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A review by eed8
The Good Demon by Jimmy Cajoleas
2.0
Two months on and I'm still bummed out about how let down I felt by this book. Let me start by saying this is an ingenious premise - a girl wants to get her beloved demon back after it was exorcised from her against her will? Yes, please! There was so much to unpack in the premise alone, so much potential for amazing character studies and introspections on the nature of evil, discussions of consent with regards to Clare's possession, and some delightfully atmospheric storytelling. And, I won't lie, I was really hoping this was going to be a dark and twisty queer love story between Her and Clare.
And it was...not really any of that.
Atmospheric, yes. The final third of the book was spooky in the extreme, and the details surrounding the demonic forces were disturbing and quite perfect for the Halloween season. And there was a clever dynamic established between Clare and the preacher's son who she enlists for help in getting Her back. But the rest of the story fell incredibly flat for me, reading more like a typical YA novel (dead and dearly-beloved parent, deadbeat surviving parent, no friends, town misfit, forbidden young love, yadda yadda) than it really should have, considering the heavy and disturbing themes at play. On one hand, I could believe that Clare's unusually fast attachment to the preacher's son was the result of her never having had real friends thanks to being possessed for most of her childhood, but on the other...I absolutely did not buy their romance. The boy (whose name is escaping me) was clearly still deeply invested in his father's teachings - as evidenced by how quickly he broke down and abandoned Clare when their sexual relationship was discovered, citing sin and whatnot - and this did not at all line up with his witnessing Clare's exorcism. Why was he still attracted to her after seeing a literal demon come out of her, especially given that she's pretty rude and dismissive towards him at first and compels him to break the rules? I could never get a real read on him and he struck me as more of a tool for the story than a character who Clare is intentionally trying to manipulate for a while.
It was also frustrating to see how much focus was put on Clare's relationship with the boy, when the over all story would have been better serviced if Clare's newfound (albeit unwanted) freedom and desperate loneliness were directed towards her mother, who she's had an incredibly difficult relationship with since Dad died years earlier. They had some kind of resolution to this effect at the end of the story, but so little textual space was devoted to Clare forgiving her mother and, in turn, her mother finally stepping up to be the family Clare needs, that it felt very unearned.
Finally, though, Clare's relationship with Her was...somewhat lacking. I felt Clare's desperation to get Her back - on that I truly commend the author. This poor girl is in agony and as a reader it was incredibly interesting to see her in such a bad place after having something objectively good for her - the exorcism - happen at last. But I never really got that same sense of a bond from Her (or even intense possessiveness, which is odd, since She was literally...well, possessing Clare). Only at the novel's climax, when they finally see each other again, did I get a glimpse of their mutual attachment and devotion, but I wanted to see that throughout the novel. She is a demon, and as such should be pretty adept at controlling Clare's perception of things, but even as a reader I never fully understood why She loved Clare so much for Clare's sake, rather than just being another body to conveniently take over. Basically, the novel tells us that they had a bond that was too intense for words. And I felt that from Clare. But I never really felt it from Her, and that was a major, major disappointment for me.
I will say, though, that I thought the ending was perfect for the story it was trying to tell: Clare realizing that this kind of attachment was unhealthy, that she needed to let Her go, and Her willingly traveling to some other life to change and be less...demonic. Clare not getting back together with the preacher's son. Clare's mom leaving her crappy second husband and leaving with her daughter. I was so happy with this ending because it's exactly what I would have hoped for in this kind of story. Not a happy ending, but a right one for the characters.
So, all in all, a very mixed bag. But I guess it says something about the book that I'm this worked up about it.
And it was...not really any of that.
Atmospheric, yes. The final third of the book was spooky in the extreme, and the details surrounding the demonic forces were disturbing and quite perfect for the Halloween season. And there was a clever dynamic established between Clare and the preacher's son who she enlists for help in getting Her back. But the rest of the story fell incredibly flat for me, reading more like a typical YA novel (dead and dearly-beloved parent, deadbeat surviving parent, no friends, town misfit, forbidden young love, yadda yadda) than it really should have, considering the heavy and disturbing themes at play. On one hand, I could believe that Clare's unusually fast attachment to the preacher's son was the result of her never having had real friends thanks to being possessed for most of her childhood, but on the other...I absolutely did not buy their romance. The boy (whose name is escaping me) was clearly still deeply invested in his father's teachings - as evidenced by how quickly he broke down and abandoned Clare when their sexual relationship was discovered, citing sin and whatnot - and this did not at all line up with his witnessing Clare's exorcism. Why was he still attracted to her after seeing a literal demon come out of her, especially given that she's pretty rude and dismissive towards him at first and compels him to break the rules? I could never get a real read on him and he struck me as more of a tool for the story than a character who Clare is intentionally trying to manipulate for a while.
It was also frustrating to see how much focus was put on Clare's relationship with the boy, when the over all story would have been better serviced if Clare's newfound (albeit unwanted) freedom and desperate loneliness were directed towards her mother, who she's had an incredibly difficult relationship with since Dad died years earlier. They had some kind of resolution to this effect at the end of the story, but so little textual space was devoted to Clare forgiving her mother and, in turn, her mother finally stepping up to be the family Clare needs, that it felt very unearned.
Finally, though, Clare's relationship with Her was...somewhat lacking. I felt Clare's desperation to get Her back - on that I truly commend the author. This poor girl is in agony and as a reader it was incredibly interesting to see her in such a bad place after having something objectively good for her - the exorcism - happen at last. But I never really got that same sense of a bond from Her (or even intense possessiveness, which is odd, since She was literally...well, possessing Clare). Only at the novel's climax, when they finally see each other again, did I get a glimpse of their mutual attachment and devotion, but I wanted to see that throughout the novel. She is a demon, and as such should be pretty adept at controlling Clare's perception of things, but even as a reader I never fully understood why She loved Clare so much for Clare's sake, rather than just being another body to conveniently take over. Basically, the novel tells us that they had a bond that was too intense for words. And I felt that from Clare. But I never really felt it from Her, and that was a major, major disappointment for me.
I will say, though, that I thought the ending was perfect for the story it was trying to tell: Clare realizing that this kind of attachment was unhealthy, that she needed to let Her go, and Her willingly traveling to some other life to change and be less...demonic. Clare not getting back together with the preacher's son. Clare's mom leaving her crappy second husband and leaving with her daughter. I was so happy with this ending because it's exactly what I would have hoped for in this kind of story. Not a happy ending, but a right one for the characters.
So, all in all, a very mixed bag. But I guess it says something about the book that I'm this worked up about it.