I want to give a cathartic scream!!! AHHHH!!! This. Book. Is. PERFECT!!!! Holy hells, is Grady Hendrix a literary god, or what? How does he keep writing women and women's issues better than ANY FEMALE AUTHOR I've ever read?! He just keeps grabbing my heart, wrapping it in a hardcover, and slapping a publication date on it. This author. THIS. AUTHOR! AHHH!!!!

This book is a masterpiece, weaving together:
- What it's like for "survivors" to struggle for normalcy, connection, and healing, after experiencing trauma.
- How the entertainment industry, and the media, "prey upon" young women.
- The difficulty and the power of "sisterhood", and the ways women make safe spaces for each other and simultaneously judge, and tear each other down.
-And, of course, a love letter to slasher movies, their symbolism and cathartic outlet. BUT ALSO, a sternly-worded reprimanding memorandum to slasher movies, for glorifying the suffering of women, and setting up generations to copy, applaud, and dismiss violence against women.

All powerfully told through the eyes of a semi-reliable narrator, who constantly interprets her surroundings as a threat, as if she has never left her trauma incident. (Because let's face it... she hasn't :'(.) The writing is killer (forgive the pun), each carefully chosen word putting the audience into Lynette's situation, feeling her fear and helplessness. (My favorite being "The trees are full of shrieking crickets". Lemony Snicket would be proud.)

Read this book. READ THIS BOOK!!! Then call your mom, your sister, your friend, whomever - let the women in your life know they are seen and matter. THEN READ THIS BOOK AGAIN!!! AHHH!!!!!

Thank you, Grady Hendrix. Thank you <3.