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lunababybat's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
It was good. I like this take on a demon possession story, where it doesn't focus on how or why the girl is possessed, just that she is, and it jumps into the reality TV part of the story with minimal dilly-dallying. The mixed media aspect was also fun, even though I think it's a bit of a cliche to make Merry the author of the blog. I don't know, it just feels cheap in a way, even though I understand why the author did this in the context of the ending. Speaking of the ending, I saw that one coming, but I do enjoy the ambiguity of it.
As for why it's not rated higher, to be honest, child Merry annoyed the fuck out of me. I'm not the biggest fan of kids in horror books, and this one in particular was really annoying. Maybe it's because of how vivid my imagination is when I read, but listening to how energetic, pushy, and attention seeking she was exhausted me as if I was actually around a hyperactive 8-year old. I get why she was like that, but I think it would have been more demonstrative of the upheaval to make her more subdued as time went on. And more bearable to read.
As for why it's not rated higher, to be honest, child Merry annoyed the fuck out of me. I'm not the biggest fan of kids in horror books, and this one in particular was really annoying. Maybe it's because of how vivid my imagination is when I read, but listening to how energetic, pushy, and attention seeking she was exhausted me as if I was actually around a hyperactive 8-year old. I get why she was like that, but I think it would have been more demonstrative of the upheaval to make her more subdued as time went on. And more bearable to read.
ccme's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
mruiz's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
lilyantan's review against another edition
4.0
Marjorie, 14, starts displaying signs of Schizophrenia. When she doesn't respond to treatment, her desperate and broke family call on the church for help and get swept up in an exorcism reality TV show.
I finished this book last night, right before going to bed and the severely troubling ending gave me nightmares. I dreamt that I was cloned (could have something to do with binge watching Westworld too) and my clone was being hunted down because she was "evil", but she wasn't , she just wanted to be free! Although, she was initially trying to steal my identity, I was on her side towards the end of the dream and wanted to help her escape. I don't think she made it.
Point is, this book was very disturbing. It was less of a horror for me and more of a psychological thriller/ child abuse story. I wasn't scared, just very very sad and horrified at what was done to those kids and what became of them. I won't go into the father's descend into madness, his zealotry and the "patriarchy" because Tremblay already analysed his own story IN his novel through Karen's blog.
I'm looking forward to the movie, I think it should be shot in a Haunting of Hill House kind of way, where the main plot was the demise of a family and the horror just the means.
I finished this book last night, right before going to bed and the severely troubling ending gave me nightmares. I dreamt that I was cloned (could have something to do with binge watching Westworld too) and my clone was being hunted down because she was "evil", but she wasn't , she just wanted to be free! Although, she was initially trying to steal my identity, I was on her side towards the end of the dream and wanted to help her escape. I don't think she made it.
Point is, this book was very disturbing. It was less of a horror for me and more of a psychological thriller/ child abuse story. I wasn't scared, just very very sad and horrified at what was done to those kids and what became of them. I won't go into the father's descend into madness, his zealotry and the "patriarchy" because Tremblay already analysed his own story IN his novel through Karen's blog.
I'm looking forward to the movie, I think it should be shot in a Haunting of Hill House kind of way, where the main plot was the demise of a family and the horror just the means.
iancarpenter's review against another edition
4.0
Loved so much of this. It's impressively playful with it's various framing devices and there were several spots that I found legit scary. Every now and then the blog felt repetitive and the filming occasionally got in the way of my scares but these are quibbles. It's really well done, at times moving, scarier than most books I've read and it kept me guessing. It feels inventive and a great partner to My Heart is a Chainsaw (who's author is name-dropped in this book). There's similar appeals here with the deep horror knowledge of one of the characters.
kmcclung00's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
clevelandpoet's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Mental illness
Minor: Child death, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Sexual content, and Excrement
space__squid's review against another edition
3.0
Creepy and well-written, A Head Full of Ghosts explores the various conventions of the exorcism genre through popular culture and religion, critiquing the power structures at stake, not least when it comes to gendered violence. These critiques work well for me, but the ending manages to throw a spanner in its own critique in ways that I found a bit off-putting. This, along with some tongue-in-cheek references to the author’s own author friends, seemed a little off to me considering the book's theme of child abuse – for me (and I'm putting it a bit harshly here), this was not the right book for a “but can we really trust the victim?” and “look at my cool friends” spin.
danixinhahhh's review
5.0
Wow! Wow! This book! I’ve heard so much about this one and it truly deserves all the praise it gets! But how doesn’t anyone include this in their disturbing lists?! I mean, it isn’t disturbing in the visceral and gory sense as is The Troop, but psychologically?!?! This is a lot! And so sad! Even though I loved this book I don’t think I’ll ever be able to read it again. But
svnn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Visceral, uncomfortable, tense, and melancholic. The Barrett family is a facsimile of y2k suburban normalcy until forces behind their control dismantle their family unit piece by piece.
A page turner that kept me questioning what was actually happening right up until the very end. Fantastic.
A page turner that kept me questioning what was actually happening right up until the very end. Fantastic.