Reviews

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

ryleeneu's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

jw2212's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Very much enjoyed the storytelling of this book. The present day entries were less captivating, but did pull it together at the end. 

kaitmaries's review against another edition

emotional funny mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

sayarik's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

readingwmiles's review against another edition

5.0

re-read edit: jk this is a 5 star. wrote 2 papers on this book and i do truly love it

I really enjoyed this one! It's been highly recommended to me and I can see why. This book is one of my favorite works from Paul Tremblay, with lots of scary moments, a solid possession story, and an ambiguous ending. The family was well fleshed out, even though it could be hard to get a sense of what was real due to the perspective of Merry. I love long, strange, scary ramblings from characters and I definitely got that with this book. Its hard to figure out who's the real "bad guy" in this, and what their motivations really are. I liked this confusion, it kept me invested. The intense meta-ness of this story and all the pop culture references are what keeps this from a true 5-star book. I enjoyed the parallels to We Have Always Lived in the Castle, but because I have read that, I saw the ending coming. Tremblay loves to include pop culture in his work, and while this usually works okay for him, there was just too much of it here. Overall, a good scary read that I had trouble putting down. Would definitely recommend to horror fans.

cinziabillson's review against another edition

medium-paced

3.0

jarofbees's review against another edition

3.0

Unfortunately I didn’t find the characters or their motivations particularly compelling, and I weirdly wish things had’ve been left a bit vaguer to sell the “is she”, “isn’t she” narrative. Though I enjoyed the blog before the big ol blog reveal, the references took me out of the story when they were inserted into the more everyday moments (or maybe I consume too much horror content). And that ending!

If only it didn’t remind me a little too much of a certain Shirley Jackson novel.

chloeardd's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

darling_darkness_666's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This one took me into a questioning if there was a possession or not. Didn't keep me on my toes, but kept me wondering wth was happening. It's a good spooky book. I grew up watching horror movies. And many movies scenes popped up perfectly. 

kaynic93's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

2.5