Hang On, It's A Doozie!

If I had been a "troubled" teen rather than a nerdy band geek back in high school, I might think My Best Friend's Exorcism was an actual flashback. Hendrix sets this novel firmly in the 1980's, and although I graduated a few years before Abby & Gretchen, all the cultural references from music to television and movies hit me full-on. What a ride!

I admit it. I really enjoyed this book! The characters were well developed and so easy to empathize with. Hendrix fully captures the angst of female teens and the strange dance that is friendships among them. He clearly evokes that teenage sense that no adults are listening or capable of understanding or sympathizing with what is going on in their lives.

And lets be frank: what is going on in Abby and Gretchen's lives is quite a lot more than normal teen issues! I've read a couple reviews that were disappointed by the lack of details on the demon possession. That, I think, is the point. Sometimes being possessed is a matter of small changes that end up, down the road, in very dark places. Beguiling. Starting to change the people around them in small ways. Cajoling. It's not all turning green, head spinning around 360 degrees and spewing pea soup like Linda Blair. I appreciated how only Gretchen's BEST friend could see the small things that were adding up to something BIG.

If you like YA paranormal stories or YA horror, you are going to enjoy My Best Friend's Exorcism. My thanks to the publisher, Quirk Books, for the ARC I received in exchange for this honest review.

From the Publisher . . .

Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fifth grade, when they bonded over a shared love of E.T., roller-skating parties, and scratch-and-sniff stickers. But when they arrive at high school, things change. Gretchen begins to act . . . different. And as the strange coincidences and bizarre behavior start to pile up, Abby realizes there’s only one possible explanation: Gretchen, her favorite person in the world, has a demon living inside her. And Abby is not about to let anyone or anything come between her and her best friend. With help from some unlikely allies, Abby embarks on a quest to save Gretchen. But is their friendship powerful enough to beat the devil?

About the Author . . .

Grady Hendrix is a writer and journalist and one of the founders of the New York Asian Film Festival. A former film critic for the New York Sun, Grady has written for Slate, the Village Voice, Time Out New York, Playboy, and Variety.

Also by Grady Hendrix: Horrorstor

Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Columbus, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring wardrobes, shattered Brooka glassware, and vandalized Liripip sofa beds—clearly, someone or something is up to no good. To unravel the mystery, five young employees volunteer for a long dusk-till-dawn shift—and they encounter horrors that defy imagination. Along the way, author Grady Hendrix infuses sly social commentary on the nature of work in the new twenty-firstcentury economy.

Spore

What would you do if a bunch of confused, naked people walked into your back yard from the woods next door? It happened to Sean Casey in Boone County, Iowa this past Sunday*!

This book was impossible to put down after Sean's house becomes ground zero. As quickly as he was running through sheets and towels to help the confused no-longer-dead folks cover up, I was reading through the pages trying to find out what would happen next!

You might think that having loved ones return from death would be a good thing. Some people don't see it that way. And it seems that only the folks who died from accidental causes are coming back. Aunt Jenny died of cancer? Not likely to see her again... Jones does a great job of explaining the ins and outs of why some dead come back and others don't. In the Spore universe, it all makes perfect sense.

Unfortunately, this mass resurrection sets in motion a nearly insurmountable catastrophe in the small communities of Boone County, Iowa. (I just LOVE that the story is set in a location so close to where I live!) Is is just a coincidence that kids start disappearing about the same time? And that the M.O. is eerily familiar to a crime spree that happened 20 years ago?

Also coinciding with the miraculous return, Sean's nightmares from his own childhood abduction are increasing and intensifying. What is his subconscious mind trying to tell him?

If you're a fan of horror, enjoy putting the pieces of a mystery together, or get a kick out of books set close to home (in this case, central Iowa), you are going to want to get your hands on a copy of Jones' book, Spore--ASAP! I'm thrilled mine came from a book signing event where the author herself signed my copy!

[Do note: the book contains adult language and references to child sexual/physical abuse. If these offend you, just know that you are going to encounter them in this text.]

*The book lists the event as happening on July 19, 2015.

From the Publisher . . .

The dead are coming back.

Ten naked people walk from a cemetery into artist Sean Casey’s backyard: ten Spore People who used to be dead. One, Mindy, stays with Sean while trying to reclaim her life, but her ex would rather she return to her grave. Sean struggles to protect Mindy and other Spores while battling his recurring—and worsening—nightmares. Meanwhile, the media feeds a panicked frenzy that leads both the hopeful and hateful to Sean’s front door.

As the Spore fungus spreads, so does the fear. When mutilated children match Sean’s nightmares, he realizes his own worst terror may be closer than he thinks.

About the Author . . .

Tamara started her academic career as a science geek, earned a degree in art, and, when she's not making quilts or herding cats, writes tense thrillers as Tamara Jones and Tamara Siler Jones. Despite the violent nature of her work, Tam's easygoing and friendly. Not sick or twisted at all. Honest.