The Good Demon

At age 16, Clare is finally exorcised of the demon that has possessed her for around a decade. The problem? She loved that demon, and now she has to find a way to get that demon back.

This seemed like a promising novel, a unique take on the possession story. And there are a lot of cool ideas in here, but nothing really came to fruition. Plot points that seemed major like the cult that apparently most of the town was involved in just kind of trailed off, and the pacing was inconsistent. I don't care when the story moves rapidly in a YA novel, but some parts dragged on, and others that could have been more developed happened so fast that I was sure I had skipped a page or two. The ending also felt a little too tidy, all things considered.

Still, a great concept and a decent Halloween read. Plus, there's a dog named Eyeball. 3 demons out of 5.

The Good Demon is marked Young Adult, and the protagonist is fifteen or sixteen (I don't remember if the book actually says which) but the subject manner is...surprisingly adult. It's a very Southern Gothic book.

Clare, our protagonist, had a demon inside her just prior to the opening of the book. She'd had it since she was very young - in one of the many flashbacks we see their meeting. But just prior to the start of the book, the demon was cast out by a local reverend and his son. Clare is lost without Her (the only name she's had for the demon - Her) and reacts much as an addict would when going cold turkey. And then she discovers clues left by the demon, and resolves to solve the mystery and get her demon back.

Sprinkled throughout Clare's investigation are flashbacks to when she was possessed, and we learn what the demon really means to Clare. The demon has saved her life multiple times, and seems to truly care about her. But in poking around her town, Clare uncovers some disturbing relics and characters. She learns there might be a way to get her demon back, but the cost might be higher than she wants to pay. (It's also a bit predictable, but the slow-creeping horror of knowing what's about to happen is part of what makes this book amazing.) In the meantime, she's falling in love with the reverend's son, and their relationship only complicates matters.

The atmosphere of the book is perfect Southern Gothic - from Clare playing in the swampy woods as a little girl, to the one mysteriously wealthy family that controls far too much of the sleepy town, to the small-town feel and the enigmatic hermit off the highway. The broken families and alcoholics and domestic violence all hidden beneath a veneer of sociability - it's one of the best Southern Gothics I've read in a very long time.

The writing is just amazing - evocative and entrancing and - I just loved this book, okay? I'd heard it had mixed reviews, so I was a bit wary of the book, but the premise was so interesting - and then I fell in love with it. I think this is one of my favorite books this year.

You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.