A Good and Happy Child Book Review

I have a friend at work who is a fellow book lover and we swap and trade books constantly. She found this book as a pre-published copy and loved it, so passed it to me.

I read it very quickly, only taking a few days. The plot was enticing and it cited "The Secret History" as a book similar in its power for gripping the reader in suspense. I just read "The Secret History" before Christmas and it did do a number on me.....chilling and completely unnerving. So I dove into A Good and Happy Child.

The story chronicles a boy's life after his father's mysterious death. Eleven year old George is awkward and chubby and has difficulty making friends at school. To make matters worse, his mother is a feminist and activist that doesn't appear to mesh well in the small town they live in. As George tries to cope with his father's death and his and his mother's grief, he becomes plagued by a "friend" that appears to him in his dreams. George fears that he is going crazy and is miserable and lonely until the voices he is evading spirals out of control causing a bizarre accident that leads to psychiatric treatment. The real thrill of the story is this; is it a demon or mental illness? Or both? The story leaves you reeling with your own questions and thoughts; which would be worse? What do you believe? And if you simply believe it, does that make it true?

A thought provoking and thrilling read by a talented author.