Possession by Elana Johnson

Title: Possession
Author: Elana Johnson
Release Date: June 7th, 2011
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Pages: 416
Format: NookBook
Acquired: Bought
Interest: Series
Age Group: Young Adult
Rating: 2 Stars

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

I just have one question: What on Earth was I reading?

From page one I was confused and felt like this was a first draft or something. I honestly thought that as I kept reading things would make more sense, but instead, they just complicated things. I had no idea what Vi was doing half the time or what the heck was even going on. It literally felt like I was reading something I would have written when I was thirteen and sucked at writing.

This is one of those books where everyone gives off so much hype about and talk about them endlessly and say great things, and I then I read it and it's like, BAM! all those great things you hear about this book turn out to be not so true, at least from my experience.

I felt like Vi was upset a lot of the time. I felt like she had this I'm-trying-really-hard-not-to-care-right-now attitude that just doesn't work for most people. She has potential to be a good heroine and I feel like this story can be good if it was polished up, and let the readers in the know. I understand that sometimes writers get so into their worlds and when they write they want the reader to see what they see, but I feel like Elana went the wrong way. She could at least explain what was going on.

Somehow I made it to the end, because in the back of my mind I kept hoping that something would change and that this story would get better; it was hopeless.

Basically, from what did make sense Vi lives in the world where the Goodies and the Baddies don't get along, because the Goodies follow what the rulers of this world, the Thinkers, say and do, while the Baddies don't, and that's really all I understood.

It could be better and the idea behind it is great, but the actual story itself is a mess. I'm still debating to read the second book or not, so who knows.