My Best Friend's Exorcism

In the novel, adolescence is portrayed as wrought with fast-paced changes and problems: These include physical changes, body image and self-esteem, sexuality and sexism, academic pressure, mental health, and potential alcohol and drug use. Throughout the novel, such problems are represented in a realistic fashion, only exacerbated by Andras to show how they can fester if not addressed. Although all teenagers experience problems, the main characters are girls and many of their problems are gendered. Because girls are often pressured to be conventionally beautiful, Abby applies makeup to feel comfortable around others. Margaret also struggles with body image, wishing she were thinner. While possessed, Gretchen preys on these issues by attempting to remove Abby’s makeup and giving Margaret a near-fatal amount of tapeworm eggs disguised as diet supplements. This illustrates casual cruelty and peer pressure by fellow teenagers, who aren’t necessarily equipped to process their own emotions, let alone help one another.

Andras begins his possession by violating Gretchen, illustrating another problem of adolescence. Gretchen’s parents don’t believe in demonic possession, but also refuse to believe their daughter could have experienced sexual violence. When Abby brings up the possibility, they shun her and threaten to tell the police that she distributed drugs. This refusal to believe Abby illustrates how sometimes, problems isolate adolescents because others deny or ignore their problems. The Langs’ concern that talk of rape will “ruin” their daughter’s reputation perpetuates victim blaming, which is echoed by Coach Greene’s speech about girls “allowing” themselves to be drugged and sexually assaulted. While possessed, Gretchen harms others, but is also harmed by others due to their failure to accept the true nature of her problems. The “adult” concern with reputation exacerbates “adolescent” problems by allowing them to fester. Ignoring problems does not solve them, even if they temporarily “disappear,” as with Gretchen’s return to normalcy—this normalcy being Andras “hiding” in plain sight. Abby is in a unique position to address Gretchen’s possession as her best friend and fellow adolescent. Some adults are jaded toward adolescent problems and ignore them because they no longer believe they can solve them on a systemic level.

Possession is treated as real in the novel, but can still be read as a metaphor for adolescent problems and the inadequate ways in which people address them. Father Morgan explicitly states that possession and cults are metaphors, “[w]ays of dealing with information and emotions. Adolescence is a complicated time, and some really bright people think that when the adult emerges, it’s like you’re being taken over by a different person. Almost like being possessed” (184). In other words, personal growth can feel like being taken over by someone else, which makes it challenging, especially when family, friends, and others don’t know how to treat this “new” person.