My Best Friend's Exorcism

My Best Friend’s Exorcism 

By Grady Hendrix 

Quirk Books, 2017. 332 pages. Fiction. 

1988. Charleston, South Carolina. High school sophomores Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fourth grade. But after an evening of skinny-dipping goes disastrously wrong, Gretchen begins to act--different. She's moody. She's irritable. And bizarre incidents keep happening whenever she's nearby. Abby's investigation leads her to some startling discoveries--and by the time their story reaches its terrifying conclusion, the fate of Abby and Gretchen will be determined by a single question: Is their friendship powerful enough to beat the devil? 

I would recommend this to anyone who loves 80s horror! It is campy, nostalgic, and horrific. Grady Hendrix is great at writing both gruesome, gory horror paired with social horror. I find some of the most disturbing parts of the story are seeing how people treat each other, possessed by the devil or not. I would warn anyone who is interested in this book to be aware that there are some very gruesome scenes à la The Exorcist. 

If you like My Best Friend’s Exorcism, you might also like: 

Bunny 

By Mona Awad 

Viking, 2019. 305 pages. Fiction. 

Samantha Heather Mackey couldn't be more of an outsider in her small, highly selective MFA program at New England's Warren University. A scholarship student who prefers the company of her dark imagination to that of most people, she is utterly repelled by the rest of her fiction writing cohort--a clique of unbearably twee rich girls who call each other "Bunny," and are often found entangled in a group hug so tight they become one. But everything changes when Samantha receives an invitation to the Bunnies' fabled "Smut Salon," and finds herself inexplicably drawn to their front door--ditching her only friend, Ava, a caustic art school dropout, in the process. As Samantha plunges deeper and deeper into the sinister yet saccharine world of the Bunny cult and starts to take part in their ritualistic off-campus "Workshop" where they magically conjure their monstrous creations, the edges of reality begin to blur, and her friendships with Ava and the Bunnies are brought into deadly collision. 

I Was A Teenage Slasher 

By Stephen Graham Jones 

Saga Press, 2024. 372 pages. Fiction. 

1989, Lamesa, Texas. A small west Texas town driven by oil and cotton-and a place where everyone knows everyone else's business. So it goes for Tolly Driver, a good kid with more potential than application, seventeen, and about to be cursed to kill for revenge. Here Stephen Graham Jones explores the Texas he grew up in, the unfairness of being on the outside, through the slasher horror he lives but from the perspective of the killer, Tolly, writing his own autobiography. Find yourself rooting for a killer in this summer teen movie of a novel gone full blood-curdling tragic.

I Must Betray You

 
I Must Betray You
By Ruta Sepetys
New York: Philomel Books, 2023. 319 pages. Young Adult

Romania, 1989. Communist regimes are crumbling across Europe. Seventeen-year-old Cristian Florescu dreams of becoming a writer, but Romanians aren't free to dream; they are bound by rules and force. Amidst the tyrannical dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu in a country governed by isolation and fear, Cristian is blackmailed by the secret police to become an informer. He's left with only two choices: betray everyone and everything he loves--or use his position to creatively undermine the most notoriously evil dictator in Eastern Europe. Cristian risks everything to unmask the truth behind the regime, give voice to fellow Romanians, and expose to the world what is happening in his country. He eagerly joins the revolution to fight for change when the time arrives. But what is the cost of freedom?

"I Must Betray You" pulls you right into a cold, dark moment in history. I could feel the tension and fear coming off the pages. Even though the story is heavy at times, there’s this sense of hope that keeps you going. Cristian’s journey is so real and emotional—it really makes you think about trust and betrayal. The book is well-researched and tells such a powerful story. If you’re looking for something thought-provoking and unforgettable, I think you’ll love this one.

If you liked I Must Betray You, you might also like: 

Artifice
By Sharon Cameron
Scholastic Press, 2023. 387 pages. Young Adult

Isa de Smit grew up in her parents' art gallery in Amsterdam, but in the middle of the war she survives by selling fake paintings to the Nazis while trying to help her friend, Truus, smuggle Jewish babies to safety--but in 1943 it is hard to know who to trust.

The Blood Years
By Elana Arnold
Balzer + Bray, 2023. 390 pages. Young Adult

From Michael L. Printz honoree & National Book Award finalist Elana K. Arnold comes the harrowing story of a young girl's struggle to survive the Holocaust in Romania. Based on the true experiences of her grandmother's childhood in Holocaust-era Romania, award-winning author Elana K. Arnold weaves an unforgettable tale of love and loss in the darkest days of the twentieth century-and one young woman's will to survive them.

BWW

I Shall Never Fall in Love

I Shall Never Fall in Love
By Hari Conner
HarperAlley, 2024. 288 pages. Young Adult Comic.

George has major problems: They’ve just inherited the failing family estate, and the feelings for their best friend, Eleanor, have become more complicated than ever. Not to mention, if anyone found out they were secretly dressing in men’s clothes, George is sure it would be ruination for the family name. Eleanor has always wanted to do everything "right," including falling in love—but she’s never met a boy she was interested in. She’d much rather spend time with her best friend, George, and beloved cousin Charlotte. However, when a new suitor comes to town, she finds her closest friendships threatened, forcing her to rethink what "right" means and confront feelings she never knew she had.
Perfect for fans of Alice Oseman and Ngozi Ukazu, I Shall Never Fall in Love shines a light on what it means to be true to yourself and rewrites the rules for what makes a happily ever after.

I Shall Never Fall in Love is a search for identity and coming-of-age story, told Jane Austen style!  Set in the Georgian era and most similar to the Austen's Emma, this full-color graphic novel explores what it meant to be queer in that time period.  Full of adventure and romantic mishaps, this graphic novel is a sweet read and I'd recommend it to lovers of historical romances!

 
If you liked I Shall Never Fall in Love, you may also like:

The Prince and the Dressmaker
By Jen Wang
First Second, 2018. 276 pages. Young Adult Comic.
 
Paris, at the dawn of the modern age: Prince Sebastian is looking for a bride--or rather, his parents are looking for one for him. Sebastian is too busy hiding his secret life from everyone. At night he puts on daring dresses and takes Paris by storm as the fabulous Lady Crystallia—the hottest fashion icon in the world capital of fashion! Sebastian's secret weapon (and best friend) is the brilliant dressmaker Frances—one of only two people who know the truth: sometimes this boy wears dresses. But Frances dreams of greatness, and being someone's secret weapon means being a secret. Forever. How long can Frances defer her dreams to protect a friend?

Heartstopper
By Alice Oseman
Graphix, 2020. 263 pages. Young Adult Comic.
 
Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. Shy and softhearted Charlie Spring sits next to rugby player Nick Nelson in class one morning. A warm and intimate friendship follows, and that soon develops into something more for Charlie, who doesn't think he has a chance. But Nick is struggling with feelings of his own, and as the two grow closer and take on the ups and downs of high school, they come to understand the surprising and delightful ways in which love works. 

ERB

The Warm Hands of Ghosts

The Warm Hands of Ghosts 

By Katherin Arden 

Del Rey, 2024. 322 pages. Fiction 

January 1918. Laura Iven was a revered field nurse until she was wounded and discharged from the medical corps, leaving behind a brother still fighting in Flanders. Now home in Halifax, Canada, Laura receives word of Freddie’s death in combat, along with his personal effects—but something doesn’t make sense. Determined to uncover the truth, Laura returns to Belgium as a volunteer at a private hospital, where she soon hears whispers about haunted trenches and a strange hotelier whose wine gives soldiers the gift of oblivion. Could Freddie have escaped the battlefield, only to fall prey to something—or someone—else? 

November 1917. Freddie Iven awakens after an explosion to find himself trapped in an overturned pillbox with a wounded enemy soldier, a German by the name of Hans Winter. Against all odds, the two form an alliance and succeed in clawing their way out. Unable to bear the thought of returning to the killing fields, especially on opposite sides, they take refuge with a mysterious man who seems to have the power to make the hellscape of the trenches disappear. 

With haunting prose, Katherine Arden, author of the bestselling Winternight Trilogy, blends the darkness of the first World War with supernatural elements in this 2024 release. She employs a dual perspective, shifting backwards and forwards in time between Laura and Freddie without the story ever losing momentum. Readers of historical fiction and eerie fantasy will easily lose themselves in the ghostly atmosphere, rich detail, and lyrical writing of The Warm Hands of Ghosts. 

If you like The Warm Hands of Ghosts, you might also like:

The Familiar 

By Leigh Bardugo 

Flatiron Books, 2024. 385 pages. Fiction 

In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to better the family's social position. What begins as simple amusement for the bored nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain's king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England's heretic queen, and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king's favor. Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the lines between magic, science, and fraud are never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition's wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive-even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santangel, an embittered, immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both. 

Lovely War 

By Julie Berry 

Viking, 2019. 468 pages. Young Adult Fiction 

They are Hazel, James, Aubrey, and Colette. A classical pianist from London, a British would-be architect-turned-soldier, a Harlem-born ragtime genius in the U.S. Army, and a Belgian orphan with a gorgeous voice and a devastating past. Their story, as told by goddess Aphrodite, who must spin the tale or face judgment on Mount Olympus, is filled with hope and heartbreak, prejudice and passion, and reveals that, though War is a formidable force, it's no match for the transcendent power of Love.

SGR

The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World

The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World

By Robin Wall Kimmerer

581.6309 KIM 2024

Scribner, 2024. 112 pages. Nonfiction.

Robin Wall Kimmerer reflects on the practice of harvesting serviceberries and the concept of reciprocity central to Indigenous wisdom. She contrasts this with the dominant economic system rooted in scarcity, competition, and resource hoarding. Kimmerer highlights how the serviceberry tree, by sharing its abundance with its ecosystem, embodies a model of interdependence and mutual support. This ethic of reciprocity, she argues, shows us that true wealth arises from relationships, not self-sufficiency, and encourages us to reimagine our values in a way that nurtures both people and the planet. 

This short book is a series of essays that can easily be read in one sitting. I enjoyed her examples of gift economies that currently exist in our capitalistic world and her hopefulness despite there being so much to not feel hopeful about. After reading this I felt a little more aware of the world around me and how I can find joy in my relationships more and my “things” a little less. 

If you liked The Serviceberry, you might also like: 

Sprout Lands: Tending the Endless Gift of Trees 

by William Bryant Logan 

W.W Norton & Company, 2019. 332 pages. Nonfiction.

Once, farmers knew how to make a living hedge and fed their flocks on tree-branch hay. Rural people knew how to prune hazel to foster abundance: both of edible nuts, and of straight, strong, flexible rods for bridges, walls, and baskets. Townspeople cut their beeches to make charcoal to fuel ironworks. Shipwrights shaped oaks to make hulls. No place could prosper without its inhabitants knowing how to cut their trees so they would sprout again. Pruning the trees didn't destroy them. Rather, it created the healthiest, most sustainable and most diverse woodlands that we have ever known. In this journey from the English fens to Spain, Japan, and California, William Bryant Logan rediscovers what was once an everyday ecology. He offers us both practical knowledge about how to live with trees to mutual benefit and hope that humans may again learn what the persistence and generosity of trees can teach.

Sacred nature : Restoring Our Ancient Bond with the Natural World

by Karen Armstrong 

202.12 ARM 

Alfred A. Knopf, 2022. 205 pages. Nonfiction.

A best-selling historian of religion, drawing on her vast knowledge of the world's religious traditions, describes nature's central place in spirituality across the centuries, showing modern readers how to rediscover nature's potency and form a connection to something greater than ourselves.

JK