Possess
4.3
40
5
1
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780062060716 |
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| Publisher: | HarperCollins Publishers |
| Publication date: | 08/23/2011 |
| Pages: | 384 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.90(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.40(d) |
| Age Range: | 13 - 17 Years |
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Possess
4.3 out of 5
based on
0 ratings.
40 reviews.
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I enjoyed the book very much. Bridget's sense of humor I liked very much and as a teenager my self I felt that the author was dead on. I find the book suspenseful (which I love <3) and funny a the same time. I often found myself laughing. The story flowed well and the author didn't waste time of pointless side stories which I liked very much, considering my past experience with many other books. I also very much appreciated the fact that Bridget's and Matt's romance was not rushed and fell into place.
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Thrilling and occasionally horrific, Possess is a gripping debut that takes the YA paranormal genre somewhere relatively new¿exorcisms. Gretchen McNeil grounds her story in reality and examines the inner workings of the Catholic Church, unveiling secret societies and numerous mysteries in a delicate manner. The incorporation of the Church is fascinating¿readers who are unfamiliar with Catholicism will find themselves curious, and those who, like Bridget, attended parochial schools will smirk at certain points.The ¿banishment¿ portions of the book are most certainly the best. Every interaction with a demon easily raises the heart rate, and Gretchen McNeil holds no punches when it comes to inducing chills in both the setting and the demons themselves. Possess brings quite a bit of action to the table; something that all readers will enjoy. The climax of the story, especially, will leave your heart pounding for minutes after you set the book down.Bridget is somewhat different from the heroines that usually inhabit paranormal young adult fiction. She is tough, guarded, and entirely capable of taking care of herself, even before she discovers her powers. Bridget¿s banishing powers are therefore more of a bonus, rather than the source of her confidence and strength. Bridget¿s powerful personality doesn¿t make her difficult to relate to, though¿she¿s also quirky and full of quips that lighten dark situations. Plus, she does let her guard down for people she loves, and it¿s at those times that we see her as a caring individual despite her tough exterior.The only hiccup in Possess, if it may be called that, is the execution of the first few chapters. The reader is thrown into the middle of the action and is thoroughly confused until a later revelation. After the revelation, though, the book is very, very enjoyable. Fans of paranormal YA will love the fresh concept of Possess, and anyone who likes a healthy dose of action in their fiction should definitely give Gretchen McNeil¿s debut a try.
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Fifteen-year-old Bridget Liu has a rare gift. She is able to speak with demons. She spends a lot of her free time helping out the Monsignor of her private school exorcise these demons from homes around San Francisco. Bridget feels like a freak. She¿d rather not have this gift. She just wants to be left alone: By her mother, the cute son of the police officer that worked on the case surrounding her father¿s murder, and the bitchy mean girl who apparently has it in for her. When Bridget is called to help out with a possession of an actual person, things change. Not only can she hear the demons, but they are now speaking directly to her. Soon, Bridget realizes that she isn¿t just dealing with the average, annoying demon. There¿s a larger power at play, and it wants her.To go into any more detail about this book would ruin the experience for the reader. I enjoyed this book immensely. The pacing was perfect, and Bridget was a total kick-ass character who deserves a place on the ¿cool paranormal girls who kick demon butt¿ wall, right next to Buffy. Ms. McNeil¿s writing is fluid and most of the possession stories gave me chills ¿ especially the particular event that takes place in a doll shop. As many of my regular followers know, it takes a lot to creep me out, and this book definitely had its moments for me. The book is a quick and easy read, and though I¿d figured out the story about midway through, I still enjoyed the novel and highly recommend it.
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This ended up being a fantastic read! It was creepy, and spooky and had some fantastic characters!The YA market is overrun with paranormal and so it always surprises me when an author is able to keep it unique. This book is paranormal but it has a more real feel to it which made it much creepier to me. See, I believe that possessions happen and the way some of the possession scenes play out are straight from a horror movie. And anything horror that is something that could really actually happen is ten times freakier then say a vampire ripping someones throat out. Just the thought that that could happen. Or that it does happen, is just freaky. Now although the possessions are something that really happens this book does a good job in throwing in much more, that is certainly not as real as possessions. I really liked how it had a good mixture and I found myself completely involved in the plot.There's a lot of guessing who the bad guys are in this book. I found it quite easy to figure out the main one. But really, it wasn't a big downside. It's not like I knew for sure, I was just pretty sure. ;) There were lots of other things that had me guessing though and so it's not like I could predict the whole plot. There was actually a lot of twists and turns I didn't even see coming.I liked Bridget. I had to warm up to her a bit and in the last bit I didn't care how she changed so much, that just didn't feel real, but most of the time I got her behavior and thoughts. I liked all the other other characters as well, especially Matt. He was a true sweetie who wasn't busy doing all kinds of stupid things. I really liked how the romance played out, without too much drama and mostly just Bridgets doubts standing in the way. The story wrapped things up pretty well, but there were a few things I'm still wondering about. Although I don't know if this is a series my guess is yes because I saw a few things that weren't wrapped up. At least I don't think so... It didn't end on a cliffhanger or anything though, which was definitely good! My overall feel for this book when I finished was that I really liked it. If you like a bit of creepy but maybe aren't into downright horror this may be the book for you.
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I really enjoyed reading this book. The book has completely different paranormal elements that left me excited to read more. It is not as scary as everyone thinks. I think the way Ms. McNeil wrote the book is perfect!One things I enjoyed about this book is the great characters. Bridget is not the girl that I thought that she would be. She is strong and feisty! She knows what she wants. She doesn't play games, but is real. Ms. Neil really did a great job on capturing two different types of characters that I never thought I see together. It's amazing and completely unique.The love interest in the book had me at hello! I loved that Bridget dissed him! It made me laugh but also it was fun to read. With all the dark elements of the book, this one made the book balance out and complete it. Bridget is an easy character to fall into her shoes and see things from her point of view.The last thing is loved in the exorcism performed by Bridget and the paranormal twist in it. I must say that I was in shock to learn the heavy secret that Bridget unveils. But also, I loved how Ms. Neil took this element and made it of her own. It's nicely done, very surprising indeed.A dark and beautiful debut, I like this book. Ok, I admit, I read it during the day! LOL. Still, I loved how Ms. McNeil is able to capture the reader from the very beginning and hook them in. The plot pacing is perfect with every page turn. Even the minor characters play bigger parts that I thought. I can't wait to see what Ms. McNeil writes next!
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So here is a list of things that definitely did not happen while I was reading Possess:1) I did not have to sleep with the lights on.2) I did not fall asleep clutching my rosary & mumbling a prayer.3) I did not wake up in the middle of the night in a pitch black room to find glowing eyes staring at me.4) And I certainly did not screech, jump out of bed and knock over my nightstand only to realize those eyes belonged to my cat.Okay, so clearly all of those things did in fact happen. But it's not my fault. I blame Gretchen McNeil. This book is creepy. Creepy, and engrossing, and wonderful. I couldn't get enough. And this is another book I went into with extremely high expectations so it had to be awesome to satisfy me. Bridget is an incredible heroine. I can't even explain how much I loved her. She reminded me of myself at that age. You know, if I'd have been a kick-ass teenage exorcist instead of a girl who would've locked herself away if the walls had begun talking to her. She's intelligent, funny, and snarky. I never once found myself questioning her behavior. I could gush about her forever, but I'm going to force myself to move on.The supporting cast is equally as amazing. Each character fully fleshed out with their own little intricacies and secrets. I adored Matt. He's handsome, charming, and super supportive of Bridget even as she does her best to push him away. The story line is truly original. It wasn't the same old story with different characters. I was fully engaged, anxiously turning pages to see what would happen next. There are lots of spine-tingling moments and action scenes that had me holding my breath and biting my nails. The book definitely came to a successful conclusion, and as far as I know it's not part of a series, however I'd love to see more of Bridget and her world. If you're a fan of YA horror or paranormal, or simply a fan of incredible writing, this book is for you.I have a giveaway over at my blog until 9/15/11. melaniemccullough.blogspot.com
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Possess by Gretchen McNeil was a book I have been anticipating for a long time. When I finally got my hands on it, I was not disappointed. Possess follows Bridget Liu, a 15 year old girl who¿s father was recently murdered. Before long, she discovers that she has the power to banish demons back to Hell. I was amazed with the story. It was all that I was expecting, and more. There was plenty of action. The demon mythology and the rest of the mythology in the book were extremely well developed, and it all tied together nicely. It managed to include some romance too, which though it wasn¿t really a main plot, it was there, and it was awesome. I¿m not going to include anything else that goes on, but there are a lot of unexpected twists and turns throughout the novel. It was pure awesomeness. I can not wait for more about Bridget and her demon-banishing powers! 5/5The writing in this book was different than most, and I loved it! It was third person narrative, but you also had insight to the things Bridget was thinking. I am not really sure what to call it. Usually I prefer first person much more than third, but in this case, I loved the third person view. It fit the story extremely well. I will definitely be reading whatever else Gretchen writes, as I highly enjoy her style, and I think many others will too! 5/5The story is set in San Francisco. I¿m not too familiar with the city, but the book did a very good job describing it. I think it was a perfect fit for what was going on in the story. We got to see the church, the school, houses, and the crazy house. There was plenty of variety in the location, and they were all great. 5/5I loved the characters! Bridget was a kick-butt protagonist and I loved her! She was strong and willing and didn¿t let anyone put her down. The supporting cast was great. Peter, the obsessive best friend, and Hector, the other best friend, were both fun. We didn¿t see much of Brad, but I¿m sure we will in the future. The relationship between Matt and Bridget was great and really well developed. No insta-love here! Matt was a strong character and helped Bridget throughout the novel. The priests were both mysterious and I could never tell which one I should or shouldn¿t trust. The evil popular girl, Alexa, was a great addition too. There always has to be an evil girl. And she is evil. I can¿t wait to read more about Bridget, as she is one of my favorite protagonists. 5/5So, 20/20. I absolutely LOVED this book. I was so happy when I received it from Harper Collins. This is definitely one I see myself reading again and again. I want to read it again already and I just finished! This is one of my favorite books this year, and I will definitely be waiting for more about Bridget!
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I loved this book. It was quick and easy to read and the story was engaging and fun. I loved all of the characters and thought they were well-rounded and well-developed. While I did figure out the twist before the author officially revealed it, I still loved the way that the story unfolded. I recommend this book to anyone who likes Meg Cabot, Charlaine Harris or Cassandra Clare.
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Despite the huge pile of books I have waiting to be read, I¿ve been in a reading funk for about a week now with nothing being what I was in the mood for. Possess arrived in my mailbox, and it stood out from everything else I currently had, so I decided to give it a go. I ended up loving it!Creepy and suspenseful would be two words to describe it. Prior to reading it myself, I had read a few reviews that warned that there were some spooky moments in the book. I obviously didn¿t take them too seriously since I decided to start reading this late at night¿ I soon found myself feeling paranoid in my own room, afraid that something/someone was lurking in the shadows. While no moments were terrifying, there was definitely enough to get some goosebumps on my arms. Needless to say, Gretchen McNeil created a haunting atmosphere (in San Francisco! AKA one of my favorite places ever!) that made me feel that I was right there along with the main character, Bridget Liu.I really loved Bridget. She was the right amount of snarky, prickly, tough, vulnerable, and loyal. Her dynamic with her family was interesting; she¿s still grieving over her father¿s murder, trying to figure out how to deal with her mom dating, and watching over her younger brother, Sammy. Her scenes with her best friend, Hector, were a highlight for me and I wish we had gotten more of them. And then there¿s Matt. What a sweet little romance! Their relationship never took over the story, but there was enough to get attached to them together. I thought Bridget dealt with her abilities in a believable way: uncertain, nervous, and all sorts of freaked out. It was great to see her grow more confident, though, and that, too, felt natural for her character.There was only one issue I had with Possess and it was how it glossed over one event that I don¿t even want to hint at for fear of spoiling it somehow. While it was meant to move the mystery along, I think it lost some of its impact when the characters ¿ as well as myself ¿ seemed to forget all about it. Still, I can¿t say that the book suffered too much because of this. As I said, I did forget about it and that¿s due to the fact that McNeil kept her story going at such an excellent pace.From what I understand, a sequel to Possess is in the works, but here¿s an awesome bit of info: this could easily be a standalone. Yay! There¿s a very clear beginning, middle, and end, with enough resolution that I wasn¿t left wanting to yank my hair out. However, I¿m left wanting more! There¿s still a lot left to explore and I eagerly look forward to it.
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I have very mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I really liked this story, the plot was exciting and suspenseful and the mythology that drove the plot was incredibly intriguing. I enjoyed learning about the watchers and the emmim, the mythology behind their existence was absolutely compelling. It kept me wanting to know more about them and their history. This was a book that I wanted to keep reading, despite its flaws. The action and suspense were enough to keep me fully engaged in the story even when I was annoyed with some of, what I felt to be, the weaker aspects of the book.The scene opened on the heroine attending and assisting with an exorcism. This certainly set the tone for the exciting premise. The demons were strange and otherworldly, and very cleverly written. The exorcisms may have, at times, lacked the feel of authenticity, but they were still fascinating to witness, especially the way main character, Bridget, interacted with the demons. The two priests that were also attending the exorcisms and advising Bridget were such shady characters, I didn't know which one I distrusted more. The byplay between them effectively communicated the tense relationships between themselves and Bridget.Where I sometimes lost patience with Possess was in the dialog and the characters. One of the most important factors in a book, for me, is the way the characters interact with one another. So, when the dialog is weak, or cheesy, or overdone, it takes a lot away from the story itself. In Possess, it was clearly the intention to make Bridget a snarky, angsty teen, which in itself can be tedious to read. The problem I had with this was that any time she was speaking, whether it be internally or in conversation, there was either a flippant remark or a "poor me" whiny pout. I felt like it was completely overdone and decreased my enjoyment of the book.As a main character, I thought Bridget was a whiny, sarcastic, clueless nitwit. I don't understand why the hints were presented so that the reader understood them, but apparently Bridget did not. It made me feel frustrated with her ineffectiveness as the main character. I also hated the way she treated her "friends" The snarky comments about one being fat, lazy, and gay were a bit over the top. Also, the fact that she didn't discourage the other "friend" who obviously had a huge crush on her, instead, she continued to ignore his hurt feelings as she became closer to another guy without ever addressing the issue or even attempting to salvage the friendship. There were many things like this that caused me to dislike Bridget as a main character.I guess I will be one of the very few, it seems, that did not absolutely love Possess. It simply wasn't for me. I find it very difficult to enjoy a book if I do not like the main character. So, for me, I will be rating Possess a three, because while the plot was fast paced and exciting, the fact that I did not like the main character took much away from my overall enjoyment.
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Let's set the record straight: exorcisms scare the crap out of me. I almost didn't pick up this book because of the fact that exorcisms and I don't go so well together. I watched Season of the Witch (Starring Nicholas Cage), thinking it was going to be a cool historical-set movie. I freaked out when later on, the viewers learned that the girl was possessed by a demon. I swore I'd never have anything to do with exorcisms after that. But when I saw this book sitting on the shelf at the book store, I thought, what the heck? I'll buy it! And so I did. And I fell in love with Possess. I didn't know what I was in for, but I was blown away.I honestly didn't know how this book was going to turn out for me. I told myself that if this book gets too scary, I'd drop it. Turns out that this book and me were stuck together during the time that I was reading it. The suspense and the feeling that you get when you know that you're going to be scared out of your underwear was the main reasons why I didn't put this book down. Instead of making me drop the book it made me hold on because the fact that there's suspense will always keep the readers on the edge of their seats. And Possess did just that.When I said I was blown away...it wasn't literally. But I was blown away! Just not literally. This book was amazing beyond words and topped all those horror stories I've ever read. But I really wasn't blown away with the wind and all that stuff. But the book definitely had me taking a step back and going, "Whoa." You'd imagine that during a tornado, you'd likely be holding on to anything sturdy like a pole to keep from flying off the ground and getting sucked into the whirling blender of doom (random, I know). But while you hold on to the pole, I'll hold on to Possess, thank you very much. My point is, you can't let go of Possess, Gretchen McNeil, Bridget, and everything else, won't let you go! You won't be able to until you get to the end and find out what the heck is going to happen to everyone especially Bridget and Matt. Demons...shudder. Creepy talking dolls--I WANT MY MOMMY!Posses was creeptastic! And man, did it scare the crap out of me. Somehow, Gretchen McNeil was able to tap into my imagination, and let me visualize all the scenes in her book--especially the scary parts. Usually in horror movies you'd cover your eyes and peek in-between your fingers, right? But I couldn't cover my brain and peek in-between my fingers, because that's just stupid and impossible (if it is possible, I'm just too lazy to try). Since I couldn't peek through the slits I leave for myself, I was forced to read every hair raising part. Like I said, it scared the crap out of me. And I'm pretty sure I liked it. Gretchen McNeil is an expert for setting the stage for suspense and horror stories. Sure yeah, possessions are nightmare educing, but creepy talking dolls? GET ME MY BLANKET AND MY MOM because I won't be able to sleep at all! Gretchen McNeil did something right when she wrote about these creepers, because I can actually hear their voices when they talked. *shiver*Yeah, like being a teen exorcist is totally normal and won't frighten you in anyway. Teen exorcist? That's Bridget. And it's a good thing she isn't frightened easily, since she deals with all these scary stuff. I think headstrong totally fits her because she won't run away and she'll finish the job. She's that "kiss with a fist" type of gal and doesn't exactly like all the other girls, which is one reason why she hangs out with the outsiders. If there's one thing that will shock you about Bridget, it's the fact that she is something more. Let's leave it at that. It may be obvious that she is (but really what I'm talking about is not), but hey, I'm not spoiling anything. Gretchen totally popped that one up when I was not expecting it. You're good and you're bad. No, wait--what? There is Father Santos and Monsignor Renault. Who's good and who's bad? You won't know until towards the end. I certainly didn't,
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About the bookFifteen-year-old Bridget Liu just wants to be left alone: by her over-protective mom, by Matt Quinn, the cute son of a local police sergeant and by the eerie voices she can suddenly and inexplicably hear. Unfortunately for Bridget, the voices are demons¿and Bridget possesses the rare ability to banish them back to whatever hell they came from. Literally.Terrified to tell her friends or family about this new power, Bridget confides in San Francisco¿s senior exorcist, Monsignor Renault. The monsignor enlists her help in increasingly dangerous cases of demonic possession, but just as she is starting to come to terms with her freakish new role, Bridget receives a startling message from one of the demons. And when one of her oldest friends is killed, Bridget realizes she¿s in deeper than she ever thought possible. Now she must unlock the secret to the demons¿ plan before someone else close to her winds up dead¿or worse, the human vessel for a demon king.My ReviewFirst, I want to talk about the cover of Possess, I loved it. I¿m not exactly sure why they have the tree branches going across the girl¿s face. I¿m not sure what purpose that serves but it does make it look creepy. I loved the cover. Moving on to the story itself, I want to say that I loved the book as a whole. Gretchen McNeil did a beautiful job in writing this book. I loved the characters especially Bridget. Though at times I wish she would have spoken up for herself. I understand that with a secret like Bridget¿s that conversations are a little harder without coming out and saying what the secret is, so I thought that was all good for the character development. As the story progresses, I loved how as Bridget figured things out so did the reader. We went along being clueless with Bridget and we were learning things right along with her. I think that Gretchen did an awesome job with this book. The amount of research that she put into this book really shows through her writing. I absolutely loved this book. The ending was good. I liked that Matt and Bridget were able to stay together. Though I do hope that there will be a sequel of some kind with this novel, it seems like there could be one. I really enjoyed reading this book.
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Bridget Lui isn't your typical high school student. Her father was brutally murdered, she hears voices, she has a stalker, and she wears steel toed boots. She attends catholic school where her priest is teaching her to banish demons. Enter another priest sent from the Vatican to determine the recent increase of demonic activity leaving Bridget confused. She knows that clues are given with each banishment telling about the rise of a very strong demon. This was a very interesting book. It is darker and edgier than typical YA books. Not recommended for younger or less mature readers. Also swearing and use of the 'f' bomb
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This book was enjoyable. It tells the story of Bridget, a young woman who has recently learned she has the ability to be an exorcist.Though it may seem like it at the beginning, this ISN'T a story focused on Catholicism. It obviously plays an important role because exorcisms are by nature belonging to the Catholic church. However, you don't have to be Catholic or know much of anything about Catholicism to understand the book. Moving on, the story is nice, with an interesting mix of the paranormal. The plot twist at the end is pretty predictable. The romance is nothing special, but is nice to read. It's a simple read, not too complicated, but it's enjoyable and fun.
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I've been excited about Possess for a long time. Ever since that beautiful cover jumped off the page, I couldn't get it out of my head. And with a blurb like that -I had to read it. I spent at least a month trying to hunt it down, and eventually broke down and bought it off Amazon.Young Bridget seems like a normal girl -her father is a local police sergeant, her mother is completely overprotective and she hears voices. And not just any voices, but the voices of demons. It turns out that Bridget as the ability to exercise and banish demons that possess human bodies -in every religious aspect of the sense. To cope, Bridget tracks down the leading exorcist in San Francisco, who decides to train her, even though that means taking her along on dangerous missions. And Bridget's life will never be the same.Debut author Gretchen McNeil is an excellent new author who delivers a solid story with honest dialog, realistic characters that are easy for readers to relate to, and a well-constructed story that was enjoyable to read. McNeil also has a very clear, clean and polished writing style that was comfortable for the reader and was easy to get into. But most importantly -Possess had me hooked from the beginning and flipping pages up until the very end.Would I read the next book in the series? Of course. Of all the debut authors I've read this year, McNeil had one of the most comfortable and honest writing styles and best dialog.
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I found it to be very short. I almost wish it was more lengthy so it didn’t feel like the story was rushed and crammed together. I didn’t feel the connections to the character like I typically like. The relationships that Bridget had didn’t feel authentic. At times it felt very forced and odd.
I also went into this thinking it was going to be something completely different than it was. I guess I was expecting more possessions but got more with religion instead. It wasn’t bad but I expected more on the creepy factor. The plus side of things, I did like what Bridget uncovered and fought against. That was interesting.
Overall I found this to be an okay book. Definitely my least favorite out of the books I read from the author so far.
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I thought it was a cute story!
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Bridget Liu can hear voices - demonic, eerie voices that posses other being and objects. As if that wasn't enough of a problem, she is also dealing with the recent death of her father, her mother's new found dating life, and two boys who may, or may not, have a crush on her.
Bridet Liu is also one feisty chick. I don't think I've ever encountered a teen heroine who so closely mirrors how teenagers act and talk. I also don't think I've ever encountered a teen heroine who reminds me so much of myself when I was that age. :P Gretchen McNeil totally nailed the dialogue and relationships between Bridget and her friends and family. You totally get that sense of eye-rolling indifference, but not in an annoying way that makes you say "Oh shut the hell up!"
The pacing of this novel was also really great. Right along with the main character, you watch the mysteries of the possessions unravel and learn who can and cannot be trusted. There were definite times when it was absolutely freaky to be reading about some of the demonic communications and behaviors, but not to the point where it was gory and forced. Everything flowed really well together and kept me hungry for more.
I'd strongly recommend this book to anyone looking for a spooky, yet fun read. "Possess" also touches on Biblical myth a lot so if that's your cup of tea (as it is mine), then I'd absolutely tell you to go, go, go and get this awesome book!! A solid 4-star read!
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This is a great book a must read could not put it!
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Very different and interesting book. Well written, took me 2 days to finish it, I didn't want to put it down!
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Beautifully imagined and well written. Sure to make you question what goes bump in the night.
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I loved this book. As a San Francisco resident I was drawn to the setting of the story and the fabulous cover (which indicated to me it would be creepy and full of suspense) for Possess. Not only were the details of the city spot-on, but it did not let me down in the scary/suspense department. I normally find the time to read for fun at the end of the day, but I quickly realized that this was not a smart thing to do with this book. I finally found a Saturday afternoon (full of daylight) where I was able to finish this thrilling novel. We all know someone like Bridget Liu, and I'm sure some of you are lucky enough to actually be like her.
Definitely looking forward to a sequel. Come on, Ms. McNeil and Balzer + Bray, tell me there will be a sequel.
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I thought Bridget was fantastic and I cant wait for a sequel
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It is beautifully written, a great story line , great characters, and best of all, it was full of suspense.
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