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Since my To-Be-Read (TBR) list is continually growing, from time to time I like to throw together a list focussing on some of the (often diverse) titles on there.
Final girls are having a moment.
In case you're unaware - the 'final girl' is an uber-popular horror trope (especially in slashers,) where the only survivor of the horrible events is one girl, usually a teenager.
She's the one who gets away and/or has to wait for the sequel or the final twist to be horribly murdered.
Traditionally, she has some sort of sexist 'innocence' going on - she's the virgin, the no-boyfriend babysitter, the all-american girl. She's usually white as mayo.
But lately the final girl is having a feminist rennaisance.
Take away the central message of 'be a 'good' girl and male violence will somehow miss you' and what do you have?
A girl, a real (fictional) girl who may or may not fit all the stereotype markers, but who nevertheless went through some horrific sh**.
And that's a great playground for writers...
The Last Girls Standing by Jennifer Dugan
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Cherry and Sloan are the two girls who survived the machete massacre at their summer camp, and the experience brought them closer - so close, in fact, that they're now a couple.
But as time moves on, and deeply troubled by the events of the night, Sloan starts to wonder just how much she really knows about Cherry - and about that terrible night.
This is described as a YA psychological thriller and looks pretty cool, though I've seen mixed reviews.
The Last Final Girl by Stephen Graham Jones
I've read one of Stephen Graham Jones (Blackfeet)'s other final-girl/slasher-movie-based books, My Heart Is A Chainsaw, and loved it.
His books aren't always so easy to get hold of in UK libraries, unfortunately. My Heart Is A Chainsaw was, last time I checked, the only one available in my local library system.
I could buy all the Stephen Graham Jones books that my little gothic heart desires, but my TBR-floor, aka my bedroom, has too many books in it at the moment ('the moment' lasting a number of years at this point...)
(Before you say it - yes, there is such a thing as too many books, at least when we're talking about square-footage 😅)
This one is focussed on Lindsay, survivor of a Michael-Jackson-themed slasher-killer as she leads a group of Final Girls in the fight against the returning Billie Jean (...I know, that name's iconic.)
...I also think this one might be out of print 😞 - the only copies I could see on Amazon were used and like, $100. Which, wow.
Still, it's on my TBR, and looks pretty cool.
The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
Confession time: I haven't read any Grady Hendrix books *gasp*.
I know they're hugely popular on the bookish interwebs, especially among horror fans, but this is another author who's slightly less easy to come by in the UK (especially in libraries, and, y'know... my TBR-floor insists on no more purchases...) and also - I just haven't got around to reading any *shrugs*
Anyhow, this particular book - The Final Girl Support Group - is super-duper popular amongst bloggers etc., so that's how it's found a place on my TBR. When it first came out it seemed to be everywhere on the bookish interwebs.
The whole premise here is pretty much what the title implies - there is a support group for final girls, those trope-based survivors of slasher-style massacres.
...And then one of them fails to turn up to a meeting, and they're all like, 'Oh, sh** - that can't be good.' (Or words to that affect.) And presumably then some plot happens 😅😎
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