A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay
Reviewed by: Carey Gibbons, Reference Assistant
Genre: Horror
Suggested Age: Adults
What is the book about?: The Barrett family appears to be living a normal life until older sister Marjorie starts to display signs of schizophrenia. Her parents take her to doctors and therapists but nothing seems to help, and in fact, Marjorie’s psychoses get even worse. With nowhere else to turn Marjorie’s father, John Barrett, seeks help from local priest, Father Wanderly. Wanderly suggests that Marjorie doesn’t suffer from schizophrenia but is possessed by a demon and offers to perform an exorcism. However, this exorcism comes with a catch – it has to be filmed as a reality television program in the works called The Possession. John Barrett desperately hopes this will provide much needed relief not only for his daughter but for his family’s suffering finances. Told from the perspective of Marjorie’s now grown younger sister Merry, readers will wonder about the nature of all parties involved and who really has control of this situation.
My Review: Every once in a while, I like a good horror novel. This one was interesting because it took a fairly standard horror trope of the exorcism and twisted it a bit with the addition of the reality television show. The story is told from Merry’s perspective after she is grown, so all of the events in A Head Full of Ghosts have already happened. From the beginning, we know that Marjorie’s exorcism had gone wrong but we don’t find out just how wrong until the book unfolds in its entirety. All of Tremblay’s characters are fleshed out and well written and no one is painted as either entirely good or entirely bad. There’s a good amount of sympathy to be had for many of the characters in this book amid all of the blood and guts. And believe me, there are some pretty gruesome scenes, one in particular that I will never be able to unsee. I think that this book is original enough to appeal to both hard core horror fans and those of us who still have to sleep with the lights on after a scary movie (like me).
Rating: 4/5
About FDL Reads
Welcome to FDL Reads, weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library. Librarians (and possibly some other guest reviewers) review all types of books, from children’s picture books, young adult favorites, to the latest adult thriller, and share their thoughts each week at fondulaclibrary.org. If the book is owned by Fondulac District Library (or another local library), you’ll see a direct link to the catalog entry and whether or not it is available. If it is checked out or at another local library, you will be able to place a hold as long as you have your library card and PIN numbers. As with any book review, these are our opinions…we disagree amongst ourselves about books frequently. We all have different likes and dislikes, which is what makes the world an interesting place. Please enjoy, and keep on reading!