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killmoore_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Truly despicable characters, all of them, and a unreliable narrator trope that isn't exactly what it seems. This was fun, and while I don't normally like books that end all wrapped up with a bow, this one felt complete.
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
sucitta's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Death and Blood
Moderate: Misogyny
cait's review against another edition
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
percys_panda_pillow_pet's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
Sager's Final Girls isn't unique in wanting to explore the idea of the final girl further, of what it's like after everything. Previously, there was The Last Final Girl by Stephen Graham Jones in 2012 and later, in 2021, Grady Hendrix's The Final Girl Support Group. All of these books follow a similar storyline: there are these "final girls" who each survive what is by all accounts a massacre and then they are seemingly being killed off until the main character is left. This leaves the main character a "true" survivor, I suppose.
My problem with Sager's Final Girls isn't that there are other books like it, there are many ways to tell the same story after all. More so, I could tell Sager was still inexperienced at writing when it was published. While I appreciated the thematic nature of the past being told in the third person point of view and the present told in first person point of view, since the main character and narrator, Quincy, is unreliable due to her amnesia of the horrible night all her friends were killed; in the end, I found the switch in POV jarring to go between.
As well, I could tell Sager was inexperienced in writing women specifically. Quincy herself was very annoying, and constantly got in her own way. But there was not only a strange love triangle between her, her boyfriend Jeff, and Coop, the cop who saved her life, there were also strange homoerotic tones between Quincy and her female friends/acquaintances. I felt like the was supposed to be a commentary on sexuality perhaps, especially when it comes to final girls (Check out Dead Meat Podcast Episode 15: Final Girl on YouTube for more information about that), but so much of it flopped and came off as cringey.
I liked that Quincy was unreliable and I was intrigued by the complexity of several of the characters. However, they were often too unlikable for me to really invest in them fully, and I constantly found myself hating each and every one of them at different points in the book.
Overall, I personally think that maybe the concept of finals girls should be left to the movies, or perhaps women authors who may be able to understand the deeper fears that persist in today's society of violence against women.
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Toxic friendship, and Classism
Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Police brutality, and Death of parent
As for the ending,fraise's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
Minor: Misogyny, Racism, and Death of parent
breadwitchery's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Blood
Minor: Cancer, Cursing, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racism, Vomit, Death of parent, and Alcohol
mfrisk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I kept waiting and waiting for more exciting moments to happen in this book but the beginning really dragged, the middle felt like it was headed somewhere, but then ultimately the ending was disappointing and overly reliant on tropes and cheesy lines.
Additionally, there wasn’t really any discussion or thought put into the discussion of true crime, survivor stories, and how the media shapes how we view these events.
The whole book felt like an unfortunate missed opportunity.
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, and Police brutality
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
rachelcotter1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Misogyny, Self harm, Suicide, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
alisonfaith426's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Fatphobia, Gun violence, Misogyny, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Alcohol
fate_of_ansley's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape