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The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall
"The top of her head felt matted and tacky to the touch. Bashed and leaking. Like the pineapple. Leaking her own red juice. She wanted to laugh but it hurt too much..."
So hot! The Scottish seaside town of Balemouth Bay has never experienced such a heatwave. But there is trouble in paradise. Someone is dropping fruit from the bridge on to unsuspecting heads below. And Abigail Squall's unsuspecting head is lost in thought. She recalls the day she cradled her mother in her arms and listened to those mysterious dying words. The hit and run driver was still out there. Somewhere. Distracted by the memory, Abigail neglects to look up...
The pineapple bomb hits its target. The blow transforms Abigail’s traumatised mind into a powerful radio receiver. In a relentless invasion of rapid-fire news, music and chatter, every broadcast in the atmosphere crams inside her headspace until the blistering volume threatens to split her skull apart. But just as she slips towards insanity, a familiar voice cuts through the chaos: “Hello Abi! Any requests?”
Granddad’s ghost has a plan. To solve the mystery of her mother’s death, fix her broken family and silence the crippling noise in her head once and for all, Abigail must tear down the town's brand new transmitter.
So hot! The Scottish seaside town of Balemouth Bay has never experienced such a heatwave. But there is trouble in paradise. Someone is dropping fruit from the bridge on to unsuspecting heads below. And Abigail Squall's unsuspecting head is lost in thought. She recalls the day she cradled her mother in her arms and listened to those mysterious dying words. The hit and run driver was still out there. Somewhere. Distracted by the memory, Abigail neglects to look up...
The pineapple bomb hits its target. The blow transforms Abigail’s traumatised mind into a powerful radio receiver. In a relentless invasion of rapid-fire news, music and chatter, every broadcast in the atmosphere crams inside her headspace until the blistering volume threatens to split her skull apart. But just as she slips towards insanity, a familiar voice cuts through the chaos: “Hello Abi! Any requests?”
Granddad’s ghost has a plan. To solve the mystery of her mother’s death, fix her broken family and silence the crippling noise in her head once and for all, Abigail must tear down the town's brand new transmitter.
236 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 29, 2018
6 people are currently reading
947 people want to read
About the author
Scott O'Neill
3 books15 followersBorn in Renfrewshire and now living on the Isle of Bute, Scott O’Neill studied Film at the Surrey Institute of Art & Design. Published by McNidder & Grace, Scott's latest novel, The Witch, The Seed & The Scalpel, is a horror story steeped in the gothic tradition.
His earlier works include the novels The Buzz Building (2014), The Hectic Headspace of Abigail Squall (2018), and the screenplay for the 2017 horror film ‘The Circle’. A sequel, ‘The Circle: Awakening’, is due for release in 2026.
His earlier works include the novels The Buzz Building (2014), The Hectic Headspace of Abigail Squall (2018), and the screenplay for the 2017 horror film ‘The Circle’. A sequel, ‘The Circle: Awakening’, is due for release in 2026.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 20, 2019
I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway and received a copy from the author for review purposes. This does not affect my rating or opinions of the book.
My biggest issue is that this book feels outdated — not just in the plot prevalence of radio or the awkward texting ("I'm here 4 U", typed no teen ever) — but also the casual ableist slurs (use of the r-word, the s-word, and others), in-your-face binary political controversies ("shop local, not global" and Abigail's vehement vegetarianism), and problematic archetypes (Aunt Gemma as manipulative, two-faced, paranoid, and generally "unstable"; the pop star groupies/teenyboppers as vapid, high-energy, dressed in revealing clothing). There are very few genuinely likable characters, because I had difficulty finding moments that felt authentic: otherwise it was morally ambiguous juvenile delinquency or super emotionally charged (whether it was angst or reconciliation), while I'd prefer to see more moments in between.
Neither of the romantic subplots seemed particularly necessary; Henryk the baker boy across the street is cute but I'm concerned about , and while Violet is sweet, seemed overdramatic.
Actually, as much as I hate writing off entire books as "overdramatic," that's the descriptor that comes most strongly to mind. For me, this one fell on the awkward side of quirky, and I spent a lot more time cringing than laughing at the jokes.
My biggest issue is that this book feels outdated — not just in the plot prevalence of radio or the awkward texting ("I'm here 4 U", typed no teen ever) — but also the casual ableist slurs (use of the r-word, the s-word, and others), in-your-face binary political controversies ("shop local, not global" and Abigail's vehement vegetarianism), and problematic archetypes (Aunt Gemma as manipulative, two-faced, paranoid, and generally "unstable"; the pop star groupies/teenyboppers as vapid, high-energy, dressed in revealing clothing). There are very few genuinely likable characters, because I had difficulty finding moments that felt authentic: otherwise it was morally ambiguous juvenile delinquency or super emotionally charged (whether it was angst or reconciliation), while I'd prefer to see more moments in between.
Neither of the romantic subplots seemed particularly necessary; Henryk the baker boy across the street is cute but I'm concerned about , and while Violet is sweet, seemed overdramatic.
Actually, as much as I hate writing off entire books as "overdramatic," that's the descriptor that comes most strongly to mind. For me, this one fell on the awkward side of quirky, and I spent a lot more time cringing than laughing at the jokes.
April 21, 2024
This was a lot more than I was expecting. 3.5 stars overall but 4 for Goodreads.
I put off reading The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall, which I got from a Goodreads giveaway quite a few years ago, because I didn't love the cover, and I wasn't sure how I felt about the premise.
I started off thinking The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall would be a young adult soft sci-fi, and that I've read things like it before. Let me tell you now, I've never read anything quite like this before.
This was a small town young adult contemporary realistic soft sci-fi amateur detective murder mystery ghost story family drama romance, and I'm not even sure if I got all the genres in there. It turns so much about genre writing on its head and comes at everything from every angle.
The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall might be one of the first books I really enjoyed that doesn't have amazing characters or character development. Despite Abigail Squall being the title character, she gets about half the POV time in the book, and for part of the rest of that time she's unconscious. On the other hand, her brother Tom is probably the most interesting character in the book. His motivations are a lot less straightforward than Abigail's, and I love that he keeps trying. Other characters are interesting, and lead to the question of an unreliable narrator somewhere, but you're never quite sure where.
The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall is definitely not a book for everyone. It has a lot going on, so much so that you're never really sure what's happening. I had to go back and reread quite a few pages or passages that didn't make sense. For genre readers of any particular genre, it may be too much. On top of that, it was also a little difficult to read because the UK grammar conventions are very different from US grammar conventions, especially the commas. I've never noticed this as much in books from the UK as I did in The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall. It's also a bit dated, with the plot not really working in modern times, and there are a lot of dated stereotypes and casual use of the r word.
I'm not sure whether I want to hang onto this one. It could make for an interesting reread, but I might also be done with it. I read it with the intention of it being a "read it and weed it" book, but now I'm not so sure.
I put off reading The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall, which I got from a Goodreads giveaway quite a few years ago, because I didn't love the cover, and I wasn't sure how I felt about the premise.
I started off thinking The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall would be a young adult soft sci-fi, and that I've read things like it before. Let me tell you now, I've never read anything quite like this before.
This was a small town young adult contemporary realistic soft sci-fi amateur detective murder mystery ghost story family drama romance, and I'm not even sure if I got all the genres in there. It turns so much about genre writing on its head and comes at everything from every angle.
The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall might be one of the first books I really enjoyed that doesn't have amazing characters or character development. Despite Abigail Squall being the title character, she gets about half the POV time in the book, and for part of the rest of that time she's unconscious. On the other hand, her brother Tom is probably the most interesting character in the book. His motivations are a lot less straightforward than Abigail's, and I love that he keeps trying. Other characters are interesting, and lead to the question of an unreliable narrator somewhere, but you're never quite sure where.
The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall is definitely not a book for everyone. It has a lot going on, so much so that you're never really sure what's happening. I had to go back and reread quite a few pages or passages that didn't make sense. For genre readers of any particular genre, it may be too much. On top of that, it was also a little difficult to read because the UK grammar conventions are very different from US grammar conventions, especially the commas. I've never noticed this as much in books from the UK as I did in The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall. It's also a bit dated, with the plot not really working in modern times, and there are a lot of dated stereotypes and casual use of the r word.
I'm not sure whether I want to hang onto this one. It could make for an interesting reread, but I might also be done with it. I read it with the intention of it being a "read it and weed it" book, but now I'm not so sure.
April 13, 2019
This was a cute little fluff book.
The writing was done well enough to be able to "hear" the accents and "see" a place that I've never been.
The characters were unique but perhaps not memorable. My favorite character was definitely the dead grandpa but Tom was a close second.
The foreshadowing wasn't overdone so the mystery stayed inconclusive untill it nearly revealed.
There were a couple of legit laugh out loud moments that I enjoyed.
However, as you can tell this is not a 5 star book for quite a few reasons.
1) The ending was unsatisfactory. It ends quite quickly actually. In fact, Abigail does some extremely illegal things - like probably jail time or at least a few years probation, but we never see the events beyond the goal of the book.
2) We also don't get to see if justice is served to the person who was revealed to kill Abigail's mom. We spend nearly the whole book reliving the death so only having the reveal is such a let down to me.
3) In truth, it seems like none of threads that were integral to making the story have some depth were actually resolved or even touched upon more than briefly. I guess we're supposed to assume that because this is a fluff story everything works out in the happiest way possible.
This book truly could've been a 5 star story had it delved into those threads a bit more and had we been able to enjoy some resolutions. As it is I won't reread this book and I would only recommend it to my friends if they could get it for free.
The writing was done well enough to be able to "hear" the accents and "see" a place that I've never been.
The characters were unique but perhaps not memorable. My favorite character was definitely the dead grandpa but Tom was a close second.
The foreshadowing wasn't overdone so the mystery stayed inconclusive untill it nearly revealed.
There were a couple of legit laugh out loud moments that I enjoyed.
However, as you can tell this is not a 5 star book for quite a few reasons.
1) The ending was unsatisfactory. It ends quite quickly actually. In fact, Abigail does some extremely illegal things - like probably jail time or at least a few years probation, but we never see the events beyond the goal of the book.
2) We also don't get to see if justice is served to the person who was revealed to kill Abigail's mom. We spend nearly the whole book reliving the death so only having the reveal is such a let down to me.
3) In truth, it seems like none of threads that were integral to making the story have some depth were actually resolved or even touched upon more than briefly. I guess we're supposed to assume that because this is a fluff story everything works out in the happiest way possible.
This book truly could've been a 5 star story had it delved into those threads a bit more and had we been able to enjoy some resolutions. As it is I won't reread this book and I would only recommend it to my friends if they could get it for free.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews