Book Review – The Possession of Natalie Glasgow by Hailey Piper

Title: The Possession of Natalie Glasgow

Author: Hailey Piper

Edition: Paperback

Page Count: 66 pages

Rating: 5 / 5 ✨✨✨✨✨

Short Summary:

Margaret Willow has never met an eleven-year-old as dangerous as Natalie Glasgow. Natalie spends her days comatose, but at night she prowls her mother’s home, unnaturally strong and insatiably carnivorous. With doctors baffled, Natalie’s mother reaches out to Margaret, an expert in the supernatural. But even Margaret is mystified and terrified by Natalie’s condition. She’s dying, and before she dies, she might kill someone. Has a demon clawed its way inside an eleven-year-old girl? Or does the source of this nightmare lie with Natalie’s dead father?

A tight, tense novella, The Possession of Natalie Glasgow twists the exorcism tale at every turn down to its final grave confrontation.

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THE POSSESSION OF NATALIE GLASGOW is definitely one of my favorite novellas of 2019, wow! This little book is only 66 pages long, but it packs a huge punch. A wonderfully original and incredibly unique take on the typical “possessed kid” storyline, there’s no way to guess the twist to this story before you read it. I kept making little guesses while reading it, and jeez, I guess I never get tired of being totally wrong! As this was my first book by the author, I was excited to read what the writing would be like – and I wasn’t disappointed! Easy to get into, paced well, and very accessible, I loved the writing style and the novella format. I’ve said it before & I’ll say it again – long, thicc boi books are great, but I am a very busy person and LOVE a good novella or short story so much!

With this one, we’re thrown into the story in the middle of the action, after Natalie’s mom has reached out for help from someone with experience in supernatural dealings. I liked each character, and wish I could have had more – which I feel is one of the best things to say after reading a short story or novella. Wanting more because you enjoyed it so much (rather than because you felt anything was lacking, which wasn’t the case for me here at all) is a wonderful feeling. The tension and creepiness in the beginning of the story had me completely hooked, and I loved the fact that there was no slow build up of events – there is only so much space for words in the novella format, and Hailey Piper uses all of it to her advantage by throwing you in head first.

This was one of the most unique takes on your typical “possessed little girl” storylines that I’ve ever read, and I really enjoyed how different it was. I don’t want to ruin the ending for anyone, but if you’ve read it, you know exactly what I mean – this is something totally unique, and I loved it. No spoilers, but there’s a specific scene towards the end that actually made me tear up and snuggle my puppies closer. To be able to illicit that kind of emotion in so few pages is a pretty clear sign of an author I need to keep reading, so I’ll be on the lookout from everything Piper releases in the future!

I’d definitely recommend this one, and also that you check out this post from the Night Worms crew – a big portion of us read this little book together, and always have so much fun in our book parties!