Ah, fall. The perfect time
of year. The trees change color, the first frosts appear, and the air smells
like mulled wine. Okay, fine, this is Los Angeles. Fall – time to get a Pumpkin
Spice Latte and maybe wear a sweater sometimes (but only at night).
For me, the best thing
about fall was always seeing my best friend again. We’d giggle about summer
flings and classmate crushes, skip school to go record shopping, and reminisce
about all the times we’d had. We have some incredible stories – like that one
time we took acid together and she went skinny dipping, disappeared, and came
back literally possessed by the devil.
(Oops! It could happen to
anyone.)
Anyway, the real best
thing about fall? IT’S FINALLY HALLOWEEN, MAN. TIME TO GET SCARY AF! My BestFriend’s Exorcism is, hands-down, the best thing to read while you’re
sitting indoors on the 31st with all the lights out, trying to ignore the furious
knocking on your door. Is it children? Is it the restless, unholy spirits of
the dead? (It’s children; get off the couch and give them some of your candy
stash, you misanthrope).
This ghoulish offering
from Grady Hendrix is like the grown-up Goosebumps book of your dreams… or the
Baby-Sitters Club book of your nightmares. Fifteen-year-old Abby is going
through the most horrible adolescent turmoil: not does this boy like me?
or even will I regret this whole wardrobe in ten years? but how long
do BFFs last? does my best friend even care about me? why is she acting so
weird? is she like, totally possessed by a demon?
(She is. Like, totally.)
This book is SO MUCH FUN.
I was swept away on the wave of Go-Go’s references, lifelong friendships, and
demon-induced vomiting. Gretchen (Abby’s possessed friend) wreaks highly
creative mayhem on her high school, while Abby’s attempts to fix things and win
her best friend back make everything worse. Hendrix really nails the free-fall
anxiety of adolescence: the way we’ve all wondered whether our friends really
like us, or if they roll their eyes, make fun of our outfits, and accuse us of
being Satanic psychopaths the second we’ve left the room.
It’s not just the normal
horrors of high school Abby contends with – there is plenty of demonic action
here, including at least one scene that would make Sam Raimi squeal with
delight. Yet despite the blood, guts, and psychological trauma, My Best
Friend’s Exorcism is truly about the endless, fragile friendship between
Abby and Gretchen. I was in tears by the end – and they weren’t tears of
terror.
It’s rare to find a book
that so deftly straddles the line between school year nostalgia and chilly
October horror. My Best Friend’s Exorcism is equal parts spooky and
sweet, making it the perfect book to take to the still-sunny beaches in LA – or
to the cemetery in the darkest hours of Halloween night. Grab your fave
fun-size candy, light some candles, and crank up the Phil Collins – it’s time
for thrills, chills, and warm fuzzy feelings with Abby, Gretchen, and Satan
himself.
- Emma Diamond, Book Soup Bookseller
Grady Hendrix discusses and signs his NEW BOOK Paperbacks from Hell: The Twisted History of '70s and '80s Horror Fiction on Saturday, October 14th at 4pm.
No comments:
Post a Comment