After Obsession - Carrie Jones and Steven Wedel

Is it bad that the reason I picked up this book was because the synopsis on the back mentions a boy having mystical abilities because of his Native American race? I think I might have taken this book because I wanted to see how that was played off. And, hey, pretty cover art! Bonus!

After Obsession is the story of Aimee and Alan, two teenagers with strange, almost magical abilities. Aimee dreams the future and can heal some wounds with a touch. Alan relies on his Native American heritage, complete with a spirit animal to guide and help him. When Alan moves into Aimee's small Maine town to help his aunt and cousin after his uncle dies in a river accident, he's horrified to find out that his new school doesn't have a football team, the girl he seems to like has a boyfriend, and his cousin kind of hates him. Then suddenly his cousin is in trouble and Aimee and Alan have to figure out how to save her from the demon that's trying to possess her, or they risk losing her and setting the demon free on earth.

After Obsession was written between two authors, and each chapter alternates between the authors and their chosen character, Alan or Aimee. It's an interesting way for the story to be formatted and I really liked it. Both Alan and Aimee try to deal with the main problem of the demon trying to possess Courtney--Alan's cousin and Aimee's best friend--but as each chapter chances the perspective between them, there are several subplots that are individual to each character. Aimee deals with the spooky happenings of her own home, her brother and grandfather's bizarre Cheeto sale, and struggles with her mother's death. Alan deals with his heritage problems, the fact that he isn't even entirely sure what flavor of Native American he is, because he was the product of a one night stand, and his mother doesn't support him. It's not a particularly common way for a book to be written, but I liked it, in this case.

One of the flaws that I found in the book, however, was a very rushed and personally unappealing romance. At one point, a character in the book ended up breaking up with their significant other that they've loved, only to rush into another relationship and be in 'love' seemingly with only a few days difference. Admittedly, that does seem pretty true to character of today's teens, but I still would have liked something a little more heartfelt and romantic, instead of the usual teenage "I only met you, but I love you and let's be together forever" sort of love I've sadly grown to see more and more.

Ignoring the romance aspect, though, After Obsession was a pretty cool book. It was a little over dramatic at some points, admittedly, but I still enjoyed it. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes their supernatural YA fiction to have a mystery flavor to it, as well as to anyone who just thinks psychic girls are pretty cool to read about. And if demonic possessions are your thing, then you should probably see about picking After Obsessions up when it comes out September 2011.