For those who didn't know, I'm becoming a fan of Grady Hendrix's novels, after finding out he had books other than Horrorstör and Paperbacks From Hell. And I mean, it's hard to resist cover art like this:
Which is the book I'm here to review today.
My Best Friend's Exorcism centers on the friendship between Abby and Gretchen, two fairly well off white girls from Charleston, South Carolina. Well, at least at the beginning they are. We first meet Abby, as she invites her entire class to her ET themed birthday party at the roller rink, which only Gretchen shows up for, since one of the other girls decides to host a horseback riding party the same day just to be evil. We find out Gretchen's parents are at once very religious, and as the book goes on, we find that they're also social climbers. Abby makes sure Gretchen gets exposed to the pop culture her parents forbid.
This friendship continues on into High School, even as Abby's father has gotten fired, laid off, until he's nothing more than a guy who lacklusterly repairs lawn mowers in the front yard and Abby's mom has gone back into nursing to pay the bills. This fall from economic grace also means Abby is working at TCBY, paying for a used car, and at the private school Gretchen also attends on scholarship.
As it happens, Gretchen and Abby are among a clique of 4 girls who are both in the top 10 of the class and the most popular. They all play Volleyball. They gather to go boating at one of the girls' lake house.
There comes a night when they try LSD for the first time. Three claim it doesn't work for them, Gretchen goes full Reefer Madness, describing how she feels like someone is always touching her and talking to her. This is after she vanishes into the woods overnight after the acid.
Abby spends most of the rest of the book trying to help her friend, whop gets sicker and sicker, believing that Gretchen got attacked by one of the other girls' boyfriends in the woods that night. Then Gretchen suddenly snaps out of it, cuts Abby off, and starts "helping" her other friends. (Little things like giving one girl tape worm eggs to help her lose weight, helping another think the school's chaplain wants her as a wife.) Things happen, like a fetus disappearing on a field trip to the medical science building. Then Geraldo Rivera's special that either set off or at least amplified the Satanic Panic of the 80's is broadcast, coupled with body building evangelists coming to the school to get the kids to Jesus.
In the end, we finally get answers as to what's going on, and some resolution.
Some of the cover blurbs refer to this as a cross between Beaches and The Exorcist, I personally found it more to be the latter crossed with the pop culture minutiae of say, Tarentino or Kevin Smith, with the actual advertised exorcism feeling at first like the one Mandy Moore performs in Saved!
And, while none of my friends were ever possessed by Pazuzu in High School, I found I understood where Abby was coming from as old friendships seem to break apart for no apparent reason.
While I felt the ending lacked something, the book was overall pretty good. Well worth reading.
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