Friday, 2 November 2012

307. Devilish by Maureen Johnson

Devilish by Maureen Johnson
Published October 2012 Harper Collins

From the publisher:
Ally and Jane may not be that popular but they′re good friends...that is until they each get allocated a freshman, a ′little′ to show the the ropes to at school.
Cracks begin to show as Ally changes into a whole different person, literally overnight. She′s dressed better, making new friends, and ditching Jane more and more.
But Ally′s transformation has its price. And it′s up to Jane to save her former BF from a ponytail-wearing, cupcake-nibbling devil in disguise!


Not surprising given the title, that this is a wickedly good read.  Have you ever wondered how the cool kids in High School got to be so cool and confident, why did they never spill food on their clothes, or trip over in front of a whole school assembly?  The answer to that may well be answered within the pages of this book.



Jane and Ally are High School Seniors, not the most popular girls at school, but not doing too badly.  Jane is pretty happy with the status quo, but Ally wants it all, she wants to be popular, to be noticed.  The only thing Ally hadn’t planned on was being noticed for projectile vomiting in from of her whole class.  Seemingly by coincidence, on the very day that Ally humiliates  herself, a new girl arrives at school, and befriends her.  Lanalee  Is not what she seems, and overnight Ally is transformed into a well groomed, much cooler version of herself.

Jane is more upset that her friend suddenly doesn’t have time for her, than the fact that she looks like a different person, but as the story unfolds we find that the transformation isn’t due to a simple make-over from the new cool girl, a deal has been made.  The deal is with the devil, in this case, Lanalee, who works for the man himself.   In exchange for her soul, Ally becomes the sort of girl she always knew she could be.

Being the good best friend that she is, Jane knows she must figure out a way to save Ally’s soul, and she inadvertently offers her own in exchange for Ally’s.  With the help of Owen,  a 14 year old boy who has been dead for 100 years, and Brother Frank, a teacher from school they world out a plan that will hopefully save both Ally and Jane.

As I neared the end of the book, with only a handful of pages to go, I thought that it must be going to leave me hanging, with a sequel on the horizon as I was sure the story couldn’t be tied up in the few pages left.  I was wrong, a lot happens in the last few pages, and everything sorts itself out.

The book is an extremely tongue in cheek look at High School Hierarchy.  It may sound dark and sinister, but the tone is light and there is plenty of humour throughout.  It has a touch of Buffy about it, supernatural with a strong dose of laughs,

Who will like this book: Girls age 14+
Read it if you like: Fated by Sarah Alderson

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