The Final Girl Support Group
Description
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER VOTED GOODREADS CHOICE AWARD BEST HORROR NOVEL OF 2021 A Good Morning America Buzz Pick "The horror master...puts his unique spin on slasher movie tropes."-USA Today A can't-miss summer read, selected by The New York Times, Oprah Daily, Time, USA Today, The Philadelphia Inquirer, CNN, LitHub, BookRiot, Bustle, Popsugar and the New York Public Library In horror movies, the final girls are the ones left standing when the credits roll. They made it through the worst night of their lives...but what happens after? Like his bestselling novel The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, Grady Hendrix's latest is a fast-paced, frightening, and wickedly humorous thriller. From chain saws to summer camp slayers, The Final Girl Support Group pays tribute to and slyly subverts our most popular horror films--movies like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Scream. Lynnette Tarkington is a real-life final girl who survived a massacre. For more than a decade, she's been meeting with five other final girls and their therapist in a support group for those who survived the unthinkable, working to put their lives back together. Then one woman misses a meeting, and their worst fears are realized--someone knows about the group and is determined to rip their lives apart again, piece by piece. But the thing about final girls is that no matter how bad the odds, how dark the night, how sharp the knife, they will never, ever give up.Show more
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Community Reviews
Spoiler free thoughts and opinions regarding this book can be found here: https://youtu.be/THpzpRbYNQ0
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I really thought that this would be right up my alley.
The Final Girl Support Group is based off the old school slasher movies, featuring each final girl from titles such as Friday the 13th, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Scream.
Well, based is putting it lightly. These girls have the exact same backgrounds as their movie counterparts, and even get their own movie franchises (even the horrid Jason X is mentioned). While I appreciated the references, it would have been nice for some originality instead of complete copies. Or, at the very least, the girls getting movie franchises could have been left out to make it feel more realistic.
I was hoping for a slasher type, but this fits more along the mystery/thriller vibes.
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Final Girl Support Group is my first Hendrix book. Although to be honest, I have his other book "Horrorstör"...I just haven't cracked it open yet. #tbrpilekeepsgrowing. Anyway...this book pleasantly surprised me. It's not often that books keep me guessing, let alone have me doubting my theories throughout the entirety of the book. At one point I was convinced I had it all figured out, only to be put in my place and having to start back at square one.
I love thrillers and mystery books...but more often then not, they fall short (sometimes very short) of my expectations. Some are either easy to figure out about 30%-50% through the book, others just don't have that "pizzazz" I'm looking for.
So what makes The Final Girl Support Group different? EVERYTHING. From start to finish you don't know what to expect. At one point you're wondering if the narrator is making everything up. We all know that first person narrators are very unreliable. But then...BOOM...you're hit with another surprise and you have no idea what to think!
I think Hendrix addresses a lot of key points and a lot of interesting topics that may not be at the center of the book, but as a woman I would like to acknowledge. As an example, Hendrix does a really great job in explaining the fear women face when having to brave the outside world. Although I can't image what it must be like living as a victim of any type of crime, I can relate to some of the things our main character has to think about when I go out for a simple run. A couple of things that stuck out for example, is assessing my surrounding, closest exits, possible weapons I can use to protect myself anytime I find myself in a vulnerable place, or even memorizing license plates if ever that information is important.
But what I think Hendrix does best is give these women justice, especially our protagonist. He doesn't portray any of them as being weak damsels in distress, or anything of the sort...no instead he gives them the power to overcome. The power to show the world that despite their trauma they can come out of it stronger and better.
All in all, this is a 5 star in my book for sure and I highly recommend reading it!
The Final Girl Support Group is my first Hendrix book. Although to be honest, I have his other book "Horrorstör"...I just haven't cracked it open yet. #tbrpilekeepsgrowing. Anyway...this book pleasantly surprised me. It's not often that books keep me guessing, let alone have me doubting my theories throughout the entirety of the book. At one point I was convinced I had it all figured out, only to be put in my place and having to start back at square one.
I love thrillers and mystery books...but more often then not, they fall short (sometimes very short) of my expectations. Some are either easy to figure out about 30%-50% through the book, others just don't have that "pizzazz" I'm looking for.
So what makes The Final Girl Support Group different? EVERYTHING. From start to finish you don't know what to expect. At one point you're wondering if the narrator is making everything up. We all know that first person narrators are very unreliable. But then...BOOM...you're hit with another surprise and you have no idea what to think!
I think Hendrix addresses a lot of key points and a lot of interesting topics that may not be at the center of the book, but as a woman I would like to acknowledge. As an example, Hendrix does a really great job in explaining the fear women face when having to brave the outside world. Although I can't image what it must be like living as a victim of any type of crime, I can relate to some of the things our main character has to think about when I go out for a simple run. A couple of things that stuck out for example, is assessing my surrounding, closest exits, possible weapons I can use to protect myself anytime I find myself in a vulnerable place, or even memorizing license plates if ever that information is important.
But what I think Hendrix does best is give these women justice, especially our protagonist. He doesn't portray any of them as being weak damsels in distress, or anything of the sort...no instead he gives them the power to overcome. The power to show the world that despite their trauma they can come out of it stronger and better.
All in all, this is a 5 star in my book for sure and I highly recommend reading it!
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