sarahmiller's review against another edition
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
naughtynicky's review against another edition
4.0
My Best Friends Exorcism tells the story of Gretchen & Abby, who have been best friends since 4th grade.
I really liked the friendship between Abby & Gretchen, from how they met and how they are always there for each other.
One night, while at a sleepover at a friend’s house, Gretchen takes off to go skinny dipping and end up disappearing into the woods. After hours of searching, Abby and the other two girls finally find her, wandering naked in the woods and acting very strange. The strange behaviour gets worse and then ends up totally out of control.
It comes to light that Gretchen has been possessed by a demon, and Abby is left to handle the situation on her own after no-one believes her when she tells them how worried she is about Gretchen.
I love the whole 80's vibe you get with this book from the VHS effect cover, to the music Abby & Gretchen listen to such as Madonna. You also get Gretchen crimping her hair. l also love that each chapter of the book is the title of an 80's song - Chapter One is Don't You Forget About Me.
I really liked the friendship between Abby & Gretchen, from how they met and how they are always there for each other.
One night, while at a sleepover at a friend’s house, Gretchen takes off to go skinny dipping and end up disappearing into the woods. After hours of searching, Abby and the other two girls finally find her, wandering naked in the woods and acting very strange. The strange behaviour gets worse and then ends up totally out of control.
It comes to light that Gretchen has been possessed by a demon, and Abby is left to handle the situation on her own after no-one believes her when she tells them how worried she is about Gretchen.
I love the whole 80's vibe you get with this book from the VHS effect cover, to the music Abby & Gretchen listen to such as Madonna. You also get Gretchen crimping her hair. l also love that each chapter of the book is the title of an 80's song - Chapter One is Don't You Forget About Me.
bentheoverlordsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
An excellent horror with the right levels of cheesy and dark. It's a love letter to the 80s and horror in general
paperbackgirly's review against another edition
3.0
The story itself to me (aided by the happy ending) would be a 3.5 star.. maybe closer to a 4 but I can’t even fathom myself typing that out due to the number of times (over 8) where I felt disgusted not by the talent of writing but by the choice of the portrayal of black people in this book. As someone who is mixed, I’d like to think of myself as “biasedly-neutral”.. however I couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable when the only time black characters are referred to—it’s in a derogatory light. Every time. And without names.. ever.
I absolutely loved The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires which is why I picked up this book.. and I read the reviews about how people didn’t like the representation of POC’s in that book.. but I didn’t get that undertone from that book. This one? It was in my face.
Maybe his point was to accentuate the time period in that there were such heavy stigmas in those decades (70s 80s 90s etc) but I felt the way in which he chose to verbalize those notions completely avoided any real conversation about these themes and chose to almost objectify them. It was really off putting and disgusting.
It’s sad bc I liked the premise of the story but how I felt about this was something I couldn’t leave unaddressed.
Aside from that unfortunate takeaway, I liked the overarching theme of friendship and how powerful it truly is.
I liked a lot about this book, but was terribly off put by a couple things. Especially when they’ve been written by a white author.
Final verdict: 2.75 rounded up to 3.
I absolutely loved The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires which is why I picked up this book.. and I read the reviews about how people didn’t like the representation of POC’s in that book.. but I didn’t get that undertone from that book. This one? It was in my face.
Maybe his point was to accentuate the time period in that there were such heavy stigmas in those decades (70s 80s 90s etc) but I felt the way in which he chose to verbalize those notions completely avoided any real conversation about these themes and chose to almost objectify them. It was really off putting and disgusting.
It’s sad bc I liked the premise of the story but how I felt about this was something I couldn’t leave unaddressed.
Aside from that unfortunate takeaway, I liked the overarching theme of friendship and how powerful it truly is.
I liked a lot about this book, but was terribly off put by a couple things. Especially when they’ve been written by a white author.
Final verdict: 2.75 rounded up to 3.
buzzbzd's review against another edition
4.0
*3.5
was pretty strong until the ending
cant have everything i guess
was pretty strong until the ending
cant have everything i guess
bloyd91's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 /5. It's a good coming of age friendship story with a possession thrown in for flair. It wasn't my thing but if you're into light horror, friendship conquers all stuff it's good.
sumrbern's review against another edition
5.0
My love for Grady Hendrix grows! He knows how to right a fun book that can also be fucked up.
leannalawlor's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Classified as horror but personally I didn’t find anything over horrific. It was overall a good read full of 80’s themes and nostalgia.
tharumi's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Vomit, Rape, Eating disorder, Death, Animal cruelty, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Drug use and Emotional abuse