Sir Buddy, creature of the night, gives The Final Girl Support Group 4 1/2 stars.
(This man got about a half a bag of treats simply by being uncooperative during filming. Total diva.)
Our Wine Club Has a Book Problem is reading The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix this month, and Buddy naturally wanted to put in his two paws. However, since this is a horror novel, and Buddy is only 3 years old, I told him it’s a good read but there were no birds involved (hence the 1/2 star).
**No spoilers**
This book really wasn’t what I thought it would be. Yes, there’s horror and some gore. Yes, there’s dark humor. Yes, there are a lot of allusions to slasher films. But tied into all of that is the aftermath of being a final girl. For some it’s a life of hyperawareness and solitude. For others, it’s a chance to make the world better. And then there are those who never find their way out of the woods, tripping along with their broken heel or twisted ankle.
Although full of action, Hendrix manages to develop characters with depth you wouldn’t expect, and seeing the story through the eyes of Lynette Tarkington provides you with a skewed view of the world you have to almost sort out from reality. She’s still traumatized years after being attacked, and has taken it to an extreme that shadows her fellow final girls. She essentially stopped living, and while her instincts get her into a lot of trouble, they also turn out to be exactly what is needed.
Along the way, I could see these characters very clearly, and I enjoyed the tight but dysfunctional bond between the final girls. The characters are also all flawed in some way, but since it’s told from Lynette’s point of view you see her mistakes and how they come back to haunt her. Overall, a good read, and a good ending I didn’t quite see coming.
If you’re looking for a horror thriller about what happens to survivors after Crystal Lake or Haddonfield, this book is for you! And it is spooky season, after all…
