I can't help but feel a lot of this would have been solved sooner had they simply googled "getting rid of demon REDDIT".

I was really disappointed with this and I think seeing all the hype around it played a big part. I liked the concept and that the narrator was going to be an 8 year old until I started reading it and I realized that Malerman doesn't know to write an 8 year old. For all the time we spend inside Bela's head I cannot tell you a single thing about her other than she's being haunted and has some of the crappiest parents ever. I will give it to Malerman, he can write some really hatable people. Other than that the story drags on far longer than it needed to and there was almost no suspense. The pacing was really off, felt like a bad roller coaster with no end in sight. Also there's a weird thing Malerman does where he has the parents spew a bunch of philosophical stuff about life and choices to Bela while she pretends to sleep. This felt like weak writing almost a like a copout to not write actual characters interacting and good plot.