This book contains topics of religion, demons, the occult, drug abuse, graphic violence, childhood trauma, and sexual themes. So, if any of that makes you uncomfortable, I would skip on this book.
That being said, I think a lot of those topics covered are done in a respectful manner and in relation to the events within the story. I will say that there was no deep dive into each of the topics, but I still think they used them well. The book definitely carries a very dark theme overall, but there are enough normal settings/situations in play that I don't think it's overwhelming.
An amazon summary to give you a better idea of what's in store, "It wasn’t technically an exorcism, what they did to Clare. When the reverend and his son ripped her demon from her, they called it a “deliverance.” But they didn’t understand that Clare and her demon—known simply as Her—were like sisters. She comforted Clare, made her feel brave, helped to ease her loneliness. They were each other’s Only.
Now, Clare’s only comforts are the three clues that She left behind:
Be nice to him
June 20
Remember the stories
Clare will do anything to get Her back, even if it means teaming up with the reverend’s son and scouring every inch of her small, Southern town for answers. But if she sacrifices everything to bring back her demon, what will be left of Clare?" AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE
So the book literally begins about a month after Clare's demon, referred to as Her, has been exorcised from her body by the Reverend Sanders, and his son, Roy. She's crushingly lonely because her best friend has been taken away from her. Right away, we know that her stepfather, Larry, and her Mom get along but they don't have the best of relationships due to some substance use issues. Roy stops by to visit the house for no particular reason and kind of picks at Clare's latent interest.
Clare bikes down to Uncle Mike's Used and Collectible, which is essentially a very elaborate thrift shop, where she spots a book that used to be her Father's, and it was one of her favorites. She grabs it off the shelf and finds a note inside, distinctly in Her handwriting:
Be nice to him
June 20
Remember the stories
And Clare gets the book back from Uncle Mike (while shoplifting a couple other items), and sets off to figure out the clues Her left behind.
So that's enough summary because this book is pretty intricate, and as I mentioned before, covers a lot of different topics. I really like this book, it's very gothic, but it's also a really good take on a coming of age story.
I mean, for a book about getting a demon book, it feels very authentic to the small town setting, chaotic family dynamics, and also dealing with a pretty traumatic childhood event. The honest voice of Clare as she considers different aspects of her life, especially reminiscing about her Father, made her a very relate-able character as she strives to solve the clues left behind by Her, but also solve the clues of what previously happened in the town, also maybe involving Her.
It was such a good story. There were a few moments where I got the heebie-jeebies, or shivers, chills, whatever you want to call them, and that was more on the scenes of graphic violence. I would also say the graphic violence can be a little clinical/factual in description, so it is still bearable to read, just creepyyyyyyyy.
I still loved this book.
Happy reading!
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