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A review by claresbookshelf
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
3 out of 5 stars.
The more I'm thinking about it, the more this book just made me feel sad. Like, the horror was good but the real horror was the absolute level of gaslighting the main character had to endure from everyone around her.
The true monster of this book wasn't the vampire; it was the misogyny of almost all the characters.
Also, trigger warning for my next points because this book contains multiple r*pes.
Did not need a full description of the 17 year old whilst she was being assaulted. Nor was there a need for two separate descriptions of the other r*pe that happens in this book. There are ways of including distressing topics like these in books without doing so in graphic detail.
Definitely not one of Hendrix's better works...
The more I'm thinking about it, the more this book just made me feel sad. Like, the horror was good but the real horror was the absolute level of gaslighting the main character had to endure from everyone around her.
The true monster of this book wasn't the vampire; it was the misogyny of almost all the characters.
Also, trigger warning for my next points because this book contains multiple r*pes.
Did not need a full description of the 17 year old whilst she was being assaulted. Nor was there a need for two separate descriptions of the other r*pe that happens in this book. There are ways of including distressing topics like these in books without doing so in graphic detail.
Definitely not one of Hendrix's better works...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Terminal illness