Book Review: Possession by Elana Johnson

 

Title: Possession

Author: Elana Johnson

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Publishing Date: June 7^th 2011

Length: 416 pages

Genre: YA, fantasy

Source: Simon & Schuster Galley Grab

Vi knows the Rule: Girls don't walk with boys, and they never even think about kissing them. But  no one makes Vi want to break the Rules more than Zenn...and since the Thinkers have chosen him as Vi's future match, how much trouble can one kiss cause? The Thinkers may have brainwashed the rest of the population, but Vi is determined to think for herself.

But the Thinkers are unusually persuasive, and they're set on convincing Vi to become one of them...starting by brainwashing Zenn. Vi can't leave Zenn in the Thinkers' hands, but she's wary of joining the rebellion, especially since that means teaming up with Jag. Jag is egotistical, charismatic, and dangerous--everything Zenn's not. Vi can't quite trust Jag and can't quite resist him, but she also can't give up on Zenn.

This is a game of control or be controlled. And Vi has no choice but to play.

Summary by Goodreads 

Elana Johnson's construct of a future world is a technical-dominated and potentially engaging one. Various technical devices like recording walls really grabbed my attention and made me curious about further possibilities of this future world.

It's especially POSSESSION's beginning that is exciting, because our heroine, Violet, is thrown into prison. I couldn't wait to explore what's going to happen to her and why exactly she's in there. The fact that Violet has special talents is interesting, because her talents are a new ability in the YA fantasy world.

So POSSESSION could have been a fantastic read with the conditions of a great world concept and an engaging beginning if it weren't for various confusions that occupied my reading mind after several chapters.

In POSSESSION I experienced an incoherent and incomprehensible story that was not even clear to me in the end. Because of several- so it seemed- time warps und inexplicable changes in setting , some incidents and even characters and interactions between them left me clueless.

Unfortunately I didn't get to like one single character. At first I was happy to see more Vi and Jag and witness how their relationship developed, but then they reduced my interest in them by behaving inconsequently and absurdly. One moment they are missing and wanting the other like crazy, the other they only want to scratch out the other's eyes. Between mood swings and too rapidly developing feelings, they lost me as their cheerleader.

I simply didn't understand the story and motive of actions of Vi's lover and best friend Zenn (not near convincing in his role), her sister, Jag and even their enemies and friends (which I often couldn't even distinguish between).

Maybe it's just me that I didn't understand Johnson's writing or didn’t get the whole picture, please don't shy away from POSSESSION. I think this could potentially be a great novel, so read it yourselves and see if it works for you.

1) we want to have those powers

2) of some really cool technical inventions

3) of a few really hot scenes

4) of an interesting idea for a beginning- set in prison

5) of a wide range of different settings- from forrest to desert, city and sea side 

 

2,5/5 **/* This novel lets you shiver with every thought and mind manipulated!

POSSESSION offers a gloomy vision of our future world with much room for improvement for characters and their interaction.

 

* Download the first two chapters of POSSESSION here. 

* You can visit the official POSSESSION webpage here. 

* Click here for more information about Elana Johnson’s next book FUGITIVE! 

* Visit www.elanajohnson.com  for more information about the author and her books.