Review: Devilish

Devilish
by Maureen Johnson

Jane Jarvis and Allison Concord are desperate to get through senior year at Saint Teresa's Preparatory School for Girls, where barbed wire keeps the boys out and ancient nuns keep the girls in.

Jane and Allison have always been too quirky and different to be popular, but at least they've had each other. Then, after a hideous, embarrassing disaster. Allison comes to school transformed. Suddenly she has cute hair and clothes. She's fluent in Latin, she won't even speak to Jane, and within days she's stolen Jane's ex-boyfriend, Elton.

A strangely wise freshman boy, Owen, helps Jane discover the outrageous truth - that Allison has sold her soul to the devil. At first Jane doesn't quite buy it. She plays along with the weirdness - and even gambles her own soul in order to rescue Allison. But events take a turn for the real, and Jane will have to save Allison before the bizarrely exclusive Poodle Prom, a party of biblical proportions that just might blow apart the world as Jane knows it.

First Sentence:
So this is how it ended.

Devilish may seem like a story about a normal high school, but when they mention Jane selling her soul to save her ex-best friend Allison, they are not joking. Jane soon realizes that her school is a battleground for good and evil. It is up to Jane to save not only her school, but also her ex-best friend Allison if she wants to be able to rekindle their friendship. Devilish is definitely a page turner because no one is what they seem. There are demons, evil fighting nuns and preachers, fourteen year old boys who have been dead for the past one hundred years, sinister poodles, and corrupted cupcakes. Would you be willing to risk your life for a friend that has betrayed you?

Even with so many twists and turns the story was very easy to follow and comprehend. The only thing I didn't like about the story is existence of Jane's ex-boyfriend Elton. They never fully explain his and Jane's breakup or why/how he is now her best friend's boyfriend. Not knowing the answer to this kind of left me feeling empty once the book had ended, but then again I tend to get caught up in the minor details.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves YA fiction and doesn't mind a little science fiction. This was my first book by Maureen Johnson and I am definitely looking forward to reading more of her work.

Favorite Quotes:

Joan never actually did her homework. I'm not sure Joan actually knew that she was supposed to do it - I think she may have been under the impression that she was just supposed to watch over it for the night and make sure nothing happened to it.

In my mind, I said the best things to Elton. I wrote countless excellent notes that I never sent. I came up with clever and highly detailed imaginary situations in which we were thrown together and somehow made him realize that life without me was a hollow shell.

Title: Devilish

Author: Maureen Johnson

Paperback: 272 pages

ISBN 10: 1595141324

ISBN 13: 978-1595141323
Buy It: Amazon, Borders, Barnes & Noble
Review Number: 8