Murder
mfrisk's review
- 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
I’m glad to say this final girl read was a totally different experience. This read had multimedia, complex characters, discussion of final girls and how the media views and portrays them, and was action-packed. It reminded me a lot of Scream mixed with the Final Girls movie with equal parts found family elements, dry humor, and slasher action scenes.
Graphic: Death of parent, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, Addiction, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Alcohol, Vomit, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Grief, and Police brutality
Minor: Animal death and Animal cruelty
cgoiris's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Hendrix clearly has great insight into horror tropes, given that this entire book is very meta and full of nods to the classics.
That said, I expected this insight to take the story somewhere unexpected. The thing is, most characters fall pretty flat and the plot twist revelations are either easy to figure out beforehand when hinted at, or completely absurd and nonsensical when not hinted at (those who've read it will know).
I usually like an unreliable narrator, but Grady employs it in a really frustrating way to force the plot sometimes, which makes some parts pretty nonsensical.
Grady seems to have a theme going for him: great concepts, poor execution with a bit of a sizzle instead of a bang.
Enjoyable read if you like figuring out all the nods to classic horror along the way.
Graphic: Gun violence, Torture, Gore, Violence, Death of parent, Death, Child death, Mental illness, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Alcohol
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism
childofmongreldogs's review
- 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
Kept me on my toes, constantly guessing what would happen next and who was at fault. Cast of characters was sadly a bit dull and less fleshed out than one would hope for.
Moderate: Death, Police brutality, Addiction, Blood, Car accident, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Minor: Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Rape
apestforwrens's review
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Physical abuse, Medical content, Misogyny, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Mental illness, and Grief
Moderate: Chronic illness, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Medical content, Police brutality, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Animal death, Cancer, Confinement, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, Child abuse, Cursing, Mental illness, and Abandonment
Its a slasher, there is genre typical content. Because it takes place from within the heroine's head, there is some derealization.