I have to admit something to all of you. When I first picked this book up from my pile of award nominees I had very low expectations for it. I thought it was going to be terrible. I really did. I'm not sure why I thought this. Perhaps it had to do with the cover, which, while perfectly fitting for the story itself, would never have grabbed my interest in the book store--not in a million years. This has a lot to do with the fact that the story is more aimed, in my opinion, towards teenage girls. It is, after all, from the viewpoint of a high school girl, dealing with high school romances, friend problems, and other typical teenage dramas. Therefore, the cover had to reflect the target audience.I am so happy that I was horribly and idiotically wrong about this novel. It was fantastic. So good, even, that at times I wished I had a valid excuse not to go to work. I read it over the course of the last three days (finished it last night), reading at work during break and an hour each night. I didn't want to put it down, but I had to. I wanted to continue on. I wanted to get to the end so bad because I wanted to know everything that happened.What makes this novel so good? Johnson's writing style, or at least how she writes the first person narrative of the main character Jane. It's that perfect style that tells you exactly what you need to know about the character--she's a teenager, smart, and downright sarcastic and hilarious. Her style is strong throughout. I found myself giggling internally--I don't generally laugh out loud when reading or express much of any emotion...that's just the norm for me.The story is this:Jane attends a religious prep school with her best friend Allison. Jane is, well, to put it simply, an academic genius. But she's not without her faults--she tends to get in trouble a lot. Allison is clumsy, throws up when put under pressure, and altogether quirky and odd. Then one day, after a terrible disaster where Allison throws up all over a freshman in the gym, Allison returns to school a completely different person. She's so different that she's answering questions during class, and correctly, she's wearing new clothes and has new confidence. To make things worse, she's just stolen Jane's ex-boyfriend--well stolen is the wrong word, but you get the picture.Soon Jane finds out that there's more to this sudden change than meets the eye. Allison has done something terrible and stupid--she's just sold her soul to the devil.The story is, well, excellent. It's strong, flows well, and sticks right to the point without running off in directions that are unnecessary. Jane is an awesome character. She's full of life, spunk, and awesomeness--yes, I used that word to describe her. I found her to be a fantastic character.There were only a couple times I got annoyed during the novel and this had nothing to do whatseover with the story itself. I think the publisher perhaps misprinted some sentences in the novel so that they are in some ways using the right words, but are grammatically incorrect. I doubt this has anything to do with the author though.All in all the novel is damn good. It moves fast, has its fair share of twists and turns, and proves to me that I can't judge a book by its cover all the time. Doing so means I will miss out on gems like this. Check this novel it. I think you'll really enjoy it!
Review: Jane and Allison have always been best friends. They’re practically all the other has. So they’re in their senior year, and they’re meant to pair up with a new girl. Jane doesn’t get anyone, but after a small fuss, Allison gets Lanalee. And then Allison really changes. No transformation should be this sudden. Jane does some investigation. And discovers that Allison has done a deal with a devil.I was looking forwards to this- Maureen Johnson plus devils. It’s definitely an original and amusing take on such an old topic of selling your soul to the devil.Jane is quite cool. She does so much for Allison, which is nice. She’s still getting over the breakup with Elton. She’s very funny, and a great narrator. Allison is a bit annoying in that she doesn’t do that much on her own. Lanalee is a really great version of a devil, tied up in bureaucracy and sassing her way through most conversations. Owen was really sweet and the teachers at Jane’s school, once we got to know them for real, were pretty awesome.Devilish is a really quick read. It’s well paced, and things happen quickly. the friendly narration works well and speeds it up further.I would have liked to know the characters and their relationships a bit more before Lanalee showed up.It’s mainly for younger people, but there are some unexpectedly violent scenes.Overall: Strength 3 to a relatively light take on Faustian contracts.
What do You think about Devilish (2006)?
To be honest, when I read the back cover of this book I thought it was going to be pretty bad- I was only reading it because of Maureen Johnson. But I actually really enjoyed it! It wasn't the best book I've ever read, but I think she did a good job of incorporating the supernatural into a young adult novel without being super annoying and over-romanticized about it. I feel like the first person narration was kind of a downfall in a way, since I really wish we had perspective from people who knew what was going on. But Maureen Johnson always writes in first person, so it was to be expected. I do like her writing and how she writes first-person, I just feel like I still had a lot of questions about the demons and the history of the demon order and such. I wanted some backstory, but in the end I still did like it. Although, we really didn't get a lot of character development from anyone except Jane. Allison does redeem herself in the end, but I don't know... it just seemed kind of random since we didn't see any progress of her journey. And I thought her family sounded interesting, so I'm sad they weren't in it so much. The mom doesn't even talk except for the conversation at the pizza place. This sounds really negative now, but I promise you I did enjoy this book! Definitely a fun and easy read.
—Kelly
although this was an interesting idea, I just couldn't get past how many ridiculous situations and things that happened at the school - things that were just too far out there to be believable. add that to a disjointed and odd story line that seemed to jump all over and introduce people, situations and conversations that had no point to the plot. also, I didn't find any character particularly interesting or even nice. I think Jane set up a lot of her life to be unlikable and yet, she was supposed to be friends with everyone....it was just odd and not my kind of story.
—Trisha
It all started with a cupcake...Well, not really. It started at prom night, when Alison's date never came. Stood up by a guy off the internet, the shame! And then Jane's boyfriend of just over seven months broke up with her and started ignoring her even as a friend. And then the cupcake. And Ally's puke all over the freshman. And then Ally's new haircut. And then Jane found out that her best-and-only friend was dating her ex, but also had sold her soul to the devil.Well, the devil likes games... the question is, who's the better player? Jane... or Satan?Wow. I'm impressed. This is a much better book than I thought it would be. I'm not really one for the supernatural, but MJ didn't do anything weird like have a demon slayer hook up with Jane (though Owen is pretty cool for a 116-year-old 14-year-old) or have the demons really just be misunderstood... and you can never really be sure if everyone's going to die in the end or not. I mean, there's a distinct possibility through the entire thing that Ally or Jane could just die. Fun, right? YES.Devilish is set in Providence, Rhode Island. Which, for the record, is a lot more interesting than it sounds. They have trollies. Do we have trollies where I am? No, no we do not. We don't have a subway, even. We also don't--so far as I know--have an all-female Catholic school. This book does. And it also has a heaping plate of MJ humour--the best kind. And a few dead people. And cupcakes. What more could you want?**Edward Cullen? Sorry, nobody sparkles and the dead guys keep their hands off. So sorry to disappoint you.
—Kat Alexander
