Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - A Head Full of Ghosts

i finish this book feeling both heartbroken and enraged.

another supposed horror story that leans its entire weight on villainizing mental illness and, in this case, that of a child, a girl.

fuck you, paul tremblay.

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chloseencounter's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This story was so much more than I ever could’ve expected. I loved the constant back and fourth of “is it mental illness or is it a demon?”, and ultimately it is kind of whatever you want and/or both, which I find to be a very fresh take on the haunting/possession genre. At the end of the day this was a family that was, in the very least, haunted by the ghosts of ideas, religious fear, money problems, a failing marriage, misogyny, mental illness, etc. The Berrets were manipulated, pushed, and agitated to the absolute breaking point.

There was so much here, I honestly don’t even know how to talk about it all. First and foremost I think having the majority of this story being told in the eyes of an eight year old was great, there was so much tension even in Majorie’s most mild episodes because truthfully Merry had no idea what Marjorie might say or do, or if she (or anyone else) would protect her from someone she wasn’t even completely sure she was afraid of. I enjoyed all the nods to classic horror media but also the way common tropes were twisted and turned on their head, we’re asked “is anyone ever really possessed or has the church always been taking advantage of the vulnerability of the mentally ill and fueling the psychosis of the sick?” There were so many parallels and metaphors in the book I reveled in picking apart and analyzing, I think this novel had so much to say very eloquently hidden beneath what the story seemed to be at face value.

My one critique looks to be the common one…the blog sections were cringy at best and annoying at worst, but despite the kind of “hello fellow kids” attempt at writing a blog post that was supposed to sound as if it was written by a hip and up on the trends women in her early 20s, I still enjoyed the detached POV of what this family’s suffering looked like to the world and how the show succeeded to make good television but failed Majorie and Merry. (Every adult did to be completely honest) I also appreciated the insight we got by hearing Merry’s thoughts coming from her child self, her adult self, and (vague spoiler) an alter ego of sorts. I thought it was sweet that in all three contexts you could still see Merry and how some bits of her personality never change.

Without spoiling I did actually quite like the twist ending because even that, may or may not be true. I think Merry has grown to be a fairly well rounded individual especially for what she’s been through, but even still, much like Majorie I think her head is full of ghosts too and maybe some things she said were simply manifestations of guilt but also maybe they weren’t…and I don’t think are meant to know for sure.

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onironic's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The real horror of this book is the ignorance and stigma surrounding mental illness, and I loved that. It's 100% a horror novel, but not in the conventional way. The main and viewpoint character being an 8-year-old girl amps up the horror and tension, when the reader knows and understands far more of what's happening, but is stuck riding on the shoulder of a child who, understandably, doesn't know enough of what's going on to change what's happening or protect herself from any of it. You see all the failures of the adults around her and can understand exactly how it all gets so bad, and have to helplessly watch these children deal with it as best they can while knowing exactly where it's going. This book doesn't hand any information to you whatsover, much less answers, but it will give you plenty of clues. I liked how many of the chapters jumped from meta-analysis to the future to the past. It gives context without derailing the story, all of it aiming at a terrible conclusion.

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camelliasinensis's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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madarauchiha's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

❤️ 🧡 💛 💚 💙 💜 my about / byf / CW info carrd: uchiha-madara 💜 💙 💚 💛 🧡 ❤️

It was ok. I had some hopes for it but the premise didn't live up to how it played out. It was an interesting twist? I don't know why I'm saying that like a question. It does the thing where it tells you the twist and then explains it over the course of a few chapters. I don't think it wa a good plot twist to the whole possession thing. I feel like this plot could have been done better by someone else.

It was pretty sad and grim in a realism sort of way. I don't think I felt tense or scared reading it at any point. The namedropping of other horror media in the book felt like the author going 'see? see? this is totally scary and in the same vein and stuff! Isn't this so cool?!!'

Oh, and if you're looking for straight up supernatural horror, look elsewhere.

content warnings:
minor: animal death, death, body horror, sexual content, abortion, misogyny, murder, poison, suicide attempt,

medium: death, teeth trauma, gaslighting, poisoning, murder, parental death, smoking tobacco, genital trauma, dogs, alcohol abuse, self harm, h p lovecraft mention, peer abuse / bullying, injuries, bone fractures, gore, violence,

major: religion catholicism, misogyny, death, bullying, peer abuse, gore, death threats, emotional abuse, vomit, emetophobia, sexual content, menstruation, blood, unsanitary, religious abuse, exorcisms, child abuse, homophobic f slur, hate groups, poisoning, familicide,

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the_escapist's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I can't remember the last time I finished a book in less than 12 hours, but this had me gripped so tight I couldn't stop reading.

I loved the underlying tension throughout that builds and builds, loved how the author set up the story so you're not sure whether it's supposed to be an actual demonic possession, mental illness, or whether the sister is faking it. I think it was actually a very wise decision because, in a lot of ways, having a definite supernatural element made explicit from the start takes a lot of the scare factor out of the story because it stops feeling real and grounded (for me, anyway).

I've never really read/watched a possession story that felt so tense and messed up but believably so – that's what makes this work so well. Nothing feels too ridiculous. The characters feel like real people, the setting feels like a real setting, even the TV crew feels like a real crew. The POV was also really fun – it's written in the first person and during the flashbacks to her childhood, the author has a way of writing through the main character's eyes to really make her feel like a real child – all her wants and (mis)understandings and the things that she picks upon.

If it wasn't for the unique concept, I wouldn't have picked this up. I wouldn't have given it a go if it was just a straightforward possession story. But I really liked the idea of the uncertainty of it all and thought it was executed brilliantly. It's the first horror book I've read in ages. Ever since I finished it, every now and then I find my thoughts drifting back to it. Especially the ending. I really enjoyed how it ended.

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