Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

93 reviews

maddierose0709's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Eating disorder, and Vomit

Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Self harm, and Slavery

Minor: Child death, Drug use, and Suicide

fanboyriot's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• 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

2.0

Read For:

✓ Exorcism

✓ 80s Horror

✓ Teen Angst 

✓ Childhood Trauma 

✓ High School Setting

˗ˏˋ ★ REVIEW ★ ˎˊ˗

Had decent hope for this after watching the movie but the book was disappointing.  While there were more details in the book, it overall felt a bit lackluster.

The build up dragged out for a bit longer than I would have liked.  The set up started out good enough but when it came down to the actual plot it felt like we would always learn something we should have already known.  And of course the dog death seemed unnecessary; it added nothing to the plot and felt too much like a last minute shock factor.  Lastly, the ending was disappointing, all of that just for friends to drift away?

Spice Level: n/a

Angst Level: 💧💧

POV: Third Person

Release Date: 17, May 2016

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

elleyena_rose's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

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

2.5

I wanted to like this book.  I really did. The pitch was promising, the cover and art inside are great (though some of the images are unreadable on kindle). I love 80s media like Heathers and all the songs in the book, and it's ultimately about the power of friendship (and that's one of the few things that caused me to boost my rating to 2.5 stars)

But some of the language and jokes at the beginning, while likely accurate for the time, weren't necessary to the plot and could/probably should have been cut. Thankfully that either dropped off quickly (or I just stopped noticing it when the descriptions got more graphic and I got ill while reading). 

Just as some reviewers don't understand a rating less than five stars,  I don't understand how anyone could rate it at a 4 or 5. This book ultimately wasn't for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Torture, Vomit, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Minor: Drug use, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

CW because animal death was not clear enough

the possessed character kills her dog

also there's graphic descriptions of

tapeworms

coming out of someone's mouth

maxximus's review against another edition

4.25

I can get past some of the unseemly things since it is very accurate to the time period. The thing that saved this from being 3 stars was the last 25%. what a ride that was

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Vomit, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Fatphobia

haileyhardcover's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Not my favorite Hendrix, but a really good read nonetheless. The middle of this one kind of lagged for me. Things really ramp up in the final third, though, and I really enjoyed it from that point on. It’s gruesome and sad and yet also heartwarming? I may or may not have teared up while reading the last few paragraphs (I did). 

Very happy to give this book a permanent home on my shelves! Also can we talk about the cover?! Stunning. It makes me think of IT, probably because of the balloons. I love it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Eating disorder, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

librosdeunamestiza's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Este libro muy fuera de mi zona de comfort me sorprendió totalmente. 
La historia se ubica en la década de los 80s en un pueblito estadounidense bastante conservador e hipócrita, del tipo que esconde los desastres debajo de la alfombra y nunca más los menciona.
Las pistas de patinaje, los peinados y maquillajes, la música y el pánico religioso/satánico ochentero no faltaron.
Cada capítulo tiene el nombre de una canción famosa de la década y me pareció una excelente idea, muy bien pensados. No son ni largos ni cortos, pero se leen volando, al igual que todo el libro.

La narración en primera persona de Abby es muy atrapante y adictiva. 
Me gustó como protagonista. Empaticé un montón con ella y sentí que realmente llevó la trama sobre su espalda con sus decisiones y acciones.
La representación de las amistades y de transitar la adolescencia en el colegio secundario me pareció acertada en muchas cosas.

Los eventos que ocurren son muy perturbadores, repulsivos y traumáticos, me pusieron nerviosa y asqueada, pero nunca me sentí con miedo, así que diría que es un terror ligero.
El terror se va desarrollando de a poco, una cosa horrible a la vez. La trama me sorprendió constantemente, dando giros inesperados y desesperantes. 
Realmente lo recomendaría.

Trigger warnings: violencia, abuso sexual, trastornos alimenticios, consumo de drogas, violaciones, muerte, asesinatos, tortura, muerte de animales, descripciones gráficas, racismo y homofobia.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

celery's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

toto8's review against another edition

dark funny tense medium-paced

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

4.0

different to the horror books I usually read but it was quite enjoyable. I'd describe the vibes as classic horror comedy if it was a teen flic marketed towards girls. I loved that the focal point was friendship despite this being a horror novel 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Eating disorder, and Vomit

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Suicide attempt

Minor: Homophobia

alisiakae's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, and Classism

vidalia_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 Would your friendships survive the ultimate inside attack from the depths of Hell?

My Best Friend’s Exorcism is a refreshing breath of hot Florida air, with a lingering stench at the end. This book is a fantastic read for any fan of the Exorcist or Mean Girls. Hendrix does a wonderful job of blending teen drama with the horrors of demon possession. You’ll be asking yourself if this is a normal phase for teenage girls, is it PMS, or is it Satan? Set in the 80’s this book has a totally tubular playlist of the hottest hits to keep your ears occupied as you flip through the pages.
Main characters Abby and Gretchen have been inseparable since fourth grade, but will their friendship survive high school? Will they survive High School? Grady Hendrix does a wonderful job blending together a story of perfectly placed references and jump scares that will have you wondering if you should turn out that light.
Be warned that some of the language and slang is accurate to the time and may not be politically correct now. This novel is a fantastic horror read, and an even better story of the strength of friendship that has me excited to listen to Phil Collins. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

This book is set in the 80's a lot of the slang and terminology is no longer politically correct. As well as this being a horror novel that comes with the regular gore and mistreatment.