Delacorte Press, 2007, 320 pp., $15.99, www.randomhouse.com/teens
This teen lit novel starts sassy and fun, loaded with humor and quippy repartee. But it takes a turn for the uncomfortable when a demon is summoned to terrorize the school bullies. Maggie and her friends try their hand at ghostbusting, but the casual interactions with the heinous spirit should leave any Christian disturbed. The discomfort peaks when Maggie asks her “expert” friend if they should employ the use of crosses or Holy water to subdue the spirit, and he answers, “Azmael predates Christ. I don’t think either of those would affect him.”
Readers would suffer no shortage of discussion topics if read to stimulate conversation regarding current attitudes about spirituality and faith. But use caution. The undermining ideology is insidious.
________________________
Review by: Cheri R. Gillard, freelance writer in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
