Reviews with content warning for Addiction - The Final Girl Support Group

Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

161 reviews

leahopkins's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This is the second Gradx Hendrix book I've read (first one being my best friend's excorcism) and I am starting to become a fan (though mbfe was better).
I thought the concept was very interesting and an entertaining twist of the genre, especially since the final girls' backstories/franchises actually take heavy inspiration from existing horror movies. I am not a very big slasher connoisseur (I have only watched the first scream movie), so I had a lot of fun using my very limited knowledge and the power of Google to figure out what movies the different characters were references to. The characters themselves were fun as well, although I wished they were fleshed out a little more. Lynette especially was a very interesting protagonist because of here intense paranoia, which made the reader question whether you could trust her or if all of this conspiracy was just happening inside her head.

I have to say though, it was a little unnecessary that Adrienne, the only black character, dies first. Yeah, I get that it's supposed to be humouring the slasher trope of "black dude dies first", but I would have really appreciated seeing more (/anything at all) of her, because based on what we got to know of her, she seemed like a very likable and caring character.

There were a lot of different twists, some more foreseeable than the others

(for example, Skye being the killer didn't shock me at all, but when it was revealed that Steph was also involved I was truly surprised)

and it was very fun trying to keep track of all the plot points and connections. However, in the middle part of the book, I thought it was slacking a bit and I had trouble staying engaged. The characters of Garrett and Chrissy felt a little out of place and at times even surreal

(the part where they visit Chrissy, her weird final girl museum and her homicidal boyfriend felt more like a bad dream than anything else. Same thing with the scene in which they leave a dead Michelle in a park with some old man.)

.
I really enjoyed the ending.

I liked that noone died, and the scene in which a heavily injured Lynette runs away from the killer to distract him from the others was very well written and almost moving. The last chapter itself also felt very touching, because it showed the characters healing, physically and mentally.

Overall, this was a very fun read and I am excited to put more of the author's work onto my TBR.

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melodyseestrees's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.75

I read this book after several people recommended it. This book kept pacing well but that is about where the positives stop for me. The writing style was not my taste. There were a lot of plot conveniences. The main character built herself a panic room and it just happens to fail once the group decides to disband? All these women shaped by their trauma to survive let their guards down at the same time, save our main character? Sure, Jan. The varied reactions to a traumatic event did show a realistic variety- some of the girls prepping, some ignoring, one losing her composure. The characters just weren't written in a very 'final girl' way. I did not like how the antagonists were just squished into the plot wherever and I especially did not like the identity of the main antagonist. If you love slashers you will probably find this to be an okay read.

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chasingpages1's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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thekeyescollection's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

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abmochapman's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

The Final Girl Support Group has such an interesting premise and didn’t necessarily disappoint, even though it was not exactly what I expected. It is, of course, mirrored after slasher movies and it focuses more on those themes than the support group itself. There is only one session with the main cast of final girls before their world starts to fall apart, again. From there, the plot inches forward until about halfway when it picks up and the book feels almost impossible to put down. The number of incredible, almost ridiculous twists is dizzying. As compelling as the climax is, I found it difficult to suspend my disbelief. The resolution is gratifying, but still, I am left with so many questions and pieces that don’t seem to fit together.

As other reviewers have said, that may be because The Final Girl Support Group doesn’t quite know what it wants to be. Is it a parody of slasher movies, or is it meant to be taken seriously as a thriller? Is it an ode to the genre, or is it a satirical deconstruction? Reviews praise it as having accomplished both, but I am a bit more conflicted. To me, the novel does not subvert its tropes as much as it relies on them.

The main character, for example, is overly-cautious to recorrect the naivety that she blames for her final girl status. Yet, it is also her irrational and naïve choices that lead her once again into the arms of the monster. She should not have been able to survive but by some miracle, she does.

Like the movies, it’s compelling but unbelievable.

Perhaps the best function the novel serves is to highlight our society’s disgusting obsession with and gross exploitation of victims of violence. The novel explicitly asks readers, “what does it say about us that so much of the entertainment we consume is about killing women?”. The plot, too, confirms the harm that movies and media that glorify mass murder can cause. It’s a very necessary conversation, and one that I am glad the horror genre is having. It’s interesting, though, because the novel is so self-aware except about how it might also contribute to the problem. Doesn’t it also exploit the phenomenon of violence against women (and our morbid curiosity about it) for entertainment and profit?

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lycheejelly's review against another edition

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mysterious 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

3.5

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sngspicysword's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

THE PLOT TWIST OMG! THIS IS SUCH AN AMAZING BOOK! it’s really helped me get out of my reading slump. Highly recommend!!! I will say the author is a bit dramatic at times but the writing is INSANE.

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