Name: I Am Not Your Final Girl
Rating: 3.944444444444445 (18 reviews)
ISBN: 9780692966631

Claire Holland

From Claire C. Holland, a timely collection of poetry that follows the final girl of slasher cinema - the girl who survives until the end - on a journey of retribution and reclamation. From the white picket fences of 1970s Haddonfield to the apocalyptic end of the world, Holland confronts the role of women in relation to subjects including feminism, violence, motherhood, sexuality, and assault in the world of Trump and the MeToo movement. Each poem centers on a fictional character from horror cinema, and explores the many ways in which women find empowerment through their own perceived monstrousness.

Poems

I Am Not Your Final Girl

from "Sally, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)"

Sasha

yet, but your world is shattered, the remnants

made useless for anything but goring palms

and forging false prophets. I do not mourn it.

Where you saw only cracks, I felt the break,

in this expectant state, a butterfly in a jar

to make you smile when you look. A creature

I can't exist in a way that comforts you.

Ryan LaFerney

This is a must-have poetry collection for horror cinephiles, fans of dark poetry, defenders of women's rights, horror fiction hoarders, and badass women who won't go down without a fight.

This is a subversive love letter to horror films and the trope of the "final girl." I don't know if you've noticed but women are not really depicted all that heroically in a lot of horror films - even if they do survive to the end. They are in need of saving, fall deep into stereotypes, and are constantly objectified and dissected as parts instead of people. Even though she’s the one who survives, the use of the final girl trope isn’t really all that empowering to women as many have pointed out.

Clare C. Holland’s use of the term “horror heroine” in her collection of poems returns power to the feminine, to the women who find within them the primal urge to fight and survive by any means possible.

And that definition isn’t just confined to the realm of horror movies. As Holland outlines in her rallying cry of an introduction—it’s been a pretty bad couple of years since Trump took office. But it’s also been a time of change, of women stepping up and saying “no more,” of role models and fierce, nasty ladies everywhere taking charge. These poems are for them. And if you agree, these poems are for you, too.

I agree. I am tired of old white dudes in authority too.

Elizabeth Neill

Final Girls

I loved this book and now I need to go watch the movies mentioned in this. I would recommend this book to horror movie lovers.

Juliana Callahan

I loved, loved, loved this! The way she combined her feminist message along with nods to popular horror movies was outstanding and an idea I wouldn't have thought of myself. These poems are very well-written and follow the common issues women face in our daily lives while combining them with horror elements in a way that makes her message both easier to acknowledge and bear. My only gripe is that I wish it were longer as I loved the poems and the characters she brought to life.

Becca Futrell

Once upon a time — like a week ago — I Am Not Your Final Girl by Claire C. Holland appeared on my Twitter timeline & I just knew I needed it. Which is what leads us to here & now with the book filled with poetry in my hands. I would like to insert a disclaimer right here that states I’m not really the person to come to for poetry reviews. I rarely read poems & I haven’t written one since I was a kid in middle school trying to write horror poetry like my father. & I promise, that poetry probably wasn’t that great. But! I am a person to talk to when it comes to the horror genre; so hi! Let me tell you a lil’ somethin’ somethin’ about I Am Not Your Final Girl.

I Am Not Your Final Girl is a collection of poetry by Claire C. Holland that focuses on the characters deemed as ‘the final girl‘. Everyone’s favorite horror trope, amiright? I really don’t think that I can word it better than the blurb on Claire C. Holland’s website, so: this collection “confronts the role of women in relation to subjects including feminism, violence, motherhood, sexuality, and assault in the world of Trump and the MeToo movement. Each poem centers on a fictional character from horror cinema, and explores the many ways in which women find empowerment through their own perceived monstrousness.”

For this review, I’m gonna start from the outside & head on in to the pages afterward, because HOLY WOW?! I Am Not Your Final Girl's cover is what originally sold me on buying myself a copy! The aesthetic is perfect & I absolutely adore the worn & tired look. I Am Not Your Final Girl’s cover replicates the VHS covers that we all loved renting at Blockbuster & Hollywood Video. On the back, there’s even a fake sticker that reads ‘Bee Kind, Rewind’ which is definitely the cutest thing ever.

& the inside is just as brilliant. The introduction discusses why Claire C. Holland wrote this collection of poetry & it honestly gave me this sense of empowerment. Guys, women are amazing & even though the world is kind of.. shit.. there are inspiring women out there who are fighting every day for others & I have so much respect for them. & I think it’s wonderful how Claire C. Holland has also found inspiration within characters in horror films who constantly had to fight. Guys, I’m in awe.

Each poem is titled after the character that it’s based on, along with the film that they are from. I will admit, there are a few films that I haven’t seen (or even heard of) & are definitely films that I’m adding on my to-watch list. And, there were poems I found myself squealing in excitement, because they were included. I Am Not Your Final Girl ranges from Texas Chainsaw Massacre to The Ring to It Follows. If you have a favorite horror female character, she’s probably in here.

Again, disclaimer: I don’t read a lot of poetry, but I did find this collection to be well-written. I enjoyed each poem & finished it in one sitting; granted, it’s a very thin book. The characters that she features, show so much strength & Claire C. Holland seen some of them in a way that I didn’t until reading these poems. This book is something I definitely recommend for your collection; especially if you are a fan of the horror genre or want to read some poetry with a feminist kick to it.

For more reviews, check out my blog here!

I Am Not Your Final Girl Poems

Reviews

Highlights