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dannys_book_corner 's review for:
The Final Girl Support Group
by Grady Hendrix
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Premise
The Final Girl Support Group (“TFGSG”) has a unique and smart premise: what happens to the final girls of the classic slashers the credits start rolling and the audience leaves the cinema? They’ve survived the blood-thirsty massacres and now have to live with their harrowing experiences, how do they cope with their trauma and what kind of lives can they now be expected to live? TFGSG wants to tackle that premise and does so by drawing a lot of influence from the films that made the genre whilst preserving Grady Hendrix’s own method of storytelling.
What did I like
The plot really was a highlight of TFGSG and one of my favourite aspects. I would say this is a thriller/mystery rather than a horror, so if you’re looking for a good scare then I’d try elsewhere. The plot wasn’t necessarily ground-breaking in how it unfolded, but it was still an exciting read with memorable characters that kept me absorbed in the book. I particularly enjoyed the fact that the main character is an unreliable narrator, meaning that you can’t always trust what she tells you. Hendrix also spatters a good amount of humour into the book which can be uplifting in certain scenarios.
The main group of characters (the final girls) are interesting and have their own complex personalities. There is no perfect character and they may not always get along, they are hurt individuals that are in need of a therapy that few can give them. As we are introduced to each of the final girls in turn we learn about their origins which uses plot points from various classic slasher films including Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Friday the 13th. They all react differently to their different but shared pasts, whether that be becoming an alcohol or a recluse, and Hendrix articulates this well in each one. A strong point of TFGSG is understanding how the main character has adapted her life to the trauma of her past, and how that has affected her interactions with the world with us, the reader, learning about her methods of survival as the story progresses. There aren’t too many supporting characters to keep a track of and the author does a fantastic job in making them real, even when they have little page time.
Interspersed between chapters we get write-ups on the fall-out of the final girl’s traumas which were a fun and clever distraction from the main story. They rarely affected the pacing of the book because the author clearly has a wealth of knowledge of this genre and wrote these in a fun, interesting manner.
What didn’t work for me
Whilst the premise is unique, the execution for me still leaned too much into tropes and cliches, despite it reading at first as a story that was going to avoid these. The idea behind following the survivors was great, and a lot of the build-up to the ending was different from the usual picking-characters-off-one-at-a-time method, but towards the end the story still relied on tropes that have graced slasher films for many years. I would have liked to have been surprised in more ways.
I mentioned the flawed main character, a final girl that is untrustworthy but has been on edge ever since her incident. At times she felt a bit clueless, and while I don’t want a perfect main character I would have liked a bit more competency from her to care more about her. While she does, however, come more into her own when the other final girls are in need, I would have liked this attitude earlier in the story. I found myself caring more for some of the supporting cast than her.
Conclusion
TFGSG is a fun, binge-worthy read that, while ends up not being as ground-breaking as I’d hoped, is certainly worth your time. If you’re in a bit of a reading slump then TFGSG is worth a go as it gets into its groove early and doesn’t let up until the final page.
I’d recommend this to people who like thrillers and mysteries sprinkled with easter eggs and pop culture references. You ideally want to be somewhat familiar with the films that the book is influenced by to appreciate it fully (although not necessarily all sequels and prequels and retcons and reboots), but this isn’t essential and doesn’t stop this being a fun read because much of the backstories are provided throughout the book.
The Final Girl Support Group (“TFGSG”) has a unique and smart premise: what happens to the final girls of the classic slashers the credits start rolling and the audience leaves the cinema? They’ve survived the blood-thirsty massacres and now have to live with their harrowing experiences, how do they cope with their trauma and what kind of lives can they now be expected to live? TFGSG wants to tackle that premise and does so by drawing a lot of influence from the films that made the genre whilst preserving Grady Hendrix’s own method of storytelling.
What did I like
The plot really was a highlight of TFGSG and one of my favourite aspects. I would say this is a thriller/mystery rather than a horror, so if you’re looking for a good scare then I’d try elsewhere. The plot wasn’t necessarily ground-breaking in how it unfolded, but it was still an exciting read with memorable characters that kept me absorbed in the book. I particularly enjoyed the fact that the main character is an unreliable narrator, meaning that you can’t always trust what she tells you. Hendrix also spatters a good amount of humour into the book which can be uplifting in certain scenarios.
The main group of characters (the final girls) are interesting and have their own complex personalities. There is no perfect character and they may not always get along, they are hurt individuals that are in need of a therapy that few can give them. As we are introduced to each of the final girls in turn we learn about their origins which uses plot points from various classic slasher films including Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Friday the 13th. They all react differently to their different but shared pasts, whether that be becoming an alcohol or a recluse, and Hendrix articulates this well in each one. A strong point of TFGSG is understanding how the main character has adapted her life to the trauma of her past, and how that has affected her interactions with the world with us, the reader, learning about her methods of survival as the story progresses. There aren’t too many supporting characters to keep a track of and the author does a fantastic job in making them real, even when they have little page time.
Interspersed between chapters we get write-ups on the fall-out of the final girl’s traumas which were a fun and clever distraction from the main story. They rarely affected the pacing of the book because the author clearly has a wealth of knowledge of this genre and wrote these in a fun, interesting manner.
What didn’t work for me
Whilst the premise is unique, the execution for me still leaned too much into tropes and cliches, despite it reading at first as a story that was going to avoid these. The idea behind following the survivors was great, and a lot of the build-up to the ending was different from the usual picking-characters-off-one-at-a-time method, but towards the end the story still relied on tropes that have graced slasher films for many years. I would have liked to have been surprised in more ways.
I mentioned the flawed main character, a final girl that is untrustworthy but has been on edge ever since her incident. At times she felt a bit clueless, and while I don’t want a perfect main character I would have liked a bit more competency from her to care more about her. While she does, however, come more into her own when the other final girls are in need, I would have liked this attitude earlier in the story. I found myself caring more for some of the supporting cast than her.
Conclusion
TFGSG is a fun, binge-worthy read that, while ends up not being as ground-breaking as I’d hoped, is certainly worth your time. If you’re in a bit of a reading slump then TFGSG is worth a go as it gets into its groove early and doesn’t let up until the final page.
I’d recommend this to people who like thrillers and mysteries sprinkled with easter eggs and pop culture references. You ideally want to be somewhat familiar with the films that the book is influenced by to appreciate it fully (although not necessarily all sequels and prequels and retcons and reboots), but this isn’t essential and doesn’t stop this being a fun read because much of the backstories are provided throughout the book.