Reviews

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

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amber_h86's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

mtngrl85's review against another edition

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1.0

What do I even say about this one? I’ll start by saying that I did not enjoy this novel and that I don’t understand the hype. I really don’t get how people are scared or disturbed by this story. I read The Exorcist when I was twelve years old and it scared the crap out of me but I think that once you have read one possession story, you’ve read them all.

The characters were fairly well written. I could easily picture the characters and see their dynamic as a regular working-class family down on their luck – very relatable. The few bits that were supposed to be spooky just didn’t do it for me. Like I said, it’s been done many times before. I think the most disturbing element of the story was watching the father get sucked into the religious side of things. He was the one truly possessed in my opinion and I think that had the story focused more on him and his downward spiral, the story would have been much more interesting.

I disliked how the family’s dire situation became a reality tv series and I disliked even more that we were annoyed with chapters of someone’s perky blog posts. None of this really made any sense, was very distracting, and was obviously used as filler.

Don’t bother reading this one. If anyone can find a modern possession novel that will keep me up at night, please let me know.

mikkykayla's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

4.0

I’m still processing how I feel about this book so my rating may change. This book definitely wasn’t what I was expecting. I expected a classic exorcism story, which this was not. I’ve seen a lot of people complain about ambiguity of the possession in this book because even in the end you’re asking; Was she possessed or just a mentally ill teenager who desperately needed help? I, however, really loved this aspect. Also, FUCK JOHN BARRETT! The most terrifying thing about this book was that John made it through the whole book without being checked. I know he was as scared, I know he was desperate, but I honestly, your daughter needed help! 😖

alexauf11's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

zgonzale's review against another edition

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5.0

A Head Full of Ghosts is, at its heart, an incredibly innovative and modern take on a classic horror trope. I cannot emphasize enough how much this book terrified and fascinated me. I was so scared and sickened that I could barely stand to keep reading, but I was so enthralled that I couldn't stop. Tremblay frames the narrative brilliantly, cultivates Merry's voice and perspective beautifully, and pays subtle (and sometimes near-meta direct) homage to a wide range of classic horror. Most impressive was the sharp intellect with which Tremblay digs into the underbelly of American culture, the patriarchy, the nature of memory versus reality, the public spectacle, and the societal and personal roles of religion and science. Overall, if there's just one thing that I want to highlight above all else, it's that this novel is wickedly smart and completely, utterly chilling.