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A review by gkazumi
How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix
dark
emotional
funny
sad
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
I am not a huge fan of haunted house, possession, exorcism type horror. I find that it tends to be over done and repetitive with very little room for something fresh and relatable in between.
With this said the only Grady Hendrix books I have read so far are Horrorstor, My Best Friends Exorcism, and now How to Sell a Haunted House. And with How to Sell a Haunted Hause I've come to realize that in these stories Grady Hendrix finds a way to make them feel some level of relatable.
While it is my least favorite, My Best Friends Exorcism tackles the feelings of growing up and growing apart from your best friend. Which I'm sure for many people, especially women is probably an incredibly relatable experience.
Horrorstor, while on the lower end of relatability, definitely calls to people that have worked retail after hours and at closing and how eerie and alone it can feel.
Now with How to Sell a Haunted House, the relatability comes from themes of loss, family, and the feeling of estrangement many feel to their siblings. The evolution of resentment built from childhood "misunderstandings" and the feeling of inadequacy to an understanding of each other was represented really well with Mark and Louise. I really love that as we're introduced to Louise's view on her brother our perspective of him changes as hers does but it also doesn't change the type of people they are at their core.
The same thing starts with Pupkin as you learn that he's not quite a vicious puppetbut a scared child that feels unready to move on to the afterlife.
There were many things that made me laugh, mostly in the dynamic between Louise and Mark as they rekindled their relationship over the grief and horrors of what is happening.
There were many times when I felt visceral horror and discomfort.Special mention to the part where Louise has to saw off Mark's arm. I actually had to take a break because it was so much back to back with the "fight" with Spider, to Pupkin trying to kill Louise with the hammer, and then to the amputation.
There were many times where I felt a bit of melancholy? Endearment? at the parts where Louise and Mark really felt like siblings. If I'm being honest by the end of the book I cried.
This is by far my favorite Grady Hendrix book so far. I'm not sure I'll love the next one as much or love the ones on my backlog as much but this one really resonated with me.
With this said the only Grady Hendrix books I have read so far are Horrorstor, My Best Friends Exorcism, and now How to Sell a Haunted House. And with How to Sell a Haunted Hause I've come to realize that in these stories Grady Hendrix finds a way to make them feel some level of relatable.
While it is my least favorite, My Best Friends Exorcism tackles the feelings of growing up and growing apart from your best friend. Which I'm sure for many people, especially women is probably an incredibly relatable experience.
Horrorstor, while on the lower end of relatability, definitely calls to people that have worked retail after hours and at closing and how eerie and alone it can feel.
Now with How to Sell a Haunted House, the relatability comes from themes of loss, family, and the feeling of estrangement many feel to their siblings. The evolution of resentment built from childhood "misunderstandings" and the feeling of inadequacy to an understanding of each other was represented really well with Mark and Louise. I really love that as we're introduced to Louise's view on her brother our perspective of him changes as hers does but it also doesn't change the type of people they are at their core.
The same thing starts with Pupkin as you learn that he's not quite a vicious puppet
There were many things that made me laugh, mostly in the dynamic between Louise and Mark as they rekindled their relationship over the grief and horrors of what is happening.
There were many times when I felt visceral horror and discomfort.
There were many times where I felt a bit of melancholy? Endearment? at the parts where Louise and Mark really felt like siblings. If I'm being honest by the end of the book I cried.
This is by far my favorite Grady Hendrix book so far. I'm not sure I'll love the next one as much or love the ones on my backlog as much but this one really resonated with me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Death of parent