Review : Possession by Elana Johnson

Posted 30 June, 2011 by Danny in / 13 Comments

Possession
by Elana Johnson (website, twitter)
Published June 7th 2011 by Simon & Schuster
copy received from publisher 
amazon (Hardcover & Kindle)
synopsis from goodreads:

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 brainwashing 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.

If you look at it this book has everything I expect from an awesome book. Super pretty cover! I Love the butterfly in the ice, I love white , I love the simplicity. The premise sounds amazing and I expected a very awesome dystopian Sci Fi magic mix novel that I would absolutely enjoy,.

This is how I went into this book ….

The premise indeed sounds super interesting and I think the combination of dystopian with Sci Fi but also with a bit of magic could have been pretty awesome. Vi and also other society members are brainwashed constantly to make them good and loyal citizens. This idea itself is very scary… Vi lives in a world full of rules and constant supervision with no room from self development. But Vi always was trying to be rebellious and she wanted to think for herself.

Vi, Jag and ..love…

The characters are very unique and Vi is a really strong female lead, she’s kick ass and smart but in the end… I found her also to be whiny and I truly couldn’t connect with her. I didn’t love her.

Also, her and Jag’s love wasn’t real for me at all. They fell for each other so fast and hard that it wasn’t believable for me, I didn’t feel their love and  butterflies and I’m still not sure if it was real love or a manipulation of sorts.

Jag also frustrated me. I tried to like him, but he left Vi alone a few times and left without good reason other than being pissed at her for saying something. (Ok honestly, this is hard to describe without any spoilers) But some of those scenes made me put the book away, taking a deep breath before I could read on.

heavy plot with looootttt’s of info… 
The plot was moving on very very fast and quick with way too much information. I think it was a little bit too fast. I couldn’t wrap my mind around certain things and even after finishing it I still can’t and am confused. The concept was awesome and very very unique but just a bit too much for me to comprehend… A bit more time to explain and understand would have been good for the story I think… 
The whole tech idea combining with magic (is it Magic? I still don’t really know for sure) was very unique and clever but needed better explanations, or any way to get the reader into the story and not looking confused from the outside, like me. 
The ending is horrible in a way only cliffhangers can, but I’m still not sure if there will be a sequal, I heard rumors but then.. so I treat it as a stand alone and the ending was .. very open. And this is not an open end it’s a very sad end.. 
Bottom Line 

While I think Possession will appeal some readers, but it wasn’t for me. I didn’t connect with the characters and I found the plot too fast and too confusing. 
(Check Savannah’s review (Books with Bite) who absolutely adored it!) 
But, although this wasn’t a book for me – I’m sure there are people out there that loved it! 
Tell me why! I’d love to hear it! 
Much Love! 
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Obsessive Reader by Night - Scientist at Day! You can also find me on goodreads. I'd love to get to know you so, don't be shy and say Hello!

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13 Responses to “Review : Possession by Elana Johnson”

  1. Marg K.

    I believe several other reviewers have touched upon the same criticisms of this book as you have. So you're definitely not alone in your disappointment. Based on all the feedback I've read so far and the fact that this book has a few elements that I tend to find really frustrating in YA fiction, I'm gonna have to skip this one.

    Thanks for the honest review!

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  2. Miss Bookiverse

    I love the cover for this one but when I started reading it I got really disappointed 🙁 At first I liked Vi too but then she started being annoying. I couldn't even finish the book. I just didn't care about the characters enough. I agree with all your points about the "relationship" and the story moving too fast.
    I couldn't find any info on a sequel either. I would be really surprised if there was no sequel to come.
    My recent post [Rezension] Faunblut

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  4. Jenny

    We discussed this one so you pretty much know my thoughts already!!! Definitely a lot of info to keep track of, and while I liked Vi and Jag a bit more than you did, you make some very good points. I didn't like that he kept leaving her, and that ending made me sprint for the computer and see if there was going to be more:)
    My recent post Review: Ada, Legend of a Healer

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  5. Candace

    I just got this one for review and I scanned down to see your rating before reading the review. It looks like you didn't like it much so I'm not going to read your review because I want to look at the book with fresh eyes and not a preformed opinion of something. But I can say I'm a bit worried now! We can't all love the same books though, so I could still love it. I'll come back and read your review fully once I've read the book.
    My recent post MFT Guest: Maria Zannini and How I Learned to Love the Apocalypse and a Giveaway!

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  11. Miss Page-Turner

    I'm glad I am not the only one who couldn't connect to Possession and its heroine Violet. I simply didn't like her (her talent is cool) or relate to Jag and Vi's "love story". It was just too fast and the rapid mood swings annoyed me.

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