Publication Date: August 28, 2012
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Mia's
ordinary life is disrupted in the most horrifying way possible when she is
possessed by a hungry and powerful demon--and only saved by the arrival of
relatives from Italy, the country her grandfather fled many decades ago. Now
her cousins Emilio and Giuliano say the only way to keep her safe is for her to
come back with them to Milan, to live, to learn Italian, to fall in and out of
love, and to master the family trade: fighting all demons with the lore of
bell, book, and candle. Milan is not what Mia expected, but it will change her
forever, in this stunningly well-written novel about an American girl who,
fleeing an ancient evil, finds her only salvation in her ancestral home.
Ok
so I am not crazy about any kind of horror movie or book that involves anyone
being possessed by a demon. I don’t know it just has never been my thing and it
really freaks me out. But this book is not anything like a Stephen King
thriller and when I discovered that it was actually a YA fiction novel I was so
shocked because this is different from anything I have ever read in the YA
genre. The candles on the front cover are my favorite part especially when you
learn that there is actually magic in them and they are used to help rid off
demons!
The
story drops the reader in the middle of Mia’s life and in the middle of a demon
possession, hers! Mia soon learns that her family is rooted in Milan and
consists of a bunch of demon hunters and the only way that she will be safe is
to move to Italy with them and learn their language and culture. I loved Mia’s
attitude and her willingness to embrace the fact that she was being attacked by
a demon and that she now had to uproot her life and learn how to ward it off.
The story was full of action the entire time and sometimes I will admit that it
became confusing. I am looking forward to see if other bloggers and reviewers
agree with me on that statement because I feel like it was easy to get lost at
times and have to back up and re-read a few paragraphs.
What
I did absolutely love was the Milanese culture and background that Beyer
provided. Mia was forced to learn Italian and the ways of life were so different
from her own in America that it was an interesting transition to read about how
Mia handled her new life. My favorite part of reading this book was Mia’s
depictions of the history and life of family in Milan. Beyer obviously did her
research here! The family tradition of demon hunting was also something that
was well written as well. I loved how they all worked together as a family and
every cousin, brother, sister and aunt had a task to perform in an exorcism.
They were always very family oriented, but I believe that most Italian families
receive that rep. Another interesting aspect, as I mentioned before, was the
candles. Mia soon learned that there was more to the candle than ambiance. They
were supposed to leave the candles burning at all times and the candles
actually gave them signs as far as demons were concerned.
My
only complaint with this book is that sometimes I was as clueless as Mia to
what was going on. For the longest time after Mia arrived in Milan she was not
allowed to venture outside or anywhere other than their home for fear of
another demon attack. Yet, no one really answered a lot of Mia’s questions. In
the midst of an exorcism I was often left as puzzled as well. I was like wait
what just happened?! The writing is creepy and weird at times and will
completely leave you in the dark and that is so frustrating. Once I get to the
end of the book I would like a few answers, if you know what I’m saying?! I
honestly just never felt the spark from this book. I wanted to love it but I
had nothing to hold onto.
Hadn't heard of this one before. Thanks for the review! :D
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