My Best Friend's Exorcism

Set in 1988 South Carolina, the story follows high school sophomores Abby and Gretchen, whose lifelong bond is tested after a skinny-dipping trip goes wrong. While Abby returns home unscathed, Gretchen disappears into the woods, returning hours later acting erratic and cruel. As Gretchen’s behavior descends into violence and bizarre physical transformations, the local community blames typical teenage rebellion and drug use. Abby remains convinced that an ancient, malevolent entity has inhabited her friend's body. She enlists a mall-based amateur exorcist to perform a ritual rooted more in 1980s pop culture and faith than clinical theology.

Readers looking for a blend of graphic body horror and nostalgic Americana will find a narrative that treats female friendship as a literal survival mechanism. People pick this up to see the Satanic Panic of the eighties filtered through a lens of adolescent social dynamics. The reader finishes the book with a perspective on how platonic devotion functions as a force capable of resisting psychological and supernatural trauma when institutional authorities fail to help.