Reviews tagging 'Mass/school shootings'

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

155 reviews

chasingpages1's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Terminal illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Torture, Mental illness, Cancer, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Blood, Car accident, Gore, and Grief

Moderate: Gaslighting, Addiction, Drug abuse, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Child death, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Kidnapping

Minor: Confinement, Police brutality, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, and Cursing

abmochapman's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Blood, Stalking, Terminal illness, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Police brutality, Excrement, Grief, Addiction, and Suicidal thoughts

lycheejelly's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Murder, Sexism, Gore, Vomit, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Torture, Violence, Bullying, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Blood, Car accident, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual assault

Minor: Self harm, Cursing, Police brutality, Ableism, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Confinement

syazahaniss's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I think the story has potential but the execution was a bit disappointing. There were so many parts that I had trouble believing were real and seemed part of the “movies” they kept mentioning; how can that many gruesome killings happen in one lifetime, let alone to one person?

I also had trouble following the story in terms of details regarding the other girls’ episodes, the killer’s motives, who is actually a good person or not, etc.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Mass/school shootings, Gore, and Hate crime

multiplyoctopi's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Police brutality, Stalking, Blood, Child death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Torture, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Car accident, Medical content, and Grief

leeghlee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Confinement, Violence, and Cancer

Moderate: Death of parent, Excrement, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Car accident, Chronic illness, Cursing, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Sexual content, Stalking, and Suicide

Minor: Drug use, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Ableism, Addiction, Body horror, Drug abuse, and Mass/school shootings

clovetra's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• 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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Mental illness, Death, Gun violence, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Ableism, Terminal illness, and Kidnapping

Minor: Sexism and Suicidal thoughts

sarahbiegelsen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Body horror, Terminal illness, Murder, Mental illness, Violence, Torture, Death of parent, Child death, Grief, Gore, Cancer, and Blood

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Medical content, Confinement, and Car accident

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, and Cursing

dexkit10's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Suicide attempt, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Police brutality, Addiction, and Stalking

Minor: Animal death and Cannibalism

ewarde's review against another edition

dark tense fast-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

4.0

This book is nuts. I am not a horror movie fan, but this book is a sort of behind the scenes peak at the slasher dramas and it is insane. This book explores the concept of "the final girl" and makes you understand the connection between them and the killer. Its just a mind bending thriller from start to finish that makes you question everything.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death of parent, Gore, Blood, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, and Confinement

Minor: Animal cruelty and Mass/school shootings