*Thank you to the Publisher, K. Ancrum and Netgalley for providing me with an E-ARC of "The Corruption of Hollis Brown" in exchange for an honest review *

I love everything K. Ancrum writes and this is no exception. It was twisty and thrilling and I loved it so much.

Wow. I have been a K. Ancrum fan for many years and I've given five stars to every work of hers that I've read. To say I'm surprised that I loved this book would be a lie, because I knew one-hundred-percent that this would end up one of my favorite books of the year. Icarus blew me away earlier this year, and The Wicker King a few years before that. The Corruption of Hollis Brown was at the top of my most anticipated 2025 releases. I am beyond thrilled that I was able to get my hands on this as early as I did. This is about a boy living in blue-collar America and struggling with depression, bullying, self-destructive behavior, and a ghost who happen to have tricked him into possession. It contains wonderfully crafted characters who feel real and whole, despite its paranormal circumstances. Hollis and Walt and every other character was multiply-layered and thoroughly-developed. Another thing I love about this, and the rest of the novels I've read from this author, is the representation. Not only is it diverse, but it's respectful and educational. Mental illness was tacked particularly well in this one. This was brilliantly told, I do love Ancrum's notorious vignette style and lyrical prose. I also happened to realize while reading this that I think I love stories about possession and exorcisms (which sounds about right for my reading tastes). This novel was the warm love story that I had expected it to be, and no vast number of K. Ancrum books will ever make me used to reading this amount tenderness and heartbreak holed up in one small body. I don't know if I can even write coherently how much this book means to me and how good it was, so I will leave it at this: I urge you to pick this up and try it, even if you are on the fence about it. You will find something good in it. I promise you.

k ancrum is not an author i’d read before, and now i feel the need to go through their entire backlist. this is a propulsive, emotional tale that keeps the reader hooked in every page. hollis is a darling, and i’m not ashamed to say there were parts of this that made me sob. a masterpiece of queer storytelling that explores the ghosts we carry with us (sometimes literally!).