Book Review: "The Hitch" by Sara Levine

This was one of the wildest, most creative books I’ve read in some time. I'll never look at corgis the same way again!

Rose is an anti-racist, secular Jewish feminist eco-warrior, a believer in eating healthy foods, and the owner of an artisanal yogurt business. She’s unmarried and doesn’t have children of her own, but she dotes on her six-year-old nephew Nathan and her beloved Newfoundland, Walter.

Rose is one of those people who knows everything about everything. She has an article, a study, a program to back up all of her opinions. And one of her opinions is that she should get to spend more time with Nathan, but her brother and sister-in-law don’t necessarily think she’s the best influence on him.

However, when her brother and sister-in-law take a vacation to Mexico, they agree to leave Nathan in Rose’s care. Rose is so excited; she has her spare bedroom redone for him, and has outlined a vegan meal plan for the week. But only one day into her caregiving stint, disaster strikes. When Rose, Nathan, and Walter are in the park, Walter attacks and kills a corgi.

Walter has never acted aggressively before. And when Nathan starts acting strangely, Rose figures it’s his reaction to the incident. But then Nathan tells Rose that the corgi’s soul is living inside him. And this dog is a troublemaker. If Rose can’t fix this, she’ll never be trusted to care for Nathan again.

Although the concept of the book sounds silly, it’s actually quite moving and thought-provoking. Rose is not the most likable character but she does grow a bit by the end, and she really does love Nathan. I’ll be thinking about this for a long while!!

Book Review: "My Best Friend's Exorcism" by Grady Hendrix

Grady Hendrix's My Best Friend's Exorcism might just be what you expect looking at the book: it's campy, crazy, and chock full of 80s references!

Can a friendship be powerful enough to beat the devil?

Abby and Gretchen have been inseparable best friends since 4th grade. They have private jokes and countless memories together, and they’ve remained close through high school.

But one boring night, after some warm beer and some drugs, the girls and their friends decide to go skinny-dipping. Something strange happens, though, something inexplicable, and it changes Gretchen drastically.

Suddenly Gretchen is acting erratically, complaining of being touched by invisible beings, her personal hygiene deteriorates, and strange and troubling things happen and appear when she’s around. But while others give up on her, Abby is determined to figure out what happened to her friend, and save her at any cost—even though there are great risks to her own future. And she's not even sure if anyone takes her seriously, or if they think she's on drugs like they suspect Gretchen is.

As you might imagine, this book is a little silly, a little scary (at least for cowards like me who usually steer clear of books like this), and more than a little bit gross at times. But that being said, it has some surprising emotional heft I didn’t see coming given the subject matter.

If you’re a child of the 80s like me, you’ll love the pop culture references sprinkled throughout and this nostalgic cover design. There is a bunch of gore—blood and guts and some mentions of animal harm and animal death—so be forewarned if those trouble you. They’re easily skimmed over.

Hendrix really is quite the storyteller. Exorcism and friends...they go together?