Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Devilish by Maureen Johnson


If you'll remember from my review a while back on the book 13 Little Blue Envelopes, while I knew of this author from seeing her books at the bookstore I work at, I only decided to read her stuff after following her on Twitter for the past several months. She is so hilarious on there, that I thought her books would be awesome. Now, the first I read, 13 Little Blue Envelopes, was okay, but didn't quite excite me like I thought it would. I have to say that I enjoyed Devilish quite a bit more. I could see the author's humor quite a bit more in this book, and I'm sure that is part of what made me enjoy it so much. I don't remember seeing this book in our store, because I know the cupcake on the cover would have attracted me right away. :-)


Basically our main character is Jane, and she has a best friend named Allison that she kind of protects/supports in all her embarrassing moments. The past year there was a really bad thing that happened to Allison, and so starting senior year at their Catholic school, she's hoping to turn things around by getting a little sister. Only, when a girl finally comes up to her, she throws up on her, and makes things worse. However there is a girl who actually has decided to be Allison's little, and in turn she kind of gives her a makeover. Now Jane is kind of a tough girl, her hairstyle and attitude and rebellion at her Catholic school show that to the world. And Jane senses something weird is going on. All of a sudden not only has Allison changed, she's now not talking to Jane very much.


As the title of the book might give you some clues, there has been a deal made with a demon, and Jane and Allison must try to find their way out of it, or give their souls up. Funny, and another thing I loved, was that it wasn't predictable, lots of things happened that I just didn't see coming. And I do love when a book isn't just cookie cutter so I have to read on to see what happens because I have no idea. So looking forward to reading more of Maureen Johnson's books in the future.


And final note, I get to be a reader/selector for the Gateway list of possible nominees for the 2011-2012 year. I'm so excited! I'll chronicle them just like I did the Mark Twain and Truman nominees last year.