Possess by Gretchen McNeil Book Review

Possess by Gretchen McNeil
Publisher: HarperCollins, Inc.
Release Date: August 23, 2011
384 pages
Rating: 3 stars
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“She felt like a baton getting passed along in a relay race, completely devoid of any control over her destiny.” 
― Gretchen McNeil, Possess

Synopsis
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. (Goodreads)

My Thoughts
Possess had some seriously creepy parts. I actually had to stop reading late at night because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to sleep without the light on. But the majority of the book wasn't too scary. Just a few parts. Which was fine by me. The plot was entertaining enough. One scene took place in a doll shop which made me think of my close friend who is terrified of dolls. Bridget was also scared of dolls. And spiders. I agree. I hate spiders. Her phobias were amusing, and I like how they fit into the plot. 

I have to admit that I didn't really like the protagonist in Possess. Bridget was just too much of the stereotypical hormonal teenager. That should be expected since she's fifteen. But she was whiny, prickly, and sarcastic. She was so defensive and confrontational even when people wanted to help. I honestly couldn't stand her for most of the book. Plus, she was immature. Most of the characters were immature. Their conversation annoyed me. I understand they're in high school, but I hate the use of teenage slang. Everybody said dude. I never said dude when I was in high school. Bridget was constantly saying whatever and her responses annoyed me. She also said fail a lot. At least, I think it was fail. It showed up as flail a few times in the Kindle edition, but there were several typos and spacing problems in this edition. That didn't affect my enjoyment though. 

Something that bugged me about Possess was the romantic interest. Matt was sooooo overprotective. His concern for Bridget was cute, but his constant need to protect her, watch over her, and ask how she was doing every minute of the day was a little creepy. Is he her father figure? Her bodyguard? He asked her how are you? a million times. And I can't help but judge him after he dated that b***h Alexa. How could any guy date her and still be likable? Is he brain damaged? Plus, Bridget was so harsh and rude to him, but he still kept trying. Why? I would've given up and said the heck with you a long time ago if someone was that rude to me. Many people, especially the targeted teen audience, will love Matt with his irresistible hotness and his baseball skills and his unwavering need to protect Bridget. But for me, he was just too good to be true and a little needy.  

I did love the storyline and the details behind Bridget's power. The Watcher and Nephilim myth popped up again just like in a recent book I read, Angelfall. Possess offered some suspense, and it was cool to see the mystery unraveling. Though Bridget was a little slow on the uptake. I found Peter Kim amusing and terrifying. It shows that Asians in puppy love can turn psychopathic fast. 

I heard there may be a sequel in the works. Which makes sense because there are some loose ends. Nothing too big or significant though. I'd recommend Possess for anyone who wants an enjoyable read with some chills. But, and I hate to say this, it had its downfalls and I didn't really feel connected to the characters at all. Meaning, I probably won't pick up the sequel. 

Happy reading,

Courtney