I'm not a fan of slasher films, and this book is for people who know their slasher films, not just the gore and violence and horror, but the psychology behind both the perpetrators and the survivors -- especially the survivors. On the surface, this book is about a support group for the sole surviving girls of horror film massacres such as those in Friday the 13th, Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Nightmare on Elm Street, Leprechaun, Black Christmas. Beneath the surface, this book is for survivors, period. While I rooted for the ever-flailing Lynette, an outsider even among her final girl sisters, I couldn't help but grimace throughout, thinking about all the triggers. Would I recommend this book to my friends? No, because not a lot of my women friends are going to want to survive reading this book. That said, I felt a low-key survivor's guilt for making it through to the end of the book and sorta, kinda enjoying it.

[Thanks to Berkley, Penguin Random House and NetGalley for an opportunity to read an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my opinion.]

Book Review of The Final Girl Support Group by Nicole Harmon


Title: The Final Girl Support Group
Author: Grady Hendrix
Publisher: Berkely, NY
Date: 2021

Rating: 4 stars
Book Blurb: “Dying isn’t the important thing. It’s nothing more than the punctuation mark at the end of your life. It’s everything that came before those matters. Punctuation marks, most people skip right over them. They don’t even have a sound.” Location 4397
Summary
This book follows the final girls’ story after the tragedy occurs. For them Dani, Heather, Julia, Marilyn, Adrienne, and Lynette, led by Dr. Carole this is about survival. But you see -as you read, each one of them has a story to tell and one to live. Each time the girls meet they discuss where their lives are until someone gets killed by Adrienne by who they were running away from or so the girls thought. The monster who had hurt them all the years before had come and gotten Adrienne. In a panic, the girls want to disband but one wants to stay. Soon when Julia goes to visit Lynette, the murderer goes after Lynette and Julia. Leaving Julia for dead, Lynette runs to Dr. Carol, terrified but sure someone maybe even one of them is the culprit.
Upon arriving at Dr. Carol’s, she meets her two sons-one named Skye. With the help of Skye, Lunette gets what she believes might hurt or help her from the “crime scene” formerly her apartment. Then she runs to Marilyn’s house and finds Heather already there. The two go to visit Michelle who has cancer. Michelle is Dani’s love of her life and not a final girl. Since she is dying the other three know Dani will try and get to be by her deathbed. But Dani is currently incarcerated. And if she got there the two of them would be sitting targets.
Dani is in jail but gets out in time to help save Lynette. Note: that is a very interesting scene there. Before that Michelle is whisked away out to die in nature, substituting for her home. But it’s too late. It appears the Monster as their attempted murderers were called caught up with them.
The scene was set for a big movie like massacre (like Crystal Lake on Friday the 13th) with Stephanie and Skye, the perpetrators. But their efforts were spoiled by the Final Girls.
Analysis
I gave this book 4 stars. First, let me tell you I am a horror, thriller, psychological thriller total fan. Ever since I was little, I would laugh at horror movies. Now that I am older, I get scared. Something to be said for being younger.
This story as much as it could be a cliché was not. You see how living in fear of what could happen does to you. You see one woman realize that she could live a normal life would not happen without her participation. That she had a core group of friends that would her through it. I saw life and survival not be trumped by fear. I saw women who had experienced all the horror come out swinging. This novel speaks to the desire of humans to survive.
I recommend the read. Trigger warnings do apply and there is a lesbian love story mentioned.
Disclosure: I received this book for the sole purpose of providing an unbiased review.

I just love the originality of his stories and can’t get enough of his books. His plots are like a master class in mining the horror movie tropes we’ve all grown up with, but also adding some sly humor to make it go down easier. This one almost has too many twists at the end but still very satisfying.

I felt like the author got halfway through this book and lost some direction. The second half of the book has multiple false climaxes and unbelievable decisions from the protagonist. It has a good premise but is mostly disorder.

This was the second book I've read by Grady Hendrix and it was so good. I will definitely keep reading his works because they are unlike anything else I'll ever read.

Enter a world where the final girls of some of the biggest slasher franchises actually exist, and they all meet once a month in their very own support group. Now a new killer is on the loose and specifically targeting final girls!

Even if you aren't a huge fan of slasher movies, the book is overall a fast moving thriller that keeps you guessing until the very end. If you have enjoyed franchises like Halloween, Friday the 13th, Scream, and Nightmare on Elm Street, you will love how Hendrix weaves those worlds into these new characters and their histories.

If you are unfamiliar with the final girl trope - it is used in the horror genre (slashers in particular) as a term to refer to the last girl standing, the one who usually confronts or "defeats" (if their are sequels, defeats is a loosely used term) the killer and is also the one who remains to tell the story. Using the final girl trope to the extreme - Hendrix brings together a group of final girls who are capable of defying the odds and willing to do whatever it takes to survive.

Como vocês já sabem, essa resenha é em parceria com a Random House Internacional, de quem recebemos esse eARC (Advance reading copy: algo como “uma cópia de leitura avançada, ou seja, o livro ainda pode sofrer alterações antes de ser publicado). Também lembrando que essa resenha terá um formato diferente: por ser um ARC, não haverão quotes, já como os livros podem sofrer mudanças em seu texto antes de serem comercializados. Gostaríamos de agradecer profundamente a Editora pela oportunidade de parceria.

“The Final Girls support group” é um livro que fala sobre as garotas que foram sobreviventes de assassinos em séries. Se você é como eu e adora um bom filme slasher, você saberá exatamente do que eu estou falando: as mocinhas que não só sobrevivem como são as responsaveis por dar cabo em qualquer assassino em série que cruzar o caminho delas, fazendo uma matança, alguns com um grande motivo – na cabeça deles, é claro – e outros simplesmente pelo prazer de matar.

O livro começa em um dia que não é como outro qualquer: o acampamento onde uma das garotas passou por seu momento de terror com seu “monstro” foi atacado novamente e é bem no dia em que o grupo de apoio das garotas se encontra. Nós somos apresentados de cara a Lynnette, que é protagonista do livro e também a dona do ponto de vista do livro todo. Ela que nos apresenta as outras garotas do grupo, ela que nos apresenta o que acontece quando os creditos sobem e o filme acaba.

Nesse dia, enquanto elas estavam nesse encontro do grupo, decidindo se devem ou não continuar com esses encontros, elas descobrem que Adrienne, que é a sobrevivente do acampamento também foi encontrada morta na própria casa. E é então que o mundo de Lyn parece começar a desabar completamente: nós vemos em primeira mão que ela é provavelmente a garota que sobreviveu que ficou com mais sequelas emocionais sobre o crime que foi cometido com ela, a deixando completamente nervosa e a fazendo se fechar para tudo na vida: ela mora sozinha, apenas com sua planta e tem seu apartamento todo fortificado, além de ter todo um sistema para nunca mais correr o risco de enfrentar um serial killer na vida – e isso vai desde cameras de segurança e de não passar seu endereço pra ninguém até mesmo a prestar atenção em sapatos, porque segundo ela qualquer pessoa pode mudar e tirar um casaco ou uma blusa, mas uma pessoa enquanto está te perseguindo, nunca vai trocar de calçado (é uma dica boa, vai!)

Como ela tem toda essa visão da vida e nós estamos vendo tudo pelo ponto de vista dela, fica dificil, ás vezes, acompanhar em quem devemos ou não confiar conforme o livro vai passando, porque como ela vive em ponto de fuga na mente dela, qualquer pessoa é um possivel suspeito. E tudo piora quando alguém claramente está tentando colocar a culpa de tudo que está acontecendo nela: então é uma guerra dela contra o mundo, enquanto ela tenta provar a própria inocencia, descobrir quem está por trás disso e impedir que uma nova onda de assassinatos comece e acabe com um grupo já em extinção que são as garotas sobreviventes.

Eu preciso dizer que pra mim foi especialmente delicioso ler esse livro. Eu sou uma fã de carteirinha de filmes de terror num geral, mas os filmes slasher dos anos 80/90 tem um lugar especial reservado no meu coração que nenhum outro filme tem. E acho que foi isso que fez essa leitura tão maravilhosa mesmo. Todas as personagens são personagens de filmes que fizeram sucesso naquela época. Nós temos Julia (!!!), que é a versão da Sidney, protagonista do filme “Panico” e eu vou me vangloriar disso o resto da vida porque eu amo DEMAIS a Sidney (e eu até comentei com a Vi que estava feliz enquanto lia porque ela tinha meu nome, podem me julgar a vontade).

Temos Heather, que é a protagonista do filme Freddy Krueger, Marilyn, de “O Massacre da Serra Elétrica”, Dani de “Halloween”, Adrienne de “Sexta-Feira 13” e a própria Lynette que eu, sinceramente, não assisti, mas procurando na internet eu vi que se trata de “Natal Sangrento”.

Como eu falei acima, já como Lynette é a personagem principal, nós acompanhamos ela 100% do tempo, então recebemos toda e qualquer informação que ela recebe, e foi no meio dessas informações que eu desvendei parte do que aconteceria no final, apesar de ter me enganado sobre outra parte. Isso sem contar um plot twist que tem no meio do livro, que me deixou chocada porque eu realmente não vi aquilo vindo na minha direção.

Eu adorei esse livro, pra mim foi uma das melhores leituras do ano e eu posso afirmar com toda a certeza que se você gosta de filmes assim e gosta de personagens femininas fortes, você vai amar esse livro.

Aliás, no dia em que eu terminei de ler ele, saiu uma noticia de que ele será adaptado para uma série da HBO (azarada sou eu mesma :() e quem está produzindo é a produtora da Charlize Theron. Vocês podem ler a noticia completa aqui.

Thanks for the free book, Penguin Random House International.

This unfortunately did not live up to my expectations. As a huge fan of slashers, I expected to be completely gripped and at the edge of my seat through this story. However, I found myself bored throughout a lot of this and wasn't a fan of the writing style. I did appreciate the overall storyline and it was enough to keep me going , but overall, not quite what I envisioned.

Rep: disability, LGBTQIA+

I’m a huge fan of Grady Hendrix so I jumped for joy when I heard about this newest book. It is such a cool concept: what happens to those survivors, those final girls? How do they go about their lives after such a horrific event? This novel really explores the aftermath of being a final girl, including the portrayal of these girls by the media. I loved the use of media clippings and articles about slasher movies that were scattered throughout. However, the plot was overly complicated and scattered, with too many parts that didn’t make sense to me. I also wasn’t a fan of the ending. Whilst this might not be my favourite book by Grady Hendrix, it was still a very cool thriller/horror story and I’m giving it 3/5 stars.

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix is a horror novel that follows a group of women who survived the monsters that came after them. However, someone knows about this group and is now threating to destroy the little peace they have gained. The story is told through Lynnette who has decided the best way to survive is to be very paranoid and have multiple escape plans in place which is understandable but I found her and most of the characters as unlikable. I love the concept of this story, the beginning, and the hidden references to real world slasher movies but I think I would have enjoyed this story much more as a movie or TV show. I received an early review copy through Netgalley.

Grady Hendrix can be hit or miss for me. The premise of this, his newest book, felt like it would be a hit for me, so I picked it up. Sadly, it took so long for me to get invested in the plot and characters that it ultimately fell a little flat.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an advance copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

As a child of the 80s & 90s, I grew up with slasher films. I didn't LIKE them, mind you, but they were unavoidable back then. And it is childhood nostalgia that drew me to Grady Hendrix's new horror novel, The Final Girl Support Group. This darkly humorous novel pays homage to those gory and often comically bad films that defined the latter decades of the 20th century.

The book focuses on "Final Girls," that horror movie stereotype given to those girls who survived the bloodbath and often took down the killer. In The Final Girl Support Group, Hendrix writes about a collection of final girls who find themselves in a support group dedicated solely to those women who were able to escape slaughter and live to tell the tale. If anyone needs a support group, it is these women, because as you can imagine, the horrors they have faced are not pretty and there's a lot of baggage and emotional trauma to unpack, even decades later.

But the final girls find their support group disrupted when it becomes apparent that someone is attempting to pick them off one by one. Narrator Lynette Tarkington, a final girl who lives her days cautiously in fear, takes it upon herself to follow the trail of terror and uncover who has targeted the support group. But can she catch the killer before they end her life for good?

Equal parts horror and humor, much like slasher films themselves, The Final Girl Support Group is sure to be enjoyed by any fan of the film genre. The premise of this book is quite interesting, and I appreciated Hendrix's attempt to tap in on slasher film nostalgia and create something horrifyingly unique. This book is atmospheric and gives off major B-flick vibes, which heightens its appeal for those who can't get enough of the likes of the Friday the 13th, Halloween, and Scream franchises. Even better, Hendrix slowly incorporates vignettes of the women's witnessed bloodbaths by way of articles, websites, interviews, and more, building the suspense and tension as we learn just what made these women "final girls."

I personally rated this novel 3 stars because I read for amazing characters, and many of the "final girls" felt flat and lifeless to me. While Hendrix writes a pulse-pounding plot, his characters would have benefited from more dimension and voice.

A fast-paced slasher is just as fun as you can expect from Grady Hendrix!

This story follows Lynette, a survivor of a mass murderer. As the sole survivor she is dubbed what is called in slasher films, a final girl. Understandably, there is trauma to unpack and Lynette is part of a support group with other final girls.

Throughout the novel, there are clippings and call backs to the horror that these women have endured, including newspaper clippings of the massacres, book and film reviews of media created post-massacre, and therapist notes. Surprisingly, this book also makes social commentary on how this genre of slasher films have been influenced by actual serial killers and survivors. It makes us question what happens to people who survive the imaginable and what makes these films so timeless.

Similar to the b-horror plot advancement, gimmicky one-liners, and humor mixed with horror that are essential to these films, this book encapsulates this vibe. Fans of Hendrix’s other books and fans of slasher films from the 80s will enjoy this. A perfect read for spooky season!

I was excited for The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix for all of the nods to classic slasher films it promised. Before reading, I listened to an interview with Hendrix and Stephen Graham Jones in which they both spoke about their long and intense love of the horror genre that made me hope that this would be in the same category as say, Scream (but in book form). In reality, the plot was disjointed, the characters were boring and I ultimately didn’t finish.

Grady Hendrix brings his campy horror A game yet again. A new take on the Slasher film follow up, including all of your favorites. Its the perfect balance of creepy, with campy baked in.

Sadly, I DNF this book. I wanted to love it, I really did. I was a huge fan of Grady Hendrix' last book and had high hopes for this one. The main protagonist was completely unlikeable and unbelievable in her role as a "final girl." I liked the concept of writing a book modeled after 80s and 90s campy horror flicks, but the it did not translate to text. The story felt very tropey and not in a good way. It felt forced and I couldn't motivate myself to keep reading.

Didn't love it as much as I had hoped, but still had a lot of fun reading. The supporting characters are enjoyable and diverse. The action was easily visualized. There were inconsistencies within the main character the I kept bumping up against and the premise felt thin. I wish we had spent a bit more time within the support group.

If you love slasher movies from the 70s/80s/90s, I cannot suggest this book enough. Hendrix is able to craft a story that is simultaneously funny and heartfelt and anxious and clever. This book is so deliciously atmospheric and fun. Perfect for the upcoming spooky season!

I wasn't prepared for the disappointment that this book caused. The Southern Book Club's Guide turned me into a huge fan of this author, but this latest novel let me down. The premise is intriguing, but the main character and supporting cast didn't hold my interest. The pacing was a bit dull, too,

Fantastic! Another clear victory by Hendrix. The book does an excellent job of keeping you wrapped up in the world, the plot and also keeps you caring for the unreliable narrator. An excellent job.