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

In all honesty, I got this book because of the beautiful cover, and I was wanting to read something spooky for October. I did not realize that the author is the same one who wrote the southern book clubs guide to slaying vampires, a book I hate vehemently. I even wrote in my review of that book that I would not read anything by this author again and if I had made that connection earlier, I would not have bought this book.

As much as I hate his writing, the first half of the book gave me hope. I found the parallels between sexual assault and demon possession to be an interesting take and very poignant. And then he just lost all this momentum. The actual exorcism fell flat, cheesy, and lazy. Body horror has a time and place, such as with Margaret, it feel disturbing but appropriate. Within the exorcism, it felt cheap, just added in for the shock value.

In the end, I didn’t hate the book as much as his other, but I am deeply disappointed. He had so much going for him in the first half of the book and fumbled it. He chose the lazy way out and used a generic exorcism template instead of doing something unique and creative. And the very end where they began listing major pop culture moments from the 80s - cringey and a cheap shot at nostalgia.

I have learned from my mistake.
Fool me once, fool me twice, there will not be a third Mr Hendrix.

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cecinamo's review

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

I did enjoy the book a lot, but sometimes it was a little to gory for my taste. Still it was really well written and a great book for spooky season! 🎃

I didn’t really get how they exorcized the demon in the end? It kinda just seemed like “yay! The power of friendship saved the day” ? Idk maybe I’m being nitpick-y
Also Abby and Gretchen were definitely more than friends ;)

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lizziaha's review against another edition

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2.75

Ultimately, the focus on Abby and Gretchen’s friendship is this book’s saving grace. Some aspects of the horror were well-done as well, but I was annoyed that some things seemed to be put in for pure shock value, without ever being explained. This was also slightly more low-stakes than I expected it to be. And I disliked Hendrix’s cavalier bigotry for the sake of the “authentic” setting (the south in the 80s).

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tifftastic87's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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

4.75

I was surprised by this one. I saw such mixed reviews from the reviewers that I usually align with that I didn't have high hopes, but I went in with open eyes. I am so pleased that I did.

Synopsis
Abby is a scholarship girl at a prestigious private school in South Carolina in the 80s. By the standards of the era and the region, she is an outcast. That is until a new girl comes to town, Gretchen, and becomes Abby's ride or die. Everything goes down hill when Gretchen runs off to the woods one night and comes back a little wrong. Gretchen's behavior starts spiraling out of control, none of the adults believe Abby and she finds herself ostracized and on the verge of expulsion. It all culminates when the only adult that believes Abby is a muscle bound, neon clad, evangelist. But will his faith and Abby's determination be enough to save Gretchen?

High Camp Tension
This was so campy and satirical that it really made the story for me. I have a lot of religious trauma around "deliverance" so was really pleased that it was handled in such a campy way, that made the uncomfortable bits a little easier to stomach. Every time I felt my stomach clenching there would be some sort of comedic relief. If that is not necessarily something that you look for in a horror, and I usually don't either, then maybe this one isn't for you.

Girl Crew
At first Abby is extremely unlikable, at least to me, she is selfish and whiny and somewhat rude. But she has a good moment where she makes a decision on who she wants to be and her character just changes from there to a very likeable, if not frustrating (stand up for yourself woman!), character. The friendship dynamic among the girls is actually pretty relatable to growing up in the 80s/90s. I don't know how teens treat each other now, but even in to the very early 00s this felt pretty true to form. I have heard from some reviewers that Grady Hendrix is "banned" from writing women after Final Girl Support Group, but I actually really liked how he did it here.

The Satanic Panic of it All
This, combined with the War on Drugs, was so perfect. I think this is what I wanted out of Whisper Down the Lane and was severely disappointed in that book. Abby is accused of selling drugs and committing satan worship, when she's probably the most quintessential high school student, but doing it all with perfect grades. Any time any of the kids has an emotion the adults are quick to ask "are you on drugs?" Which feels so, well, real. I have strong memories of very similar conversations in my youth.

In Short
I really enjoyed this book, I thought some of it could have been better. But only by bits and pieces. I really loved all of the chapters being named after songs from the era and how important music was to the story itself. I think this is a case where pop culture references were done very well. I would definitely recommend this to people who are new to horror, as it is very light on the horror. Though do check the content warnings.

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katertotz's review

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dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

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mistercrow's review

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adventurous dark fast-paced

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

4.75

Thoroughly enjoyed this one. Just FYI; this is a horror book set in the 1980s, in a southern high school. The author didn’t shy away from that authenticity.

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