Litsy

A Head Full of Ghosts: A Novel | Paul Tremblay

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I devoured this book! I didn‘t think I‘d like it but I did and I think Tremblay is clever. Fantastic characterisation, great in keeping the suspense and fun to see his many references to horror books and movies. The tone of the blog narrator is super annoying but I understand the blog is essential to the development of the story. I love a good unreliable narrator and an ending which lets you draw your own conclusions. A real #Headtrip

erzascarletbookgasm It‘s best to dive right in without knowing much.
Thanks for nudging me to read along @cinfhen ! Great for #Booked2018 #spookyread @4thhouseontheleft @BarbaraTheBibliophage 6y

erzascarletbookgasm At the core, it‘s about the dynamics of the relationships among the family members, especially between the two sisters; and how the family is broken down under desperation. More of human evil than supernatural. I don‘t think anyone is demon possessed in the book. Perhaps something is not quite right with Merry. Keeps one thinking about the ending.. 6y

Emilymdxn I‘d never heard of this but it sounds so cool! Stacked! 6y

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alisiakae This sounds good! 6y

cariashley I‘m reading this now and really liking it, even though horror is not my usual genre! The blogger character is based on a real person (with the same name) - her review of the book on goodreads is worth reading. 6y

Lexeegee This was a great book! 6y

AmyG What I loved about this book was what wasn‘t revealed, what wasn‘t said. It leaves the reader with trying to figure out what really went on. Open to lots of interpretation. 6y

RohitSawant Glad to hear you liked it! Couldn't agree more with what @AmyG said. 6y

Cinfhen So glad you liked it 🥰 6y

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DebinHawaii

A Head Full of Ghosts: A Novel | Paul Tremblay

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I thoroughly enjoyed this creepy story, even if I'm not completely sure what happened.😉😱I finished last week & had to check & see if it really ended when it did or if my Kindle cut off. Is Marjorie possessed or mentally ill & how much of what Merry says can be believed? On one hand I wanted more, on the other I liked how Tremblay left it open to interpretation. Loved the nods to other works of horror and spooky fiction. Definitely a #headtrip

Cinfhen

DebinHawaii Mahalo @Cinfhen for getting us all to read it. It was perfect for October. 👻👻👻I'll get to commenting on some of the questions you tagged me on. 👍👍 6y

Trollkonstnaren An open ending? Spooky? Oh man, another good book. 6y

Minervasbutler Really enjoyed it 6y

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Johanna414 I read this like 2 years ago and still find myself thinking about it... 6y

Mdargusch You summed it up well! 6y

Cinfhen I can‘t believe I missed this post and tag xx 6y

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erzascarletbookgasm

A Head Full of Ghosts: A Novel | Paul Tremblay

Okay, I‘m going in. Late to the #headtrip party, but hopefully can squeeze in this read before end of the month. It‘s a bright Sunday morning, there‘re people in the house, I can do this!

Cinfhen

Cinfhen You can do it!!! And now I want AVO toast🥑🍞❤️ 6y

Cinfhen How‘s it going??? Did you ever finish this one @AmyG ??? 6y

AmyG I have one more section to read! 6y

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erzascarletbookgasm @Cinfhen I‘ve finished up to part 1 and then went on to read something less spooky. I will resume reading this, so far so good, I can take the spookiness...we shall see 😬 6y

Cinfhen Yay @AmyG & Jess!! I‘ll wait until u both finish and then we can discuss xx 6y

AmyG I am going to try to finish today. 6y

erzascarletbookgasm @Cinfhen @AmyG I‘m still at part two, will do my best. The blog thing is so annoying! 6y

Cinfhen I hated that blog thing too but it does serve a purpose @erzascarletbookgasm @AmyG 6y

AmyG Finished. LOTS to discuss. @erzascarletbookgasm @Cinfhen 6y

erzascarletbookgasm @cinfhen @AmyG I‘ve finished it! Discusssss! xx 6y

Cinfhen I‘m tagging @DebinHawaii too because she finished as well..... so my biggest question....do you think Merry was the one who was actually possessed??? I totally do!!!! @AmyG @erzascarletbookgasm 6y

AmyG @erzascarletbookgasm @cinfhen I just don‘t think she was possessed. She was 8, and I question how accurate her memory was...what‘s actual memory and what is percieves. I question how she dealt with all of what happenned from 8 to her present age. But I don‘t think she was possessed. (edited) 6y

AmyG Also....I got a kick out of the House of Leaves references. I just finished that. Navidson is the main character from that book, the blog reminds me of the criticism of the movie from House of Leaves and they even reference the book....the house that has no boundaries. Pretty funny. Trembley must be a fan. 6y

erzascarletbookgasm @Cinfhen @AmyG I don‘t think Merry or anyone is possessed in the book. I can‘t explain about the drop of temperature in the coffee shop towards the ending, though. Merry is just an unreliable narrator. 6y

Cinfhen Apparently there are lots of references to HoL and other horror related books @AmyG ~ check out @MinDea she came across a bunch of #HorrorHomage 6y

Cinfhen I don‘t think Marjorie was possessed at all- I think Merry was slowly poisoning the family all along and that‘s why the bottle was half empty, it was why Marjorie puked and her skin was turning sallow etc. I agree, Merry was an unreliable narrator bc she‘s really the evil/sick one. I think Marjorie knew something was wrong with Mer & that‘s why she insisted Merry be present for both the evaluation & the exorcism @AmyG 6y

Cinfhen Also why the temp dropped both times Merry was in the room @erzascarletbookgasm @AmyG 6y

Cinfhen Did you think Marjorie suffered from a mental illness or do u think she was faking?? @AmyG @erzascarletbookgasm 6y

Cinfhen Does the dad have a hand in any of this?? Do you think he might have sexually molested Marjorie? She did excuse him. Could his turning to religion be considered a form of abuse of parental power? @AmyG @erzascarletbookgasm 6y

Cinfhen @MicheleinPhilly @DebinHawaii check out some of the discussion questions under the spoiler tags!!! 6y

Robothugs I‘m not sure anyone of them were possessed by a demon. Merry admits to being an unreliable narrator from the beginning. I think the author makes one reflect on what possession means. To be possessed by religion, drugs and alcohol, etc. For me, it didn‘t seem to matter who was ultimately responsible for the act of poisoning. 6y

MinDea I totally agree with @Robothugs. I think it was showing all the different faces of evil. Evil doesn't just mean the devil, possession. It can be people who lie, alcoholics, selfishness and self absorption, greedy people, etc. That each of the family members were possessed by their own demons and therefore each of them had A Head Full of Ghosts. Not only delain with their own problems but also the problems of their family affected them and 6y

MinDea Probably caused or added to their own demons. I don't think Merry was possessed but I do think the fact that she murdered her family she was a murderer which caused her to hide it, like about it and now people are going to find out about it. Was her sister possessed or mentally ill? I really don't know. I think it was more about showing the parent's greed in making their daughters issues public and turning it into a show for all to see that was 6y

MinDea The real evil. @AmyG @Cinfhen @erzascarletbookgasm @DebinHawaii that was my take in this book! 😆 6y

Cinfhen I agree @MinDea @Robothugs I don‘t “buy” into demonic possession but I do think Merry was off and there was something rotten inside her. I agree greed, religion and reality tv made for other types of ghosts/ possessions. This book was very clever and thought provoking @AmyG @erzascarletbookgasm 6y

MinDea @Cinfhen I definitely think something was off with Merry. I guess I chalked it up to her (messed up!!) childhood but maybe there was something more to it as you suggest! Yes!!! This book is so very thought provoking. Which is why I loved it so much. It was very well done 👏 I love that we all read it together to discuss it. I just read Hex with a few people in here as a buddy read and it had some social commentary but it was not near as good as 6y

MinDea this book! This one is so well done! 6y

Robothugs @MinDea You totally just explained that way better than me 😆🤜🏻🤛🏻 6y

Robothugs @Cinfhen I agree about Merry. You can tell by the way she speaks and acts. Also, in my opinion, did not act quite like an 8 y/o 🤷🏻‍♀️. But I also think whatever happened during those years contributed to it. (edited) 6y

MinDea @AmyG I totally agree. Merry was 8 most of her memories probably come from or are changed by the TV show. She also seems obsessed with analyzing the show and I just have to think it's not very healthy for her and she probably has not really dealt with what really happened. She probably needs some therapy! 6y

erzascarletbookgasm @Cinfhen @AmyG I can‘t explain about the temperature drop, perhaps to hint there‘s something not quite right with Merry. I don‘t think the dad sexually molested Majorie. I don‘t know if she‘s faking it either but perhaps she did suffer from some acute mental illness. 6y

erzascarletbookgasm @MinDea @Robothugs you both explain it well about the different evils and possessions the book is trying to show us. 6y

AmyG I wondered about the Dad and Marjorie. Did he molest her? Was there a sexual relationship going on with them and was Marjorie right that the whole posession thing was a ploy to make money. Was she in cahoots with her father? And the poisoning....was the father poisoning Marjorie to make her look ill, thinking when it‘s over he would stop. Did Marjorie encourage Merry to poison them all...was she being molested and wanted it all to be over? (edited) 6y

AmyG I don‘t think either girl was posessed. And I still don‘t think Merry was guilty of poisoning them on purpose. No clue why about the cold. (edited) 6y

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MicheleinPhilly

A Head Full of Ghosts: A Novel | Paul Tremblay

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Well that was fun. #HeadTrip 4⭐️

DivineDiana I think I need to find this before Halloween! 👻 6y

MicheleinPhilly @DivineDiana It‘s $1.99 on Kindle! 6y

Reviewsbylola I need to know if you buy into @Cinfhen ‘s theory that it was (possibly) all caused by Merry. 😄 6y

DivineDiana Thank you! Off to download! 👏🏻😀👻 6y

68 likes4 comments

That-Bookish-Hiker

A Head Full of Ghosts: A Novel | Paul Tremblay

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What did I just read?! What a complete mind bomb!

The story follows the Barrett family and the descent of mental madness of their 14 year old daughter Majorie, told in Merry‘s (8 yrs old daughter) POV.

Such a great read by I couldn‘t put down and a great psychological thriller! This book blew my mind and i am still reeling from what I read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#screamathon

Mdargusch I definitely want to reread this after that ending! 6y

cocomass Oooooh I enjoyed this one last year! 6y

Cinfhen Sorry I flaked out on the #headtrip buddy read!! So glad you loved this one!!! Did u see all the discussions on my page @MinDea & @Reviewsbylola page ...lots of theories going around....some on @emilyhaldi page too xx 6y

Cinfhen Just put up a few questions on @erzascarletbookgasm page if u feel like discussing 👻👻👻 6y

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Robothugs

A Head Full of Ghosts: A Novel | Paul Tremblay

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This review is a few days late. But oh my gosh! 😱 I‘m still digesting this book. I would throw this book in anyone‘s direction (just kidding, gently hand it to you...precious books...) who hasn‘t read it.

readordierachel I was thinking about diving into this next but I'm worried about it being too scary, cuz I'm a weenie. 6y

Robothugs @readordierachel It wasn‘t actually that scary, or at least I didn‘t think so. 6y

readordierachel @Robothugs Good to know! 6y

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Cinfhen Woohoo!!! So glad u loved it!!! Who from our #headtrip BuddyRead is still reading???!?!!? 6y

RohitSawant Glad to hear you liked it! This one genuinely creeped me out and made Tremblay an #autobuyauthor for me. 6y

Cinfhen Just put up a few questions under spoiler tags on @erzascarletbookgasm page if u feel like discussing 👻👻 6y

Robothugs @Cinfhen Thanks! 6y

Robothugs @rohit-sawant I‘ll be checking out their other work! 6y

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emilyhaldi

A Head Full of Ghosts: A Novel | Paul Tremblay

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Psychological horror is much more my taste! I love that this book leaves the reader with a lot to ruminate. ☠️ Thanks to @Cinfhen for this recommendation!!
#headtrip

Major spoilers in comments below!!! 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

emilyhaldi I‘m thinking that Merry had a lot more to do with the evil in the Barrett household than she let‘s on!!! While I do think Marjorie was disturbed in some way, I think it had an effect on Merry that took things to another level. Specifically, I believe Merry poisoned the family with no guidance from anyone else ☠️☠️☠️ anyone else in agreement?! (edited) 6y

emilyhaldi Like serial killers who want glory and recognition thus leave tips so that they can be discovered - is that not what Merry is doing by agreeing to have a book written telling her experience?? 🤔 she will finally be exposed and perhaps pitied, although she must know from her first experience that she will be vilified as well. 6y

Cinfhen I agree with you 💯‼️‼️Merry is no sweetheart...she poisoned that family knowingly and I‘m convinced she was slowly poisoning Marjorie the entire time. I also think Marjorie feared Merry and that is why Marjorie wanted Merry to be present when the exorcism was taking place. I think Marjorie had a form of mental illness that was exasperated by Merry. 6y

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Cinfhen There‘s also that last bit at the end of the novel when the temperature drops just like that some phenomenon took place when Merry was present during the exorcism 6y

emilyhaldi Yes, I was thinking the same re: temperature drop at the end! @Cinfhen I keep wondering about the significance of the “stories” and what the growing weeds and molasses spill signify. Or how much of those stories were even told by Marjorie or if they were in Merry‘s head??? But we do know that Marj was also cray so I suppose the stories could have come from either.... So much to consider!! 6y

Reviewsbylola Marjorie was creepy af. I wonder if maybe merry was sick of the attention Marjorie was getting to she poisoned them because of that. I can‘t decide what I think. Someone (maybe Cindy?) made the point that maybe Marjorie was getting sick because Merry had been poisoning her previously. @Cinfhen @emilyhaldi 6y

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DebinHawaii

A Head Full of Ghosts: A Novel | Paul Tremblay

Max ?and I took advantage of a lazy Sunday morning & got a little bit of #HeadTrip reading done in bed this morning. Max says that his mom told him this book might be too scary for him, but so far he likes it (or maybe he likes his mom's Kindle) for its "scritchability." Max is easy like that! ??#catsoflitsy ?❤️

Cinfhen

Naj Love Max! 💜💜 6y

LauraBeth Ahhhh - those kindle scritches 😍 6y

LeahBergen Max! 😘 6y

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Mimi28 Hi Max!! 😻😻😻 6y

Crazeedi Max🐱 is one smart kitty! 😉 6y

peaKnit A mutually beneficial arrangement going on here😂 6y

LauraBrook Hello there, handsome! 😽😽😽😽😽 6y

ladym30 So sweet! 6y

Cinfhen Hi MAX 😻😻😻 6y

Reggie Awwwww, Max!!! 6y

rubyslippersreads Nicky likes my iPad for the same reason. 😹 6y

Cinfhen Did u finish this one???? 6y

DebinHawaii @Cinfhen I did! I haven't had a chance to post the review (hopefully tomorrow) & I wasn't sure if we were discussing it more or anything but a thumbs up! 👍 6y

Cinfhen I know, I dropped the ball on the discussions!! Sorry.... seemed most people read it & I lost all focus 😝 6y

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Cinfhen

A Head Full of Ghosts: A Novel | Paul Tremblay

This post contains spoilers

show me

Not sure how to proceed as some of us have raced through this buddy read and I want to avoid spoilers. So I‘ll post this question to those who have only read up to part one. Initial thoughts?? Are you enjoying the writing? Do you like the 90s vibe going? How do you feel about the blog posts? Does Merry seem like a reliable narrator?? #HeadTrip

DebinHawaii, That-Bookish-Hiker, erzascarletbookgasm, AmyG, Robothugs, emilyhaldi, MicheleinPhilly

Reviewsbylola Some of the things Merry mentioned didn‘t seem 90s to me. Like watching all the shows on her DVR. Was there Tevo in the 90s? Idk, I def struggled with the 90s setting here. 6y

Cinfhen Hmmm, I thought her RugRats & SpongeBob references were pretty spot on especially for an 8 yr old @Reviewsbylola 6y

Cinfhen Hey @Reviewsbylola I didn‘t see you jump in on the Elemental discussion questions.... I‘m curious to hear your thoughts about Luker & India & the crazzzy ex wife..... 6y

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peaKnit I‘m just seeing this, I may have to check it out, I have really enjoyed these buddy reads and seeing what people like and don‘t like. (edited) 6y

DebinHawaii I'm midway through Part 2 and really liking the creepy vibe. I'm not sure II'm getting the 90's vibe as much so far other than some of the tv shows as you mentioned. Merry has the unreliability factor of both being a child & admittedly fibbing about some things & having the show coloring her viewpoint so I'm not convinced of what she is telling us as either adult or child Merry. Not a fan of the blog posts style although they serve a purpose &... (edited) 6y

DebinHawaii ... it was interesting to find out the blog's author. 6y

Cinfhen For me, this was very different than The Elementals!! It was way more thought provoking and a more what I expect from horror. It wasn‘t gory or violent but it had a more subtle/ nuanced tone @peaknit I‘d say check it out 6y

AmyG I am liking this book. I have only read section 1. I believe MArjorie is posessed....reminds me Of The Exorcist. I just watched The Haunting of Hill House on Netflix, so I have that house in my head as their house. 😝. The characters are interesting....parents felationship to each other, the kids, religion. And yes, very different than the Elementals. (edited) 6y

TEArificbooks I dodn't like the blog posts but the reveal of the wroter was an interesting twist 6y

emilyhaldi Something WEIRD is going on with Merry but I don‘t know what!!!!!!! 6y

Cinfhen I totally get why we are given the blog posts but I find them soooooo annoying @mdm139 @DebinHawaii 6y

Cinfhen I still need to read this one @AmyG

The Haunting of Hill House

Robothugs My initial thoughts were I couldn‘t put it down. And so I did not. 😆 In the beginning I would have agreed about the blog posts, but I didn‘t mind as much going forward. 6y

Cinfhen Hahahahaha @Robothugs go to my post #HeadTrip and check out all the theories xx 6y

Reggie @Cinfhen we‘re given the blogposts because it shows how duplicitous Merry is. Merry is writing them telling the whole world how fake this show is when she was there and lived it. 6y

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