My Best Friend's Exorcism

My Best Friend’s Exorcism (2016) is a young adult horror novel by Grady Hendrix. Set in 1980s Charleston, South Carolina, the novel explores the lifelong friendship between high school students Abby Rivers and Gretchen Lang. When Gretchen becomes possessed by a demon after a night of drinking and drug use, the girls’ friendship is put to the test.

This guide refers to the paperback edition published by Quirk Books in 2017.

Content Warning: My Best Friend’s Exorcism references and depicts violence such as physical abuse and sexual assault, mental health conditions such as suicidal ideation, self-harm, underage drinking, underage drug use, anti-gay bias, racism, enslavement, animal death, and potentially nauseating imagery such as the use of tapeworms for dieting.

Plot Summary

In 2008, 36-year-old Abby Rivers reads an article that Christian Lemon (Brother Lemon) has died. When Abby was in high school, Christian helped her exorcize a demon that was possessing her best friend, Gretchen Lang. Back in 1982, nine-year-old Abby is in fourth grade and planning an E.T.-themed birthday party at a skating rink. She invites her class, but a girl named Margaret Middleton plans a horse-riding party for the same day.