After Obsession

September 19, 2011
Aimee Avery has lived in Goffstown, Maine, her whole life, so everyone knows the story of Aimee's crazy mother, who apparently committed suicide, and how Aimee, while pretty, smart, and athletic, maybe isn't quite normal herself. Alan Parson is a half-Navajo football player from Oklahoma whose mother uproots him to live in a place where there isn't even a football team. When Aimee and Alan cross paths, there's an instant spark and instant fear: they've been seeing one another in their terrifying dreams. In waking life, too, friends and family are behaving out of character, strange noises can be heard at night, and the teens are haunted by the presence of a shadowy, supernatural figure that Aimee first encountered during a séance when she was a child. Aimee becomes convinced that "The River Man" has something to do with her mother's death, but could he be a threat to everyone in Goffstown? First-time collaborators Jones and Wedel introduce some chilling machinations, but Aimee and Alan's relationship covers familiar territory, and the slow-burning tension doesn't achieve the true sizzle of horror. Ages 12âup.

June 1, 2011

In a tight-knit Maine town, the loss of a fishing boat at sea affects the entire community; for Courtney, a local teen whose father was on board, her hope for his safe return becomes a dangerous obsession that leads her to make a sinister pact with evil consequences. 

Narrated in alternating chapters by Courtney's best friend, Aimee, and cousin, Alan, the tale relegates Courtney to the backseat in order to explore Alan and Aimee's fantastical roles and their burgeoning relationship. Since childhood, Aimee has been ashamed of her prophetic dreams and ability to heal, which she links to her mother, who mysteriously died when she was young. Similarly, Alan, who has just moved from Oklahoma to Maine to help Courtney and her mother, also enjoys a mystical heritage that stems from his father's Native American roots. Together this powerful pair struggles to release Courtney from her obsession, which clearly arises from more than emotional turmoil. How can they leverage their powers to defeat the River Man and ensure that the friendly and warm pre-obsession Courtney is restored? The River Man is a powerful opponent; the alternating voices effectively ratchet up the tension as the teens explore the mystery and strategize their approach.

This modern-day Faustian tale is well balanced, with teenage romance, racial tension, humor and threads of realistic family dynamics to keep readers engaged. (Suspense. 12 & up)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

March 1, 2012

Gr 9 Up-In Aimee Avery's quiet Maine town, folks have been acting strangely; people seem irritated and fights are breaking out daily. Aimee's friend Courtney has turned into a different person since her father's death. Even Aimee's nice-guy boyfriend, Blake, is acting oddly possessive. When Courtney's cousin Alan moves to town, he also notices the bizarre energy-as well as Aimee. Aimee has always been different, but she has tried her best to fit in. She has been missing her mother terribly since her death and her abilities to heal people with her touch and "see things in her dreams before they happen" weigh on her heavily. Alan is half Navajo and has an understanding of the spirit world. As Courtney slowly becomes possessed by a demon, Aimee and Alan realize that something evil that has plagued the small town for centuries has found a powerful host and is bent on destroying everything in its path. Told in the alternating voices of Aimee (penned by Jones) and Alan (written by Wedel), this tale has it all: an eerie setting, a powerful romance, and a terrifying dark force. In spite of the slightly over-the-top showdown, Jones's fans will devour this one, which, thanks to Wedel, offers a fresh male perspective.-Tara Kehoe, Plainsboro Public Library, NJ

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