I watched the movie adaptation of Grady Hendrix’s “My Best Friend’s Exorcism” before I read the book, and while I enjoyed the movie well enough (it had a fun late-80s vibe and some interesting camera work), it was pretty forgettable compared to the book.
Abby and Gretchen, high school sophomores and best friends since fourth grade, have a strange falling out after Gretchen briefly goes missing during a party on the shore. Gretchen’s behavioral changes progress from the unusual to the bizarre to the terrifying, and Abby becomes convinced that Gretchen has somehow been possessed by a demon. But is enlisting the aid of an exorcist of questionable provenance an act of mercy, or an act of betrayal?
The book version is much darker and more complex than the film was, giving the characters richer back stories and tackling challenging themes of abuse, religious exploitation, and queerness with subtlety and compassion. It reminded me more than a little bit of Paul Tremblay’s “A Head Full of Ghosts” (which is a rare six star book to me), with more than a touch of “Jennifer’s Body.” Possession stories tend to be frightening (toss Sara Gran’s slim and terrifying Come Closer on your TBR while you’re pondering these things …), and “My Best Friend’s Exorcism” is one of the scarier of the breed.
