Book rating: 03 Hardback

By (author) Elana Johnson

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Paperback $9.36
  • Publisher: SIMON & SCHUSTER
  • Format: Hardback | 416 pages
  • Dimensions: 152mm x 216mm x 33mm | 454g
  • Publication date: 7 June 2011
  • Publication City/Country: New York, NY
  • ISBN 10: 1442421258
  • ISBN 13: 9781442421257
  • Sales rank: 146,414

Product description

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 brainwashed 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.

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Customer reviews

By MissPageTurner 07 Mar 2012 3

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.


I give it 2,5/5 stars.

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

By Jill Barrakling 27 Aug 2011 4

Vi lives in a split society. "Bad" people live in the Badlands, while good people live in the Goodgrounds. Vi has been making a lot of trouble [for example she's been throwing rocks into a pond, and the ultimate crime: she walks with her boyfriend in the park! Le Gasp!] I had some serious trouble getting into it. The first ten chapters or so really dragged along and I kept thinking: You'll stop soon! Just one chapter! Which is of course a bad thing.

Still, the chapters that followed were really good! Surprisingly enough, I like every character except for Vi but that is mostly because she was too perfect for my liking. Yes, she's easily angered. But other than that there too many good qualities in my opinion. Can I express some bad boy love? Jag is just plain awesome. Probably a big piece of work, too, but still very likeable. Not like Zenn, who to me felt forced (okay, well, he was) and not real. No idea whether that was intended or maybe it's just some weird quirk of mine.

Sadly, I expected some things. But what Johnson really excelled at where the action scenes in the later part of the novel. For me - an action novice - they were very believable! And boy, those people have to calibrate their tasers!
Some people have been comparing Possession to Matched. I can't really compare because I haven't read Matched yet but I think the reason for the comparison is mostly because of the similar cover. I don't think there are many other things except for the part where the Government pretty much controls every aspect of your life.

That's probably what I found so shocking. Vi mentions that the transmission every citizen is required to hear are specialized. While her sister hears some stuff about the dangers of having a dog, Vi herself hears about helping those weaker than her etcetera. General mindwash isn't all that unheard of, but having all the quirks that make a person unique eradicated? That's a whole new kind of control, I believe.

And, oh I want to gush some about the special powers of Thinkers, but that would probably give something away. And I need to mention that I haven't really understood all the terms. What is the difference between a Mind Ranger and a Water Ranger? What the heck is a Director and what do Special Forces Agents do? Maybe I just don't understand the hierarchy, but that gave me some trouble.

Still, once you read through the first few drab chapters, this is a really great book. It isn't a five star book simply because of the "difficult to read through"-beginning!

By Maryam H 07 Mar 2011 3

This is a hard one to review mainly because it was one of those books that just don't agree with me and I find hard to really get into for no distinguishable reason.

I did like quite a lot of aspects of the book. I loved the snarky main character who doesn't take no for an answer and works for what she wants. I loved the tone she used when presenting the story. It had a sort of sarcastic sense of humour which is what I really love.

So it wasn't really the characters that I didn't like. It wasn't the story line itself either. It was a nice idea; a world with advanced technology that essentially rules everybody's lives and a life filled with rules that are just made to be broken.

I just think that the story didn't flow very well and it sort of stopped and started again like an old car trying to start. It started very well to the point of me thinking that this could potentially turn out to be an amazing story, but then it just ran out of steam. It was really disappointing when everything started to become predictable and clichéd at points.

Also, in parts of the story a relationship between two of the characters started to develop. That's fine and all but not when it just comes out of nowhere. I felt that the characters falling in love just happened with no development in between or any sort of beginning to the relationship. It just turned straight into the 'I love you' phase....that's not realistic, not at all, so I was extremely put off. The story just didn't develop enough for me. It's a shame really.

Review quote

"Most [readers] will be drawn in by the love triangle, revelations about Vi and her family, and a dark twist ending that maintains the faintest glimmer of hope." --"PW"" "