From the Bookshelf of Vampires, Weres and Fae! …

My Best Friend's Exorcism

Grady Hendrix

Start date: June 1, 2022

Finish date: June 30, 2022

Discussion: After the Book Discussion

Why we're reading this: Best Horror Book List
[close] Best Horror Book List

Find A Copy At

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 1 of -13 topics — 88 comments total

After the Book Discussion

Q4: Hot and Badgered by Shelly Laurenston (Honey Badger Chronicles #1)
By Gord , King Kitty of the Blanket Fort · 20 posts · 9 views

last updated 7 hours, 38 min ago

showing 10 of 14 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Jun 10, 2017 Colleen Scidmore rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, supernatural, young-adult, audio-books, drama, demons, books-read-in-2017, paranormal, dark, cfyab-scavenger-hunt-challenge

My Best Friends Exorcism

This book has been on my TBR list for about a year. It caught my attention for several reasons. Which are the year book cover with the omage to the '80's (I graduated in 1989) and of course the title. I'm a big fan of scary movies, not so much horror books because they never convey a really scary feeling unless it is really well written, but I really like horror movies. I don't know why but I'm drawn to horror movies with paranormal elements like hauntings and possession My Best Friends Exorcism

This book has been on my TBR list for about a year. It caught my attention for several reasons. Which are the year book cover with the omage to the '80's (I graduated in 1989) and of course the title. I'm a big fan of scary movies, not so much horror books because they never convey a really scary feeling unless it is really well written, but I really like horror movies. I don't know why but I'm drawn to horror movies with paranormal elements like hauntings and possessions, so the title "My Best Friends Exorcism" stuck out to me like a blinking neon sign. And because this fit into my book clubs current challenge category I decided to give it a try.

Gretchen and Abby have been the best of friends since age 10. Abby becoming a constant at the Lange household as her family becomes harder to deal with. Her dad has stopped working a full time job and has turned into a serial cartoon watcher that prefers to sleep in a shed instead of his home. And Abby's mom takes as many nursing shifts as possible to provide for her family, so when she is home she's pretty much an absentee parent anyway. Along the way into high school they pick up two other close friends, Margaret and Glee. One night during Sophmore Year the girls decide to try acid. And after that one night everything changes. After Gretchen gets lost in the woods she came back a totally different person. She is completely unhygienic, sees things, hears things, starts ostracizing her friends, even Abby who is the only one who wants to help. After going through all possibilities Abby figures Gretchen has a demon inside of her and she will do anything to save her friend.

Things I Liked:

1) It's a flashback to the 80's. The era I grew up in. All the memorabilia that was brought up like Swatches, Jellies, Esprit, United Color of Benton, Duran Duran etc., brought back some seriously good memories! I graduated in '89 so my high school days were pretty spot on to Abby and Gretchens. I remember Spirit Week, the Flower Grams and all the other activities that were mentioned that made high school so much fun.
2) I really liked how strong Abby and Gretchens friendship was. Their friendship started at the age of 10 in 1982 when Gretchen was the only one who showed up to Abby's Birthday party instead of going to Margaret Middleton's Polo Plantation for horseback riding. And they pretty much were inseparable since.

Things I Didn't Like:

1) I was hoping with the title this book had there would be some pretty scary parts. But I was seriously underwhelmed. There was nothing scary about this book. It definitely had a serious gross factor with the description of smells and things that happened but nothing scary whatsoever! This is why I don't read Horror.
2) I still don't know what happened to Gretchen in the woods the night Abby, Margaret, Glee, and Gretchen decided to do acid and Gretchen got lost. It seems like the acid was a dud and nobody felt anything so not sure how she got lost. She just kind of popped up tired and beat the next day. And we know something happened because that's when she went all Gretchen 2.0 (crazy, bitchy, and not very hygienic version).
3) I have serious questions about what was up with both sets of parents. What happened to Abby's dad to make him digress to an introverted, all day cartoon watcher recluse that started sleeping in the family's shed? He seemed pretty normal at the beginning of the book but not too far in he turned into a pretty dim witted absent father and husband without any real reason. And what was wrong with Gretchen's mother? There were hints at emotional and/or alcohol problems but it was never brought to the surface. I really wanted to know!

This was was just OK. Nothing really great, I mainly enjoyed the '80's theme which was a plus. It was a very easy read, just not something that will stick with me. And definitely not the horror book I was hoping for. I may give Grady Hendrix another try, I'll have to think about it. ...more

12 likes · Like · see review

Oct 18, 2018 Jennifer rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This was a blast. I loved it. It made me think of things and friends I haven't thought of in years. Was the exorcism real? I leave that up to you to decide. I grew up in the 80's. 1988 was my year. Anything could happen in 1980's, even an exorcism. This group of girls could have been my group of friends. What a blast we had. Just like in the book. oh and pay attention to those chapter titles. ...more

11 likes · Like · see review

Oct 28, 2021 Michelle (MichelleBookAddict) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: horrors-mystery-thrills, autumn-vibes, favorite, physical-own, fantasy, movie-or-tv-show, bechdel-test

I read this with a few people on Instagram for a buddy read. They helped make the reading enjoyable for me and also helped me because I’m a scaredy-cat. Having their assurance that it wasn’t a scary horror book like The Exorcist movie helped.

My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix was fun and filled with so much nostalgia. I figured if I can survive watching the Fear Street movies on Netflix for the nostalgia than I could give the buddy read a try and I’m glad I did. There is some horror in t ...more

1 like · Like · see review

May 31, 2021 Kristina Masone rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audiobook, stina-shelf, favorites

Grady Hendrix is a new-to-me author and is quickly rising to favourite. He has a wonderful way of mixing horror, comedy, camp, that results in a story full of heart.

1 like · Like · see review

Jun 18, 2018 Ley rated it really liked it · review of another edition

You'd think it's super campy based off the paperback cover, but it's SO GOOD. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Apr 29, 2020 Kathi rated it really liked it

Fun book - kind of a love-letter to the '80s. I read this because the book by this author that was recommended was not available - but it did the trick, I will read more by this author! ...more

Like · see review

Jan 31, 2024 Lynne rated it it was amazing

Shelves: supernatural-paranormal, horror, buzzwordathon2024, mg-ya

I think if I hadn't graduated high school in 1987 this would have been a 4⭐️. Loved all the 80s references. A crazy, fun, sometimes sad, heartwarming, and gross time! I really enjoyed it. ...more

Like · see review