A review by spcandybars
My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

adventurous emotional funny tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

*Can I just say first that Emily Woo Zeller is one of the best audiobook voice actors I’ve ever heard. The emotion, tension, and just expression of drama drove this story so well I don’t even want to attempt to read it with my eyes.*

I honestly loved this books so much. The childhood friendship was established so well, the progression of tension building into or resulting from at each terrible deed was palpable, and I was fully gripped by the end of the scene in the woods.

I’ve read one other Grady Hendrix novel and two things I’m absolutely certain of at this point are:
1.) He knows how to create characters and negative interactions that feel true to the worst parts of life
2.) He can spin truly disgusting imagery out of mundane things.

I don’t think any character but the exorcist is meant to be truly likable but I honestly feel shocked by how much I empathized with Abby - by how well Hendrix portrays the plight of a teenage girl realizing no adult in their life takes them seriously. I had just as many moments of frustration at her as I had for her and that went a long way into making Abby feel like such a real teenager in my eyes.  

I could have ended the book two chapters earlier and been incredibly happy. Fast Car is a perfect closing chapter that gave me the happy ending I was begging for after experiencing so much stress through these characters. The true final chapter doesn’t work as strongly as a closer because I truly don’t think this book was in need of an epilogue. That said, I’m not angry at it’s direction and it’s a thematic bookend which is hard to be mad at. 

There were a couple mentions that made me uncomfortable
, especially as a Black reader, like “slave day” and “you look like an Ethiopian”
but I recognize how they help form a picture of the time period and attitudes of the decade. As much as we recognize that the 80s were still part of that “different time” we like to pin on the Jim Crow era, I feel like it’s actually rare for me to see period media that doesn’t deal with race topics venture to establish it’s setting with not only the colorful pop culture references of the decade but also the outdated ideals. It’s uncomfortable and I do believe the 80s felt alive in the story without these inclusions but I also don’t believe I would argue strongly, if at all, to remove them. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings