Friday, December 3, 2010

The Exorsistah by Claudia Mair Burney

Emme Vaughn is a homeless seventeen-year-old who has been in and out of foster care for years. Her mom is certified insane in an asylum and Emme has always had her own problems. She sees demons and devils. They've often tried to hurt her, but she can repel them by praying and asking God for help. At a Walgreen's, she discovers another man who can sense evil, and the he convinces her to join the cause of exorcising evil. Emme's childhood friend is possessed and needs her help to get rid of the demon inside her.

The Pro's: It's rare to find debate about Catholicism, Pentecostal Christian, and African religion in a young adult book. Scripture was flying everywhere in this book, but I didn't feel like the author was pushing something at me. The entire concept of exorcism and religion was well done. I even checked the publisher to see if this was a Christian publisher, but it wasn't.

The Con's: Oh, Emme's dialect about killed me. I didn't want to read another "yo" or paragraph about her talking back to someone. I know she just came off the streets, but her mother raised her right. Her constant admiration of Francis, the hottie who wants to be a priest, was overdone, too. I assume the sequel (The Exorsistah: X Returns) will reveal more details about whether Francis chooses Emme or the Catholic Church.

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