Welcome to Shelf Control — an original feature created and hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies.
Shelf Control is a weekly celebration of the unread books on our shelves. Pick a book you own but haven’t read, write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up! For more info on what Shelf Control is all about, check out my introductory post, here.
Want to join in? Shelf Control posts go up every Wednesday. See the guidelines at the bottom of the post, and jump on board!
Title: A Head Full of Ghosts
Author: Paul Tremblay
Published: 2015
Length: 286 pages
What it’s about (synopsis via Goodreads):
The lives of the Barretts, a normal suburban New England family, are torn apart when fourteen-year-old Marjorie begins to display signs of acute schizophrenia.
To her parents’ despair, the doctors are unable to stop Marjorie’s descent into madness. As their stable home devolves into a house of horrors, they reluctantly turn to a local Catholic priest for help. Father Wanderly suggests an exorcism; he believes the vulnerable teenager is the victim of demonic possession. He also contacts a production company that is eager to document the Barretts’ plight. With John, Marjorie’s father, out of work for more than a year and the medical bills looming, the family agrees to be filmed, and soon find themselves the unwitting stars of The Possession, a hit reality television show. When events in the Barrett household explode in tragedy, the show and the shocking incidents it captures become the stuff of urban legend.
Fifteen years later, a bestselling writer interviews Marjorie’s younger sister, Merry. As she recalls those long ago events that took place when she was just eight years old, long-buried secrets and painful memories that clash with what was broadcast on television begin to surface–and a mind-bending tale of psychological horror is unleashed, raising vexing questions about memory and reality, science and religion, and the very nature of evil.
How and when I got it:
I bought the Kindle version last year when I happened to notice a price drop.
Why I want to read it:
Who doesn’t love a good possession story? A friend has been urging me to read this — or really, anything by this author. The synopsis sounds right up my alley — horror with elements of madness, and an exorcism too! I don’t know why I haven’t read A Head Full of Ghosts already, but I intend to fix that ASAP.
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Bookshelf Fantasies 
I would definitely read this! I like how it’s a mix between The Exorcist and reality TV!
Exactly! A friend of mine really loves this author, and she says this one is great!
This one sounds so good! Definitely going to have to check it out sometime. It’s been a long time since I’ve done one but here is my Shelf Control post this week: https://thewornbookmark.wordpress.com/2018/01/18/shelf-control-january-18-2018/
Thanks for sharing your link!
This was a pretty good, suspenseful read! I liked the ambiguousness of it, too, as you try to decide if it’s really a possession, mental illness, or an elaborate prank. I would warn that there is definitely some gore and some explicit sexual stuff in this book — I’ve been leery recommending it to people for that reason. Just, FTI so you aren’t blindsided!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts — it definitely sounds like something I’ll enjoy reading! I don’t mind the gore if it’s in service of a good story 🙂
The synopsis is fantasitc! Still, I’ve read very miex reviews about this.
I’m still not sure whether I want to try it.
A friend has been pushing me to read this one, so I think this is the year when I finally do it!