Book Review: My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

My Best Friend's Exorcism is a heartwarming story of friendship and demonic possession. 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? Like an unholy hybrid of Beaches and The Exorcist, My Best Friend’s Exorcism blends teen angst, adolescent drama, unspeakable horrors, and a mix of ’80s pop songs into a pulse-pounding supernatural thriller.

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This is one of the best books I've read all year! I wasn't born during the 80s, but this book certainly made me feel like I was in that decade every time I started to read it. I plucked this book off of the library shelf  because of it's unusual cover  and title. After reading it's description, I knew it would be for me. This book is a great blend of a the movie Heathers and the classic film The Exorcist. It is way darker than Heathers however. There are a few comical moments, but not many. 

The story starts out with a streamly heart warming story of two girl's friendship.  The novel seems to be going along like a normal friendship novel until the situation starts where Gretchen begins to act weird. The book hits a slight slump in the middle for about 15-20 pages, but then it hurls itself towards an exciting  and emotional conclution. I loved how the author Hendrix made me care so much about the friendship of Abby and Gretchen. He made me angry every time Gretchen treated Abby wrong and he made me believe that Abby was the most awesome friend ever for going to such extreme lengths in order to make Gretchen better.

This book could have been boring and filled with 80s stereotypes. The events that surround Gretchen's exorcism are genuinely scary and stomach turning. Author Grady Hendrix manages to pull at your heart strings as well as flip your stomach inside out.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves horror. This is not a book for everyone, but it certainly one for those who enjoy exploring the dark side of friendship. I can't wait to read more by this author.

5/5 Stars

You can buy this book on Amazon.com.