REPOSSESSED by A.M. Jenkins

Look at the cover. What do you see? Yep, a demon! Demons don’t generally promote a feeling of tranquility do they? However, this one is smiling which is unusual. When you read the first line of REPOSSESSED, First thing I did was, I stole a body, you don’t quite know what you are getting into. Thoughts of a demon inhabiting a teenager and running around causing havoc enters your mind. But, you soon find out that isn’t the case at all.

Kiriel is one of the fallen, condemned to a life in hell tormeting the poor souls that are unfortunate enough to end up there. He’s performed the same function for thousands of years and he is sick of it. All he wants is a little vacation. He knows he can’t run away from Hell forever, but really, who is gonna know if he leaves for a while? No one checks up on him to make sure he is tormenting enough souls or anything.

After a lot of observing, Kiriel inhabits a young teenager named Shaun right before he is about to be hit by a bus. He was going to die anyway; so what if he didn’t get to experience the last 2 seconds of his life. Kiriel wants to experience life for a change instead of just watching. He enjoys everything: walking, feeling the breeze blow across his skin, and, of course, eating (he falls in love with ketchup).

Not knowing how long he is going to be able to stay inside Shaun’s body, Kiriel doesn’t waste anytime experiencing life. While he begins to interact with the people in Shaun’s life, he realizes that he doesn’t just want to disappear. He wants to leave a mark on the world before he goes back. He comes up with four things that he can influence for the better before his time ends on Earth. He plants 4 seeds, hoping they’ll grow after he isn’t around to tend them anymore.

REPOSSESSION is a delightful book. There are many sections that make you laugh out loud and definately even more that just cause a smile to spread on your face. I love the unique idea that a “demon” from Hell comes to our world and understands how important life is. He knows you should make the best of every minute you have. Granted, all of his motives aren’t selfless. He definately has some things he specifically wants to accomplish for himself but in the grand scheme of things, Kiriel is just a really great guy.

It is clear why this title won a Printz Honor. See my previous post about NIGHT ROAD by the same author.