Review: Possess by Gretchen McNiel

Title: Possess
Author: Gretchen McNiel
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Age Group: Young Adult
Category: Paranormal/Horror
Release date: August 23rd, 2011
Pages: 379 (Paperback)
Rating: 4 out of 5
Source: Won
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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.

Bridget holds a terrifying secret.  Ever since her dad passed away, she's gained a power she didn't know existed.  She can hear demonic voices and their plans to rise a demon king.  The only one that could possibly help her now is Monsignor Renault, who deals with the possessions that keep popping up around town.  Having to keep her two lives separate, she soon finds out the dangers lurking around each corner.

Possess is a quickly-paced story that will make your heart race.  The characters were full of emotion, easy to connect to, and the story was detailed enough to be shocking.  My only complaint is that it didn't scare me enough.  I chose to read the book this Halloween season because possessions are something that have always terrified me since I was a child.  While it was well-written, I never found myself as paranoid as I hoped to be once I turned the last page.

One of the things that made me love the book the most, though, was Bridget's emotion.  I felt as though I could connect with her, not only because she lost a father, but because she was going through this huge change in her life.  She wasn't sure who to trust anymore, and I think we've all been there at one point or another.  Along with all of the new information, Bridget finds herself falling for a boy she never thought she'd fall for.  The romance is done nicely, and it definitely didn't take anything away from the story.

Overall, Possess is a great book to read any time of the year.  Certain scenes are definitely creepy enough to make you shudder, but not enough to make you pull the covers over your head at night.  Give it a try if you're a fan of the paranormal, horror or mystery genres.  It won't disappoint.