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A review by doomkittiekhan
The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The term "final girl" was coined by Carol J. Clover in her 1992 book Men, Women and Chainsaws. In it, she defined the character as the only woman left alive by the end of the movie and the only person left to tell the tales of terror they faced during their fight for survival.
Lynnette Tarkington is worried. Paranoid even. That's on a daily basis. But today, when she saw the news that her friend and fellow final girl, Adrienne Butler, had been murdered in her home and Adrienne's beloved Camp Red Lake was the scene of another camp massacre, Lynnette is downright freaking the fuck out. She immediately reaches out for support from Marilyn Torres, Dani Shipman, Heather DeLuca, and Julia Campbell who have been in group counseling together for years. They are all final girls. They know each other's stories and scars. They will look out for each other. They know how to survive. However, we quickly learn that there is tension in the ranks. Some of the "girls" (now women in their mid-30s to early 50s) want to move on with their lives. Some don't want to be labeled as "Final Girls" anymore. Hendrix gives each of these women detailed backstories without laying their trauma fresh. He shows how they were able to survive and what they have done with their lives. For example, one owns a horse sanctuary, one is a motivational speaker, one is a socialite who raises money for assorted charities. Yet all are still dealing with PTSD and rely, in some way, on the routine of their group sessions. And while Lynnette is still battling with her past and unable to move on, it now seems like she is going to be left behind. What happens when desperation takes hold, someone begins picking off the final girls, and we have an unreliable narrator to boot? It's a classic Grady Hendrix horror story.
This is a familiar story rooted in symbolism that catapults the reader to the bloody end with several comedic bumps along the way. Those that love horror movies with a final girl, and especially the ones highlighted indirectly in this book (Halloween, Friday the 13th, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Scream) will find in Hendrix a kindred spirit. I especially loved the intertextual aspects of the book with each chapter beginning with notes from the group therapist, police reports from the final girls, passages from academic works on the nature of slashers, diary entries, and other assorted ephemera added a rich layer to the story.
'The Final Girl Support Group' is a fun take on the archetype of the Final Girl, and a hell of a read.
Many thanks to the author, the publisher, and Edelweiss for gifting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Lynnette Tarkington is worried. Paranoid even. That's on a daily basis. But today, when she saw the news that her friend and fellow final girl, Adrienne Butler, had been murdered in her home and Adrienne's beloved Camp Red Lake was the scene of another camp massacre, Lynnette is downright freaking the fuck out. She immediately reaches out for support from Marilyn Torres, Dani Shipman, Heather DeLuca, and Julia Campbell who have been in group counseling together for years. They are all final girls. They know each other's stories and scars. They will look out for each other. They know how to survive. However, we quickly learn that there is tension in the ranks. Some of the "girls" (now women in their mid-30s to early 50s) want to move on with their lives. Some don't want to be labeled as "Final Girls" anymore. Hendrix gives each of these women detailed backstories without laying their trauma fresh. He shows how they were able to survive and what they have done with their lives. For example, one owns a horse sanctuary, one is a motivational speaker, one is a socialite who raises money for assorted charities. Yet all are still dealing with PTSD and rely, in some way, on the routine of their group sessions. And while Lynnette is still battling with her past and unable to move on, it now seems like she is going to be left behind. What happens when desperation takes hold, someone begins picking off the final girls, and we have an unreliable narrator to boot? It's a classic Grady Hendrix horror story.
This is a familiar story rooted in symbolism that catapults the reader to the bloody end with several comedic bumps along the way. Those that love horror movies with a final girl, and especially the ones highlighted indirectly in this book (Halloween, Friday the 13th, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Scream) will find in Hendrix a kindred spirit. I especially loved the intertextual aspects of the book with each chapter beginning with notes from the group therapist, police reports from the final girls, passages from academic works on the nature of slashers, diary entries, and other assorted ephemera added a rich layer to the story.
'The Final Girl Support Group' is a fun take on the archetype of the Final Girl, and a hell of a read.
Many thanks to the author, the publisher, and Edelweiss for gifting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.