My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix [Buddy Read Review]

Summary 💬

The year is 1988. High school sophomores Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fourth grade. But after an evening of skinny-dipping goes disastrously wrong, Gretchen begins to act … different. She’s moody. She’s irritable. And bizarre incidents keep happening whenever she’s nearby.

Abby’s investigation leads her to some startling discoveries — and by the time their story reaches its terrifying conclusion, the fate of Abby and Gretchen will be determined by a single question: Is their friendship powerful enough to beat the devil?.

Goodreads

Review ✍🏻

I finally read a Grady Hendrix book! I remember when he came onto the scene with Horrorstör… hard to believe that even My Best Friend’s Exorcism is nine years old. My sense of time is wonky when it comes to book publication dates. Thanks to Mayri @ Book Forager for motivating me to knock this one out! Last fall, Mayri reviewed How to Sell a Haunted House. We chatted about buddy reading another Hendrix book. My Best Friend’s Exorcism was the only Hendrix book I had on my official TBR, so we went with that. Be sure to check out Mayri’s review here.

My Best Friend’s Exorcism strikes a good balance between a friendship character study and classic horror plot. There’s a scene roughly a third of the way in that hits the first iconic classic horror moment of the story. I enjoyed this part and was glad to see there would be some creepy moments (rather than parody) in the book. Apparently, I had built up quite a few assumptions about Hendrix’s books just from seeing them around the blogosphere these past ten years. I wasn’t convinced that there would be any truly scary moments in his writing. Thankfully, that scene ~30% in proved me wrong.

It took a bit longer than I would have liked to build up to the horror stuff, but it was worth it for establishing the foundation of Abby and Gretchen’s friendship. I ended up reading the book in just a couple sittings. I didn’t anticipate it being so compelling – but that slow building dread of “What is going on with Gretchen??” sucked me in. The characterization of the two girls impressed me. The reader gets a clear sense of the bond between them. I found that resulted in the conclusion being more heartwarming than I would have expected.

I don’t consider myself well versed in ‘classic horror’ but I felt like this book vividly captured being a teen in the eighties (an experience which I personally did not have). Taking place in 1988, the story is steeped in eighties culture (something I think I know more about than classic horror). The book includes assorted media like newspaper clippings and yearbook photos which further bring the eighties to life. One aspect I felt uncomfortable with was the inclusion of casual racist and homophobic comments. I get that such comments may have been realistic for the time, but I think they could have been easily excluded since they had nothing to do with the plot. (I also get there’s an argument to be made that that could be seen as erasing history… but this is an adult spec fic novel, not a work intended for education.)

**Spoiler in the next paragraphs re something that’s not addressed + one character’s motives**

An urban legend referenced in the book had me thinking, “Ooh, some backstory/explanation for the creepy stuff going”. But then it was basically never brought up again. I felt disappointed about that initially, as I like some explanation re: the origin of spooky happenings. However, there was enough else going on that I let it slide. I wonder if it may have been an Easter egg for one of Hendrix’s other books…

I did not see the resolution coming! The exorcist was quite a colourful character… I didn’t know what to make of him at first. I thought maybe the reader was meant to be led on as to whether he’s a hero or villain? I was quite suspicious of his van at first haha. I might have had a different impression of the character if I had read The Exorcist. Mayri had, and she pointed out that this exorcist (in My Best Friend’s Exorcism) is the exact opposite of that exorcist (in The Exorcist).

The Bottom Line 💭

Mayri summed up this book perfectly for me when she noted it’s more people-focused than scares-focused. As someone who prefers a darker atmosphere for horror stories, I’m not sure I’ll pick up another Hendrix book. But I’m glad I gave this shot. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading about teens in the eighties and doesn’t mind some scary scenes.

Further Reading 📰

🍂 Author website
🍂 Interview @ Sansu the Cat
🍂 Reviews: Mayri @ Book Forager, Rosemary @ Mom Read It, Destiny @ Howling Libraries, Tammy @ Books, Bones, and Buffy, Krys @ Here’s the Fucking Twist, Lauren @ Always Me, Mogsy @ The Bibliosanctum

Have you read any Grady Hendrix novels?
Which decade is your favourite setting for a horror story?