1980s | Musings of the Monster Librarian

Book Review: Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughn, art by Cliff Chiang

Paper Girls, Volume 1 (Issues #1-5) by Brian K. Vaughn, art by Cliff Chiang

Image Comics, 2015

ISBN: 9781632156747

Available: Library binding, paperback, Kindle edition and comiXology ebook

Paper Girls begins with a strange dream that Erin, the new papergirl, is having, just before she has to awaken for her route. We discover that that date is November 1, 1988. Halloween is almost over for some costumed teenagers when they see Erin on her own. She becomes their target, until the other papergirls (Mac, Tiffany, and KJ) show up, and take matters into their own hands. The girls partner up, two and two, in order to finish their routes in peace, each pair traveling with walkie-talkies in case the teenagers show up again. It should have been smooth sailing from there, but then the girls chase robbers into an abandoned building and find a strange piece of machinery that instantly transports them to another time. Things are very different in their neighborhood after that. Adults speaking a strange language; aggressive flying reptiles; people disappearing; humanoid teenagers who can only communicate with the papergirls through a translation stone; and meeting a very different Erin after she emerges from the time machine, are just a handful of the strange things that the papergirls encounter in the first volume.

I have to admit that this is my first exposure to Vaughn’s work, as I have not read Saga yet. All I have to go by is my first reading of Vaughn’s storytelling, and I enjoyed it. That said, I have consulted with a few colleagues about Paper Girls as compared to Saga, and, while they enjoyed the story, it didn’t meet up with their expectations. The biggest complaint was that the story was too disjointed and the reader doesn’t get much backstory of the papergirls. I do agree, but I still think this is a good story. One friend also indicated it was a slow burn, but pretty rewarding on the last panel of the book. The first volume ended on a great cliffhanger, too. I’m looking forward to reading Volume 2. A note: as this is set in the 1980s, there is some offensive language specifically regarding the LGBTQ community. Recommended for ages 15 and up.

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Book Review: My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

Quirk Books, May 2016

ISBN: 9781594748622

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition

My Best Friend’s Exorcism is set in the 80s, a time of big hair, awesome music, and the Satanic Panic. Abby Rivers and Gretchen Lang have been best friends since they were thrown together at Abby’s tenth birthday party. Now in high school, they are experiencing the awkwardness and discomfort of growing into teenagers, and their friendship is changing.

After a night of dropping acid with a few other friends goes bad, Gretchen goes missing for the entire night. When she reappears the next day, acting strangely, Abby seems to be the only one to notice. As bizarre things start to happen to people, Abby, making her observations in the context of the 1980s fears of demonic possession that could happen to anyone, comes to the conclusion that her best friend must be demonically possessed; that something happened in the woods the night they took LSD. What other option could there be for Gretchen turning on her best friend? Unsurprisingly, no one believes her, except a bodybuilding evangelist who turns out to be fighting his own demons.

The story is narrated by Abby in first person, so we only see her point of view. As a teenager dealing with significant life events, changing hormones, emotional, physical, and psychological challenges, and a brain potentially altered by her experience with LSD, she is not necessarily a reliable narrator. In fact, several adults accuse Abby of being a bad influence on Gretchen, whose behavior changed after the girls’ shared drug experience. Abby’s own behavior is erratic, as well: she plans and executes a midnight break-in at Gretchen’s house. While My Best Friend’s Exorcism could be read as a straightforward tale of demonic possession, it also can be read as an examination of a psychological breakdown. Hendrix has a talent for description: the description of Gretchen’s kitchen during Abby’s break-in as smelling of mold and old food, with temperature so cold she can see her breath, is so specific that it is easy to believe that Abby is giving us an accurate picture of events.

Overall, I think My Best Friend’s Exorcism is a great read. For anyone who grew up in the 80s, especially around the time of the infamous Satanic Panic, this book will bring back memories. One of the best things about this book is the chapter titles: if you guessed that they are titles of popular 80s songs, you would be correct. Admittedly, some of this may go over the heads of younger readers if they aren’t familiar with 80s culture, but for those of us who grew up in that time period, you will love it. Recommended.

Contains: drug use, blood

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker