Reviews

Such a fan book to start the year with! Grady Hendrix never fails to crack me up and horrify me at the same time.

This book follows two long time best friends in the 1980s when one of them becomes possessed by a demon.

I seriously will read anything Grady Hendrix writes.

kgpierce's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I really love rural southern imagery and this book was great for that. I really liked the complex deep connection between the 2 main characters, the author does a great job of depicting the silly, sweet, and beautiful depth of the intimacy between childhood best friends.

Content Warnings

antoniag's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny medium-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? No

4.25

Loved the concept of a demonic possession happening in plain sight during the peak of the 80s satanic panic, that was really fun.

I read this digitally so I feel like I missed the impact of the different media snippets. Something that stood out to me was the class themes running throughout and the small ways Hendrix visualizes the decay of polite society.

I also really enjoyed the Exorcist character, the body building for Christ thing he has going on is really funny and his ridiculous character helps take some of the edge off the “unseen enemy” southern evangelical talk. Even with the heavy satire though, I think a lot of what he says could be triggering for someone with religious trauma.

skylerswee's review against another edition

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3.0

It would have gotten a four, but the dog dies. The dog never needs to die, especially in a book like this. But I’ve heard they keep that out of the movie.

sleepymushrooms's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

mollybonovskyanderson's review against another edition

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2.0

I might've given it one more star if it'd had a better ending. It was a fun read anyhow.

finajevans5's review against another edition

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dark funny slow-paced

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

2.0

I stopped listening to this because I paused my audible subscription, and whilst I was excited to get back to it, this fell flat. I think this is a case of the premise being more exciting than the reality of watching this play out over 10 hours (it felt far too long). Also, I wasn't sure if this is meant to be queer coded or not?

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