Official Review: Possess by Gretchen McNeil

[Alexandra Bayer]

Bridget Liu is tired of being so different from everyone out, yet still being ignored - except by those she wants to be left alone by. At school, she is harassed by Peter, a boy with a major crush on her, while Matt, the boy she secretly likes, tries to look out for her. Only problem is, Bridget can't stand being looked out for - especially since Matt's only doing it because Bridget's mother and Matt's father, the police sergeant, asked him to. Teenage angst aside, the real problem is that she can hear demons and banish them, a very rare skill.The only person she can talk to about this is Monsignor Renault, San Fransisco's senior exorcist. But when the number of demonic possessions greatly rises and Bridget realizes her father was somehow linked to all this before his tragic and mysterious death less than a year ago, things get more complicated. Will Bridget be able to find out what really happened to her father, discover what's causing the demonic uprisings, and fit in at high school, when the world seems to be spinning faster than she can keep up with?

This book was great. I tore through it and finished it in just over a day. Although I loved many aspects of the character of Bridget, one I didn't love was her age. She was only fifteen years old. Although this was a great age for her insecurities, problems and questions, I found she was too young to be in the relationship she ended up in. She had make-out sessions - nothing more, thankfully - but still, fifteen is, in my opinion, too young for that. I found that Gretchen McNeil was excellent at portraying her emotions and thoughts as those belonging to someone of that age, though. Maybe that's why the feverish kissing bothered me more - because she seemed so young and still innocent, despite all the issues she'd been forced to face. I would've liked it more if Bridget's character had been older, even just by a year.

I loved the all the mystery and suspense in this book. The mystery as to the fate of Bridget's father was never even mentioned in the beginning of the story, because everyone thought the case was closed. The mystery as the why Peter was suddenly and inexplicably acting extremely strange. The mystery as to why Bridget had these powers. Then, there were a lot of suspenseful and stressful scenes. I was expecting this story to be scarier, though. Demons have the potential to be terrifying. I was never truly frightened, though, anytime in the story. Excited, definitely. But never scared. I would have liked to feel a bit more fear.

I find that I've been reading a lot of good books written in third person recently. This was one of them. The only books written in this viewpoint that I can appreciate as much as those in first person are those which describe the thoughts and emotions of the main character to the extent a book written in first person does. I only dislike a lot of third-person books because I feel as though I don't know the main character. In this story, however, I feel as though I really came to know and understand Bridget. As the reader, I need to be able to associate with the characters. This book succeeded on that point.

I found this book extremely interesting and entertaining. It captured and held my attention through the whole story. The characters were well thought-out and built with individual and distinguishable personalities. Bridget was a strong and kick-butt heroine. I would rate this book four stars. It surpassed my expectations, since I didn't know what to expect with demons. I would recommend this novel to a reader looking for young romance, exorcisms and banishments, or surprising answers to mysteries.