The Obsession

by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Overview

A fast-paced teen revenge-thriller from the author of Dial A for Aunties, The Obsession will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very end.

Boy Meets Girl. Boy Stalks Girl. Girl Gets Revenge.

Logan thinks he and Delilah are meant to be.

Delilah doesn't know who Logan is.

Logan believes no one knows Delilah like him. He makes sure of it by learning everything he can by watching her through a hidden camera. Some might call him a stalker. Logan prefers to be called "romantic".

Delilah is keeping secrets though, deadly ones. There's so much more to her than meets the eye.

Logan is determined to make Delilah the heroine in his twisted fantasy and he'll do anything to get what he wants.

Delilah is done with the men in her life controlling her. If Logan won't let her go…she'll make him.

"Sutanto has crafted a page-turning work of suspense that questions the line between romantic 'research' and stalking in the age of the internet, analyzing the roles played by abuse, misogyny, racism, and violence in contemporary relationships."—Booklist

"Set against a Northern California private school backdrop, the sensational plot is riddled with twists that come at a furious pace...A suspenseful page-turner."—Kirkus Reviews

"This tense, quick-moving thriller is also a thought-provoking story about the different shapes of abuse. Fans of high-drama fiction with a dark edge, like Karen McManus's One of Us Is Lying or Gretchen McNeil's #murdertrending, will be hooked."—School Library Journal

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728215167
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	02/02/2021
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	15,145
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 5.50(h) x 1.00(d)
Lexile:	HL710L (what's this?)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Jesse Q. Sutanto grew up shuttling back and forth between Indonesia, Singapore, and Oxford, and considers all three places her home. She has a Masters from Oxford University, but has yet to figure out how to say that without sounding obnoxious. She has forty-two first cousins and thirty aunties and uncles, many of whom live just down the road. When she’s not writing, she’s gaming with her husband (mostly FPS), or making a mess in the kitchen with her two daughters. She is the author of The Obsession and The New Girl.

Editorial Reviews

"Sutanto has crafted a page-turning work of suspense that questions the line between romantic "research" and stalking in the age of the internet, analyzing the roles played by abuse, misogyny, racism, and violence in contemporary relationships." — Booklist

"Set against a Northern California private school backdrop, the sensational plot is riddled with twists that come at a furious pace...A suspenseful page-turner." — Kirkus Reviews

"This tense, quick-moving thriller is also a thought-provoking story about the different shapes of abuse. Fans of high-drama fiction with a dark edge, like Karen McManus’s One of Us Is Lying or Gretchen McNeil’s #murdertrending, will be hooked." — School Library Journal

"[A] taut, twisty thriller...Readers who enjoy their psychological thrillers paired with a bit of vigilante justice will find Delilah’s final scene especially satisfying." — The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

From the Publisher

12/01/2020

Gr 9 Up—The first time Logan sees Delilah, his new classmate at an elite Northern California prep school, he knows they're destined to be together forever. The only problem is that Delilah doesn't agree—yet. When Logan catches Delilah on film murdering her mother's abusive boyfriend, Brandon, he knows he has the perfect leverage to ensure she never dares leave him. But Delilah is sick of living in fear, and she knows she needs a plan to keep Logan away from her for good. Sutanto readily identifies the societal power structures that keep Delilah, who is half-Singaporean and half-white, in the control of Brandon, a white police officer, and Logan, who is also white. The story, told from Logan and Delilah's perspectives in alternating chapters, moves at breakneck speed to a surprising conclusion. The moments of violence are brief, keeping the focus on the mounting tension between the two main characters. VERDICT This tense, quick-moving thriller is also a thought-provoking story about the different shapes of abuse. Fans of high-drama fiction with a dark edge, like Karen McManus's One of Us Is Lying or Gretchen McNeil's #murdertrending, will be hooked.—Madison Bishop, Forbes Lib., Northampton, MA

School Library Journal

2020-11-26
A paranoia-driven debut novel about a relationship twisted by obsession.

Logan struggles to move on after the death of his great love, Sophie. All he can do is go through the motions until he meets Delilah, a new senior who strongly resembles Sophie. Revived, Logan’s obsession grows as he stalks Delilah online and in real life. Meanwhile, Delilah—whose father died in a tragic accident—feels crushed by her mother’s abusive police detective boyfriend. Just when something happens to remove Brandon from their lives and she thinks everything might be turning around, Logan makes his move. As their relationship develops, Logan’s control over Delilah tightens, and dark secrets and violent decisions send both characters into a complex, dangerous spiral. At one point, as she thinks about her mother’s previous relationship and her own, Delilah’s web search about stalkers leads her to a description of erotomania. Set against a Northern California private school backdrop, the sensational plot is riddled with twists that come at a furious pace. Chapters alternate between Logan’s and Delilah’s perspectives, providing insight into their motives as well as shifting feelings of revulsion and admiration for each. The drama builds to a shocking, albeit abrupt, ending. Delilah is the stronger, more compelling protagonist when compared to Logan’s less nuanced development. Sophie was Japanese American, and Delilah is biracial with a Chinese Singaporean dad and White American mom; Logan is assumed White.

A suspenseful page-turner. (Thriller. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews