Ancrum, K. Corruption of Hollis Brown, The. Harper, 04/2025. 377 [3]pp. Fiction. Trade $19.99. 978-0-0632-8583-5. GRADES 9–12. HIGH ADDITIONAL.
Hollis Brown lives in a town that is slowly dying, looks forward to a very limited future, and makes himself small and predictable because life is that way too. But a strange encounter one night forces Hollis to grow into someone even his best friends, neighbor and childhood buddy Annie, and exotic newcomer Yulia, no longer recognize. Exploring the mystery at the heart of the damaged town keeps the reader engaged, but the interactions between the characters are the true achievement of the novel. The uncanny remaking of Hollis Brown as a boy literally possessed and participating in his own possession is deeply engaging. Discovering his own sexuality and embracing it, Hollis also has to examine his past passivity and attitudes and his relationships with his friends and family. Some of the elements of Hollis’ possession are a little contrived, which is the one thing that kept the title from being truly outstanding.
Lesley Mandros Bell—Independent