My Best Friend's Exorcism

4.5 stars - Originally posted to dragonsandwhimsy.co.uk

Over the past few years, I have been delving more and more into the horror genre. At one time I couldn???t get enough of it but I was too young to watch or read most things. Then I developed an anxiety disorder and found myself too easily frightened. However, my love of the genre never really went away. There is something about a dark, creepy story that gets under your skin. I still don???t know what it is, but I started keeping an eye out for horror novels when I checking the Kindle sales and that is how I came across My Best Friend???s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix. 

That Cover Art, Though
Of course, the first thing you notice about this book is the cover. I suppose you can say the same for any book but this one, in particular, grabbed my eye. I???ve been finding myself enamoured with the 80???s retro vibe a lot of shows have been embracing the past few years, from Stranger Things to GLOW.

I just love the colourful nature of 80???s fashion, the big curly hair and the amazing pop music, the rise of some truly great horror and alternative music and fashion??? yes, the ???80s was a terrible decade in many ways, but there???s something to be said for it. And the cover art for My Best Friend???s Exorcism screams ???the 80???s does horror, and here???s the VHS from the back of your dad???s cupboard???. So of course my first thought was: ???oh hey, I wonder if this will scratch that Stranger Things itch,??? and the short answer is: no. It won???t. But it does many other things really, really well. 

A Friendship Like No Other?
The shining jewel of this novel is the friendship between Abby and Gretchen. They met as kids at Abby???s E.T. themed roller-skating party when Gretchen was the only other kid from class who showed up. They???ve been thick as thieves ever since. Gretchen is there for Abby when her dad loses his job and they fall into poverty, and Abby is there for Gretchen when her parents??? discipline turns violent. Beautifully, what divides them only seeks to make them stronger. Then comes high school when they have more friends, but they are still each other???s BFF. Until something changes and Gretchen starts acting really weird and then withdrawn until Abby loses hope of ever calling Gretchen her friend again.

Gretchen raised her head and looked at her bedroom door. ???I???m going to kill her,??? she whispered. Then she wiped her nose and looked up at Abby. ???Don???t ever tell I said that.???

The Midway Slog

The Horror is There

Who Should Read My Best Friend???s Exorcism?