Reviews with content warning for Classism - My Best Friend's Exorcism

Reviews tagging 'Classism'

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

105 reviews

elonn's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

This was a story about friendship, trauma, and the horrors of both the supernatural and the real world. The bond between the two main characters felt authentic, and I appreciated that the girls in the friend group weren’t typical female stereotypes found in most high school or coming-of-age stories. It also accurately captured how school friendships are often based on proximity rather than shared interests—the girls barely liked each other but were still “friends,” which felt very true to real life. I also loved how

the final exorcism drew on symbols of Abby and Gretchen’s connection

. The power lifter evangelists made me laugh as I vividly remember guys like that performing at church as a child.

What stood out most, though, was how the cruelty of the time shaped the girls’ experiences. The apathy, ignorance, and casual cruelty from family, friends, teachers, and authority figures were just as awful—if not worse—than the actions of the demon. The story unflinchingly portrayed the racism, rape culture, and exploitation of young girls in the 1980s, capturing a world where they had no allies, not even each other.

Some things didn’t work for me. The inclusion of images like magazine quizzes and food journals felt like a good idea in theory, but their sudden appearance late in the story and abrupt disappearance made the concept feel out of place and unfinished. The ending also

dragged on unnecessarily into old age, and the lack of resolution around Molly’s murder felt like a missed opportunity.

Despite its flaws, this messy, imperfect story accurately depicts the terror and heartbreak of being young and vulnerable in a cruel world.

Content Warnings

nutmegandpumpkin's review

Go to review page

dark medium-paced

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

3.0

***major MAJOR emetophobia warning
**as well as those grossed out or who have a fear of bugs, worms, and parasites
*there is also vivid descriptions of cadavers opened up & dead fetuses

Not my kind of horror. It went more the gross route than scary/spooky route.

The cover and how I’ve heard people talk about this made me have much different expectations. I thought it was going to be Stranger Things meets The Conjuring. But it was more just 80s pop culture references meets The Exorcist with some high school girl drama.

I was disappointed to say the least.

None of the characters were likable apart from Abby (well most of the time anyways) and her mother. All the adults apart from Abby’s mother are infuriating. And actually, this book infuriated me many MANY times, and left me feeling extremely grossed out & ill even more times than that.

I will give credit where credit is due, the last two pages were very sweet and lovely.

I think he was going for 80s campy horror movie but it just fell flat and like he didn’t fully commit either.

Don’t hate me but, dare I say, this was way overhyped

Content Warnings

bringmorecoffee's review

Go to review page

dark emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated

4.0

The book does read exactly like a summer horror flick. It's giving Jennifer's Body, a little bit of Stranger Things, some of the vibes from the Fear Street series on Netflix. It was very fast paced, going through many years in a short amount of time while making it seem like a thoroughly fleshed out montage.

Sometimes horror being set in the protagonist's teen years feels "overdone," but I think part of the digestible horror of it is how little agency a young adult has and how much they are never believed for the hardships they are going through.

Anyway, the friendship that Hendrix shows us is one that I think most people have either experienced or had a taste of, which makes the pain of the story all the more potent.

Very recommend for a fast, fun read. Like a good 90 minute movie.

Spoiler ahead

Hendrix really ended this book by rhetorically asking

"What could be more holy than friendship? What could be more pure than the love of a young heart and a shared history? What is more evil than the world we live in and the things we do to each other, and what is a better light against that darkness than the spark of hope and belief in another person?"

I was bawling, I was a wreck. As Abby recited every inch of their shared history to expel a demon from her friend, I cried because that love is honestly everything. I thought of every person I could exercise with this "incantation," every friend whom I love and could recite the building blocks of our relationship for. I hope that was Hendrix's aim, too.

Content Warnings

james1star's review

Go to review page

dark hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

On the whole this was a very decent read and one I would recommend. The story follows Abby, an outsider who’s poor in comparison to others in the rich town and school she attends, who befriends the new girl Gretchen, a bit weird and has religious parents controlling her life. When they’re older they go skinny dipping, Gretchen gets lost and the next day starts acting weird which continues… what’s going on with her? I won’t say any more on the plot but it is quite creepy, strange and gets under your skin a bit. You do want to know what’s going on but does feel a bit slow picking up from the 200 page mark.

My only real qualm with the book is that what went down doesn’t get fully explained so it’s a bit annoying and some parts towards the end are slightly frustrating. Additionally, it is a little gross and some of the horror-elements weren’t too much to my liking as it’s not really my genre. The best parts and what I throughly enjoyed was the exploration of the girl’s friendship, the coming of age nature being in their teens and also the 80s references which were spot on - I love books set in this decade and Hendrix did a great job with the music, film, fashion and cultural references. Whilst it’s not a new fave I do want to check out the author again and will certainly be doing so.

Content Warnings