My Best Friend’s Exorcism by author Grady Hendrix
Spoiler Free Review
I’m going to be totally honest with you here. I 100% only read this book because of the cover. It’s a spectacular cover design and if there’s an award for cover designs that person should win it.
If it wasn’t for that cover I would never have picked this book up and my life would be about the same as it was before. I didn’t find a new favorite book. But I also didn’t get so annoyed I had to tell anyone who would listen about it. It was just pretty okay.
If you’re a fan of 80s nostalgia jerk-offs like Stranger Things and Ready Player One then you should try this one out. But that’s mostly all it is. The writing is simple and the plot is even simpler. There are also photo pages that add absolutely nothing to the book but page length. Yes, thank you for showing me what a telephone looks like, really needed that help. It’s a book for Gen Z that assumes Gen Z has never been exposed to any previous technology.
My favorite thing about the book is the friendships. It’s important to see two friends grow together to fully understand why one would be loyal to the other. Without the bond formed from such a young age and over so many years and experiences it would be completely unbelievable that one would save the other from a demon possession.
This is because, as is the case with literally every demon possession story, demon possession makes you a raging bitch. But with their friendship I could see the pain of seeing your friend going through hell and not being able to help them. I could see needing to help in even extremely drastic ways. And I could understand never stopping fighting for them even when everyone doubts you.
That’s the part of the book that makes it worth reading. A strong female friendship bound through shared traumas and joys alike.
Speaking of traumas, the book has some solid scary scenes. Some of the descriptions are truly grotesque and I love that. I could really picture the scenes and feel like a witness to the horror.
The book has an additional bonus of a great ending, so rare! The ending is grounded and focuses on the power of love over the power of religion. All of my friends have done way more for me than god ever has and this book reflects that.
It’s a quick horror read that checks most of the boxes. I can see why some people might really enjoy this book. I think younger, about high school age, readers could really get into it.
Can recommend to genre fans, younger audiences, and anyone looking for a strong female friendship in their novels.
Update: since originally writing this book review the novel has been picked up to be adapted into a movie. It released on Amazon Prime in 2022.
3/5 owls 🦉🦉🦉
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My Best Friend’s Exorcism Summary
The horror novel begins with Abby Rivers and Gretchen Lang, two best friends forever who are starting Sophomore year of high school. They share dreams and crushes and all the usual things friends get excited about.
One night Gretchen goes missing. When she reappears her behavior and personality have changed. Abby notices her behavior becoming increasingly erratic and begins to suspect it’s not just hormones. There must be something supernatural going on. As is totally normal, she starts researching exorcisms.
Abby tries to enlist help from friends, priests, and any town weirdos but no one seems to know enough. They try different exorcism methods but nothing works. Meanwhile, Gretchen is becoming dangerous.
No one believes Abby’s claims of possession and she starts to feel isolated. She just wants to get her best friend back!
Finally, Abby finds a real book about exorcism and is able to confront the demon possessing her friend. Abby is strong in the face of evil and is able to expel the demon. Yes there is a real demon in My Best Friend’s Exorcism, it’s not just a metaphor.
Through this shared trauma they are able to stay best friends forever through thick and thin. Trauma bonding is legit, don’t underestimate how that glue will stick two people together.
My Best Friend’s Exorcism is a cute story about friendship wrapped in a scary horror 80s throwback. If that sounds appealing to you, you’ll love this book.
I felt the same way about this book! I loved the cover but didn’t like the story. I honestly barley remember now, it’s been a couple years since I’ve read it. I’m sure a lot of people got sucked in by that cover.