Review: After Obsession by Carrie Jones and Steven E. Wedel

After Obsession by Carrie Jones and Steven E. Wedel
Publication Date: September 13th, 2011
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children
Page count: 320 pages
Format: ARC
Source: Won
Purchase from Amazon: After Obsession
Rating:

Aimee and Alan have secrets. Both teens have unusual pasts and abilities they prefer to keep hidden. But when they meet each other, in a cold Maine town, they can't stop their secrets from spilling out. Strange things have been happening lately, and they both feel that something-or someone- is haunting them. They're wrong. Despite their unusual history and powers, it's neither Aimee nor Alan who is truly haunted. It's Alan's cousin Courtney who, in a desperate plea to find her missing father, has invited a demon into her life-and into her body. Only together can Aimee and Alan exorcise the ghost. And they have to move quickly, before it devours not just Courtney but everything around her.
Filled with heart-pounding romance, paranormal activity, and rich teen characters to love-and introducing an exciting new YA voice, Steven Wedel-this novel is exactly what Carrie Jones fans have been waiting for. Meet your next obsession.

When I read Carrie Jones' book Need I was less than impressed with the writing, plot, etc. I figured that maybe the plot was what annoyed me the most so I decided to give After Obsession a chance. I haven't read many possession books, but I have to say I didn't enjoy it. The story seemed to focus more on the instant relationship between Aimee and Alan (yes, they were literally saying I love you within a week of meeting each it seemed) and Alan's Native American heritage, of which he only knows what he Googles.
Aimee was probably one of the worst characters EVER. She didn't grab me, nothing about her was relatable at all, she spent most of her time staring at Alan and imagining him naked while her best friend was being possessed and her brother and grandfather were selling Cheetos on the internet. Yes, there is an entire sub-plotline dedicated to the selling of a Cheeto that looks like Marilyn Monroe. WHAT? Alan is okay I guess. He spends a lot of time stressing over the fact that he's half Native American and because of that he knows how to exercise people and do other magical things. Oh yeah, and Aimee can heal people. Why? I don't know. Her mom could too. Not too much depth goes into this situation so I was left wondering about it for awhile.
The writing itself is like murder. It's very choppy and sort of boring. There's definitely a lot of thinking going on, since it's written in first person present, and when I say thinking I mean long drawn out paragraphs that are just plain boring. I have to admit, I'm not giving the book 1 star because I was pretty intrigued. While I didn't really enjoy reading it much, some of the ideas really freaked me out. The idea of the River Man haunting their town was spooky! I definitely had some issues sleeping after reading about these creepy ghosts killing people and haunting the town!
Overall this book was just a giant letdown. If you don't read it, you're really not missing out on much. Just an overplayed romance and side characters that are more interesting than the protagonists. It's a pretty quick read so if you must read it, you'll get done with it quickly! Needless to say (haha pun!) I probably won't be reading more books by Carrie Jones. She obviously doesn't Captivate me the way I'd like! (ANOTHER PUN!) Anyways. I'd definitely like to read some more books about possession though, that idea has really intrigued me!