First of all, take a look at that cover. Really look at it. At this point, you might be getting that creepy, uncomfortable feeling deep in your gut. And that's just the introduction to the exciting and terrifying, thought-provoking and heart-wrenching novel A Head Full of Ghosts by multiple Bram Stoker Award finalist Paul Tremblay.
When fourteen-year-old Marjorie Barrett begins to show signs of acute schizophrenia, but the medications and treatments show no signs of working, the Barrett family turns to a local priest, who believes Marjorie to be possessed and convinces the family to agree to an exorcism. Desperate for money to pay for Marjorie's medical bills, the family also agrees to allow a film crew into their home to record the event and the toll the weeks leading up to it take on the family’s lives. The ensuing hit tv show, The Possession, is an instant hit. Fifteen years later, Marjorie's younger sister Merry—eight years old at the time of the exorcism—tells the story from her point of view, revealing long-buried secrets behind the show and what really happened to her family.
I cannot completely convey how incredibly captivating and disturbing this novel is. The whole time you're reading, you're never really sure if Marjorie is really possessed or if her actions are the results of a very disturbed mind influenced by pop culture and exacerbated by religious fervor. The novel truly raises questions about memory verses reality, science verses religion, and the very nature of evil. Marjorie and Merry's story is both terrifying and tragic, and I seriously recommend checking it out for yourself by downloading an egalley from Edelweiss here. But clear your calendar and grab your comfort blanky first—you won't want to put it down until Merry's final, heart-breaking secret is revealed.
-Amanda