Possess Review

From Goodreads

Possess
by Gretchen McNeil
Genre: YA
Format: Kindle E-Book
Midnight Minute: A darkly humored YA novel meets The Exorcist.
From Goodreads:

 Rule #1: Do not show fear.
Rule #2: Do not show pity.
Rule #3: Do not engage.
Rule #4: Do not let your guard down.
Rule #5: They lie.

Fifteen-year-old Bridget Liu just wants to be left alone: by her mom, by the cute son of a local police sergeant, and by the eerie voices she can suddenly and inexplicably hear. Unfortunately for Bridget, it turns out the voices are demons – and Bridget has the rare ability to banish them back to whatever hell they came from.

Terrified to tell people about her new power, Bridget confides in a local priest who enlists her help in increasingly dangerous cases of demonic possession. But just as she is starting to come to terms with her new power, Bridget receives a startling message from one of the demons. Now Bridget must unlock the secret to the demons' plan before someone close to her winds up dead – or worse, the human vessel of a demon king.

Midnight Thoughts:

~When writing a book about the Catholic Church, exorcisms and the ability to speak to demons, you have to tread carefully between being offensive to Catholics and coming off as preachy on religion.  Somehow, with both humor and awesome characters, McNeil not only balances on that tightrope, she practically dances across it. 
~Bridget is friends with all boys and it's not a big deal.  The boys are all very different from each other, but Hector was by far my favorite, and here's why:

Hector avoided confrontation like it was a herpes flare-up.

Me too, Hector, me too.
~Matt is totally a teen age dream, and like his dad, he's a Good Guy.  Which I have to say is a wonderful change from the dark, tormented bad boys that plucky heroines usually banter with before completely giving up all their own kick ass qualities to angst over whether or not the bad boy loves them.
~Two gripes: one the dig that Bridget makes at Coldplay, but I will forgive it because there is both a reference to Buffy and Teen Beat in the book.
~Second gripe: Peter kind of goes off the tracks with his crazy behavior.  Bridget had a lot to deal with, true, but it was clear something was really wrong with her friend.
~One of these days, I wish the Hubs would take me on a date to a mental hospital (you know, without checking me in).  I know that Matt and Bridget's "date" might seem unconventional, but that's the magic of it.
~As funny as this book is, it's also creepy.  The cover alone freaked me out, so that's why I bought it for my Kindle.  I don't think I'd want that cover staring at me from my bookshelf...
~McNeil uses the word whackadoo to describe Father Santos.  I both love and have been called this name.
~Mrs. Pickleman's Tiny Princess Doll Shoppe- warning, it will give you nightmares! Also, almost 30% of the lines I highlighted on my Kindle come from the time spent inside the doll shop.  So yes, creepy, but also hilarious.
~This is a stand alone book.  I could totally take more of Bridget, but it's also nice to have a paranormal YA book that doesn't stretch out over 70 books.

Timeless Characters:

Bridget Lui- our snarky heroine.  Unlike a billion other YA heroines, Bridget is half Chinese-half Irish, all smart ass.  I loved her!
Monsignor  Renault- Bridget's  mentor in all things exorcism, only he calls it "banishment".
Father Santos- A warrior priest who (in my mind) looks like a young Philip Seymor Hoffman.  Kind of bumbling, yet suspicious at the same time.
Hector- Bridget's best friend, who is both overweight and homosexual.  He had a lot going on, would have liked to have seen more of him, because what I saw I loved.
Peter Kim- Also B's friends, only he's obsessed with her in a very unhealthy and obvious way.
Brad-  Another friend, he's a bit cooler than the rest of the group, and he's a jock.  Hector has major crush on him.
Matt Quinn- childhood friend, hottie and recent ex-boyfriend of  Mean Girl Alexa.  He wants to play white knight to Bridget's damsel in distress, but Bridget is pretty good at taking care of herself.
Alexa- she's a Mean Girl and is not happy when Matt starts hanging out with Bridget.
Sammy- Bridget's adorable little brother.

There's also some parents, a mental patient and a ghost cat, but you'll have to read the book yourself to find out.

Midnight Moment:

The best part was in the doll shop, surrounded by creepy, possessed dolls.  It's also where Bridget first gets an inkling of the bigger picture.

Stop The Clock:

Possess is a perfect October read!!  I may have only read two books so far by Gretchen McNeil, which may be because that is the number of books she has thus far published, but I am officially a fan for life.  The book is scary enough for those that love thrills, and humorous enough for those of you who don't like to be scared- just read with the lights on!

From the author's blog

Gretchen McNeil—  Blog |Seanchai

Possess gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

How has this not been made into a movie yet?!

 And don't forget that I'm co-hosting Bloggers Dressed in Blood all this month, stop by and participate and you could win a whole slew of creepy books and a Kindle Touch!  Check it out!