My Best Friend's Exorcism

POSSIBLE TRIGGERS Demon Possession
The wonder of friendship supersedes all other powers when an ancient demon possesses a teenage girl.
Grady Hendrix is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. He adds to his winning streak with a nostalgic, if blood-soaked, horror story to grab the hearts and memories of those of "Generation X".

“The Exorcist is dead!”, we read in the first line of the story...and Abby Rivers, a middle-aged divorcée, begins to reflect back on the friendship that has pretty much defined her, her whole life. In flashbacks, Abby recalls meeting with her best friend, Gretchen Lang, at her 10th birthday party in 1982. This party forever sealed their friendship.

The majority of the story is set in 1988 and is an show more unabashed love remembrance of all the things that drove the parents crazy, but the young folks loved and JUST HAD TO HAVE...like big hair, heavy metal, and all the other pop-culture trappings of that era. I thought it clever that Grady Hendrix used song titles from that era for chapter titles, everything from “Don’t You Forget About Me” to “And She Was.”. Things go really off kilter when Abby, Gretchen, and two other friends set off to a cabin in the woods to experiment with LSD. Gretchen disappears and when she returns...she's not the same girl that left.... she's changed.

The author walks a fine line in his portrayal...leaving the story open and allowing the reader to doubt or wonder, if Gretchen is actually possessed or has simply fallen prey to the vanities and duplicities of high school and perhaps her youth. He also has managed to capture and make us remember all the frustrations of adolescence, as Abby seeks adult help in her plight and is relentlessly dismissed by the adults. She finally finds help in Brother Lemon, a member of a Christian boy band, the "Lemon Brothers Faith and Fitness Show", who agrees to try and help her. When Abby’s demon finally shows its true colors in the book’s denouement, it’s not only a spectacularly grotesque and profane depiction of exorcism...remember all those gruesome, gory scenes from the Exorcist movie and then multiply them by about a thousand, then let that picture sit in your brain.

I do have to admit that this was a truly inspiring portrayal of the resilience of the bond of friendship. In spite of how much I like this author and have now read almost everything he has written, I truly warn that this book is certainly NOT for all readers, but anyone that may want to travel back to 1971 and relive William Peter Blatty’s infamous "The Exorcist" shouldn’t miss this one. show less

Is this a horror story? Depends. Do you think The Eighties were a horror? I'm of an age with the main characters and this book immediately brought me back to The Eighties and left me there in a world of satanic panic. bodybuilding, and tough love. The author calls it Beaches meets The Exorcist, I call it Heathers where maybe J.D.'s a real demon and maybe the real villain is the time and the adults who'd rather control than understand. This is a love letter to The Eighties--we've got the beat--and an indictment, and I cannot stop thinking about it.

I actually don't read as much horror as I used to, because I find either the plots are stupid, the characters do something remarkably stupid to advance the plot, or the horror just doesn't horrify. That's the bad stuff, and there's a lot of it. Then there's the passable horror, that gives you a lot of what you want, but there's still something—a subplot that falls flat, an annoying character (that's not meant to be annoying), or a point where the story just kind of sags. I would have to say that even those I consider masters of the genre are guilty of this.

With the one-two punch of Horrorstör and then this one, Grady Hendrix just rocketed to the top of my favourite authors list.

Hendrix is able to distill the environment—whether show more it's a knock-off Ikea clone store or the 80s—with grace, humour, and tongue planted decidedly in cheek. His plots are deceptively simple. His characters are both incredibly real and insanely likeable.

But all this would only be okay if he wasn't able to bring the horror. And he's a fucking master at bringing the horror as well.

But most importantly, the two books I've read suffer from none of the maladies I mention above. None. Elmore Leonard once stated that it was important to cut out the sections of story that the reader would skip over. It's frustratingly important and stupidly vague advice...but Hendrix gets it. He cuts out all the bloat, all the fat, and leaves nothing but lean, mean story.

And the weird thing is, a year or so ago, I saw Horrorstör and was intrigued, but I also viewed it as a bit gimmicky—which, if I'm honest, it kind of is—but then I saw My Best Friend's Exorcism and was immediately turned off. Nope, I thought, this just looks stupid.

I'm really glad I decided to try it anyway.

I love this guy. Hendrix, unless you manage to pull a Chuck Palahniuk, you've just gotten a lifetime pass from me. I'll read anything you write. show less

Normally, when I abandon a book, it's because the book isn't working for me or because it's so bad that I doubt it would work for anyone. But Horror novels aren't normal. They set out to be horrifying. Sometimes I become so horrified by what I'm reading that I decide not to finish the book.

That's what happened with my 'Best Friend's Exorcism'. I set it aside in 2021 and told myself I'd come back to it but I know now that I never will. This isn't because the book is badly written. It's because it's so well written that everything in the book felt real to me and it wasn't a reality that I wanted to stay in.

Grady Hendrix knows how to tell a story. His novel, 'The Southern Book Club's Guide To Killing Vampires' was remarkable. It was show more surprising, original and emotionally challenging but not at all the amusing, lightweight novel that the title suggests.

The same is true of 'My Best Friend's Exorcism'. It looks like it's an 80s nostalgia High School horror story that might be just a little bit tongue-in-cheek. It isn't. It's a serious book about two High School sophomores going through a trauma that the adults around them refuse to confront. There's enough rape, violence and social cruelty to make demonic possession feel like an extension of real life.

As I didn't finish the book I can't review it in the normal way so, instead, I'm going to share my experience of the book from the start to when I abandoned it.

25%
I hate the school described in this book. How does Grady Hendrix manage to make real-life seem more sinister and malignant than the supernatural?"

45%
I'm struggling with this now, not because it's bad but because it's well done and it's very bleak.
Initially, the re-immersion in 80s pop culture was fun but we're past the now and we're looking 80s misogyny in face. I have to say, it hasn't changed much but that doesn't make it any prettier.
The world is so dark at the moment that I'm not sure I can stick with this, even though to storytelling is next to perfect.

53%
This is a gruelling, almost masochistic read.

Grady Hendrix knows how to take the small unkindnesses and every-day hatreds of our lives and show them for the evil that they are, making the supernatural evil lurking in the background seem like it's coming home.

56%

I'm done. There's just too much suffering in this and it's too easy to imagine it. Even if it all works out in the end, no one here is going to emerge unscathed. I'm going to set this aside.

'My Best Friend's Exorcism' is a powerful book and if your stomach is stronger than mine, it might be a perfect Halloween read for you. I recommend the audiobook version. Click on the SoundCloud link below to hear a sample.

https://soundcloud.com/blackstonepublishing/preview-my-best-friends-exorcism show less

I really struggled with this book, I both loved and hated it. It reminded me so much of why I hated high school, and all the roller coaster feelings with it. It was too spot on with all the betrayal and self doubt high school girls get entangled in. The sadness I felt at seeing Gretchen deteriorate, refreshed too many struggles in my own life. Gretchen's deterioration is rooted in very real symptoms of people suffering from traumatic experiences, and this made the book both absolutely horrible, and wonderful, at the same time. Horrible because of my own understanding of mental illness and the pain and isolation as friends and family are driven away. The anger at the hypocrisy was overwhelming, the school and parents touting faith and show more honor, while simultaneously abandoning her. The ideals spouted is what she needed in the hardest times, but when those times come, those same people continue spouting their hypocrisy while she struggles, even after begging them for help. It was just too much, I think some people say things like "trigger" warning, or something. I stuck with it, because the reason I was having such an emotional reaction was because it IS A GOOD BOOK. I felt real heartbreak during this book. The ambiguity between possession and mental illness is very intentional, I'm sure. It was beautiful and sad. Not what I typically expect when I search out a new horror novel. I felt so happy and free, then true despair and anguish, and finally horror. Bravo. show less

“He unzipped two electric blue surfboard bags. Inside were nylon straps, handcuffs, a straitjacket, duct tape, ball gags, chains, collars, a leash and muzzle, a leather hood, shackles. “It’s for our safety, of course,” he said. And then he laughed and clapped his hands. “Hot darn, I’m excited,” he said, hopping from one foot to the other.” - all I’m saying is that if I ever need an exorcism I want a guy this pumped to do it.

Preface: This review has nothing to do with the actual exorcism in the book. While writing this, I'm realizing that it was actually my least favorite part of My Best Friend's Exorcism. Go figure!

Anyway...

After reading Riley Sager’s Survive the Night and being quite disappointed by the lack of references to the 90's time period, I was BLOWN AWAY by Hendrix’s (subtle) 80’s VIBES:

The overall ode to the Satanic panic of the 1980s.
The 80s pop references and chapter titles (but where is the New Wave, man?!).
The movie references.
The roller rink birthday party.
Crimped hair.
The rise of absurd diet fads.
And my personal favorite: THE FACT THAT ABBY WORKS AT A TCBY!
(I honestly do not know why that is so incredible to me, but show more alas, it is.)
THAT IS HOW YOU CREATE A SETTING, BABY!

I’m going to put it out there and say that I’ve never felt physically ill because of a book before, but this book completely changed that. It literally made me NAUSEOUS. There was a particular scene involving the ingredients in a diet shake that made me want to gag (IYKYK). I think that because this is considered a Young Adult novel I approached it with the mentality that it would be rather tame in terms of gore, but I was so very wrong. If Hendrix does one thing exceptionally well, it’s being absolutely grotesque. All that being said, I don’t think this is actually appropriate for a Young Adult audience. I should also mention that this book deals with molestation and animal abuse, so please proceed with caution.

I absolutely loved Abby and Gretchen’s relationship; it felt so authentic and demonstrated a very real portrayal of two girls growing up together – late night phone calls, petty arguments, dancing to Madonna's Like a Virgin wearing your mom's crosses, etc... - but it also accurately depicted the “you always hurt the ones you love” trope. Later on in the novel, Gretchen uses Abby’s weaknesses and insecurities against her, something that is all too common among best friends in turmoil.

Overall, I really liked this book. While the gore completely repulsed me, the friendship component of this book was so strong and I absolutely LOVED the epilogue. show less