June 6th, 2023
spoiler free reviews
The final girl trope is controversial, but classic nonetheless. Numerous films, books, and shows in the horror genre end with a single survivor – the last fighter who defeats the rampaging killer. Final Girls was the first book I read with the final girl trope, and I realized I wanted to read another, so I picked up The Final Girl Support Group. I’m not going to compare authors, but I do want to compare their takes on this trope. Following are two spoiler free reviews -one for each book- and my ratings.
Book: Final Girls
Author: Riley Sager
Publisher: Dutton (2017)
Overall Rating: 3/5
In Final Girls, we follow the main character, Quincy, who is a final girl – the only survivor of a massacre. Quincy was the only remaining person in her friend group who made it out alive after someone murdered her friends one night in a cabin in the woods (Pine Cottage). Years have passed since then, and to this day, she cannot remember details about that night – only screaming, pain and blood. That is until a second final girl enters her life. In the book, Sager alternates chapters from present time to past - the night at Pine Cottage – slowly exposing details of what really happened that night, why she lived, and why her friends didn’t.
The beginning of the book is slow placed. Although this is not my favorite style, I think it fits perfectly for the thriller/mystery that this is. Things seem to pick up in the middle with details and events gradually increasing to keep readers engaged. There are many plot twists, and I didn’t find it predictable – even though I continuously kept trying to piece the puzzle together before the author could “spoil” the ending. One slight aversion I do have is with the way Sager handles certain relationships between characters. I was hoping at the end of the novel that there would be further explanations on the dynamics of a few relationships – both platonic and romantic. Fleshing these relationships out would have made the personality types of some characters make more sense, as well as made events flow easier. If you decide to pick this one up, let me know if you agree or disagree with this.
Overall, I gave this book a 3/5 stars on Goodreads: Goodreads- Jayla Wilson. Would I recommend? If you’re looking for a classic final girl trope read and are willing to push through the slow beginning for an intriguing end, then yes! If you’ve already read Final Girls, comment your opinion and rating of the book below.
Book: The Final Girl Support Group
Author: Grady Hendrix
Publisher: Berkley (2021)
Overall Rating: 2/5
The Final Girl Support Group won the Goodreads Best Horror Pick of 2021, so I was excited to give it a go. Right from the jump, this book started off strong. It was fast-paced, attention-grabbing, and thrilling. And then it went downhill.
This book follows the main character, Lynette, who is, just like Quincy in Final Girls, a final girl. Lynette is a paranoid woman who is a part of a final girl support group – a group of other women who have survived horrific attacks at the hands of men. The support group the women attend is the only thing that keeps them together. Things start to fall apart when one of the final girls is found dead. Lynette also becomes a target and ends up on the run, actively trying to warn the others. The story mainly focuses on Lynette trying to find the answers to who is hunting the final girls down and why.
The plot of this story is all over the place. There were many times where I had to put the book down and think about why the author thought we needed certain information or events to take place. After finishing the book, I realized there wasn’t really a reason. My main problem with this read was that there were too many plot points that were unnecessary leaving me with a story that didn’t flow or fit in my opinion.
Overall, I gave this book a 2/5 stars on Goodreads: Goodreads- Jayla Wilson. Would I recommend? Probably not. Maybe this kind of erratic storytelling is someone else’s cup of tea, but it wasn’t mine. If you’ve already read The Final Girl Support Group, comment your opinion and rating of the book below!