3 #WickedGoodReads That Play Mind Games With You

It must be fun, as an author, to think of all the ways you could really trip your readers up. The books we’ve recommended below will seriously mess with your mind!

A Head Full of Ghosts, Paul Tremblay

The book is a snarky look back at the sister of a girl involved in a possession that was a televised event 20+ years ago. It’s part creepy possession horror / part psychological thriller – and by the middle of A Head Full of Ghosts, I had so many questions as to what was really going on – is it madness? is it actually demonic possession? is it the cry for help of an abused child? The author leads us so that the supernatural explanation is just as plausible as the psychological, but no matter which way you lean in the book, thee will be things that pop up that will make you doubt your choice.

The lives of the Barretts, a normal suburban New England family, are torn apart when fourteen-year-old Marjorie begins to display signs of acute schizophrenia. As their stable home devolves into a house of horrors, they reluctantly turn to a local Catholic priest for help. Father Wanderly suggests an exorcism; he believes the vulnerable teenager is the victim of demonic possession. He also contacts a production company that is eager to document the Barretts’ plight.

Liar, Justine Larbalesteir

Micah, the main character tells us right upfront that she’s a pathological liar, and little she says can be believed. But I couldn’t help myself – I did start to believe what she was saying as the story progressed. And what makes it worse – she lies all the time, so at the end of the book, I still don’t know if what she said is for real or not.

Micah will freely admit that she’s a compulsive liar, but that may be the one honest thing she’ll ever tell you. Over the years she’s duped her classmates, her teachers, and even her parents, and she’s always managed to stay one step ahead of her lies. That is, until her boyfriend dies under brutal circumstances and her dishonesty begins to catch up with her. But is it possible to tell the truth when lying comes as naturally as breathing?

The Eye of Minds, James Dashner

In true James Dashner fashion, you start this book thinking you know what it’s all about. Except you don’t. Not even close. Somewhere along the line Dashner throws a curve ball or two and leaves you wondering wtf just happened!? This book also features a villain who not only plays mind games, but likes to take your memories, your knowledge, and your sanity away from you.

Michael and his friends are serious gamers. The kind with epic hacker skills. They spend their time in the VirtNet just having a little fun. But the fun is over when they’re recruited to hunt down and stop a fellow gamer who is holding gamers hostage in the VirtNet and rendering them brain dead in the real world.

What other books have you read that have seriously messed with your mind?

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