Reviews with content warning for Self harm - A Head Full of Ghosts

I can't believe I convinced myself into starting this book at 1 am. I won't lie and say that I'm not easily scared (because I am), but horror novels typically don't rattle me. A Head Full of Ghosts, however, had me on sleeping with the lights on. The novel is as terrifying as it is mysterious--throughout the entire story I couldn't tell whether Marjorie was genuinely possessed or simply an extremely ill teenage girl who needed help. It kept me on my toes while I read every page. It's impressive, to me, to read writing that gives no hints as to what is true and what is not until the end. There were moments when I predicted whether Marjorie's actions were demonic or schizophrenic, but each time I decided, I would change my mind.

I really enjoyed A Head Full of Ghosts (even if it kept me from sleeping). It was a fast and interesting read that scared me to my core. I'm not sure why I thought it would be a good idea to read this in my 100-year old childhood home which I've always thought it to be "haunted" (but can you blame me for having an overactive imagination when I read books like this?) I won't spoil the ending for you, but I was amazed at how Paul Tremblay was able to make my jaw drop all the way to the floor. I genuinely loved this one.

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ghost_rider's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

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caramelcaylee's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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rorunyon96's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective 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

4.25

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lucylou's review against another edition

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dark 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? It's complicated

2.5

I think it’s overhyped- it’s not a bad book, but it was not for me. I didn’t like “Karen’s” chapters at all, as they didn’t sound like a woman could write them- very much a male author who doesn’t know how portray a young woman’s voice. The last 4 chapters seemed especially rushed, like the author had run out of steam and wanted to put in as many twists and f*cked up things as possible.

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dale1997's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

smileysam's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

3.5

I want to start off by saying I often see this book described as a super scary and disturbing horror novel (which was initially what brought me to reading it) and it’s not. To me, this novel is moreso sad and gut wrenching than scary. It’s less paranormal possession horror and more real life, mental illness, and family splitting ‘horror’.

I will say, it felt real. I liked the story being told from an unreliable, naive narrator. It felt plausible, like it could happen to any one of us. I initially didn’t mind the blog entries - I did feel like they pulled me out of the story, but not necessarily in a bad way (not until the third one, anyway). I liked the supposed outsider POV and the foreshadowing we got from them.

I do wish, though, that the poisoning of the family was moreso alluded to than outright told to us in the third blog post. I feel like it could’ve create much more tension if it was brought up in Merry’s descriptions to begin with.

All in all, I would say the first 2 parts of this book were fantastic. Where it began to lose me was part 3. The pacing seemed to change and became too fast. Everything seemed to happen and more or less resolve instantly as it was brought up. I wish the third part could’ve maintained the same atmosphere and pacing and story telling that the other two had. I would say this book is worth a read, though. I did enjoy it, it just was not quite what I was expecting or hoping for.

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