A review by squeeb13
The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

dark emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I thought this was nonfiction until I actually started reading it, and that is okay. I found the premise of the story to be quite unique and intriguing, which is why I chose to read this one. I will say that the overt references to various slasher franchises and characters is way too on the nose for my taste. It doesn’t ruin anything, but anyone that is interested in reading this story doesn’t need that kind of thing to be spoon fed to them the way that this book does. I will say though, I really do respect the direction that the author took with all of this. He tackles a real issue with grace and does it in a way that leaves you walking away with not only a quality insight into female victims of violence, but also something to build on. The only parts of this book that I really did not like were the few twists and turns toward the end, and the character of Stephanie as a whole. The twists felt a little too perfect to happen to our very intelligent main character, and Stephanie gives out some flat out cringe inducing dialogue at the end in an attempt to be a badass. Maybe that was the point, and there’s supposed to be an underlying irony to the majority of her character, but it still left me feeling unsatisfied with the second half of this book. All in all, as a horror fan I enjoyed this book as a thriller and there were a lot of aspects about it that itched my brain nicely. It had real elements of gruesome horror, it had psychological terror and a general feel of unease. Most importantly though, it had a sense of purpose and a sense of meaning that gave everything more weight when it finally did wrap up. Something that horror fans such as myself are not quite used to when we watch the schlock we do at times. Check this one out if you haven’t already, it’s fun to read if nothing else.