After Obsession [Englisch] [Gebundene Ausgabe]

Seventeen-year-old Aimee Avery's seemingly happy existence is a facade: still struggling to cope with her mother's apparent suicide years before, Aimee must now help her best friend, Courtney, who has just lost her father in a tragic fishing accident. To make matters worse, Aimee's often prophetic dreams have become more and more intense: she senses that danger is lurking nearby, ready to pounce on everyone living in her small Maine town. Aimee has also been dreaming of a boy her age with dark hair and tan skin, someone who is important but in as much danger as she is. In the meantime, seventeen-year-old Alan Parsons has just moved from Oklahoma with his mother to help his cousin, Courtney (Aimee's best-friend), and Aunt Lisa following the death of Courtney's father. Alan immediately stands out in the small Maine town: he is half Navajo, has long dark hair, tan skin, and wears a medicine pouch full of sacred items at all times. Like Aimee, Alan can also sense what's coming with the help of his spirit guide, a cougar he calls Onawa. Onawa has been showing him visions of a girl his age with red hair and piercing green eyes. When Alan and Aimee finally meet in school one day they realize the truth: they have been dreaming of each other. Despite their immediate attraction, they also realize that their meeting signifies that the danger they both sense is also real. It seems that the small Maine town has been plagued for decades by an evil spirit, one many refer to as simply the "River Man." Aimee is convinced that the River Man is the one who killed her mother, and, when Courtney begins acting strangely, that he has decided to possess her best friend next. Will Aimee and Alan be able to use their powers to stop the demon once and for all?

Told in alternating voices between its two protagonists, After Obsession offers an often muddled but frequently creepy collaboration between two successful authors. The high and low points of the novel are easily distinguished. An appropriate amount of suspense is created by the many spooky moments in the story: dark figures appearing in windows, phantom dust storms, knives standing on end and spinning, and more. The gradual deterioration of the town is also unique: it seems that the evil entity does not limit itself to one person, but instead affects everyone in the vicinity. These positives, however, are a bit hampered by some of the weaker elements of the plot. In terms of character development, Aimee and Alan leave a bit to be desired. Aimee's strange abilities never seem to be explained, only that she thinks they might be genetic. Alan's transformation into a Navajo warrior is chalked up to a heavy amount of internet research into the practices of his "ancestors." The romance between the two seems a bit forced at times. At the start of the novel, Aimee is described as having dated her boyfriend, Blake, for "a long time." After Alan arrives, however, she quickly shrugs off her steady beau (fortunately, he makes some racist remarks that justify the break-up), and immediately begins to date the new guy in town. In fact, the events of the entire story transpire over roughly a week, making the intense "spiritual connection" between Alan and Aimee seem unlikely, even for a young adult novel. Thrown into the mix are some other oddities as well: there is a running plot line about a Cheeto in the shape of Marilyn Monroe, for example. Despite the moments of lag, After Obsession does, when it is all said and done, prove to be, at the very least, entertaining. No mention is made of a sequel, though the ending does leave it somewhat open to continuation.

Although I did find myself genuinely spooked out from time to time, my overall feeling after finishing After Obsession was that it was simply okay. I really liked the River Man/possession concepts, but I was a little too distracted by the overwhelming hokey vibes that Alan's Navajo rituals/traditions gave off. As a huge fan of Navajo culture, I think it would have been much more pleasing to not chalk up Alan's faith in his heritage to frequent visits to websites that apparently instruct readers in how to be a proper Native American. I really felt like this put a damper on Alan's powers, and since they are such an important part of the plot, kept me from really enjoying the novel.

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I might have loved this book, really loved it, if it wasn't for the love story.

After Obsession is written by two authors and the story is told from two perspective - Alan and Aimee. Aimee has visions, she sees the future and it's never pretty. Alan, half Native American, is labeled a Spirit Warrior by his spirit guide and is in touch with the spiritual aspects of his Native American heritage. Aimee's view is written in the odd numbered chapters while Alan's view picks up in the even numbered chapter.

In the beginning, it was a little disorienting switching between views, however, both characters are so differently written that it was easy to slip into a rhythm and figure out who is who without needing to know which chapter you were reading. While Aimee was a fun character, I liked reading Alan's perspective, mostly because he went into things I haven't read much off - his Native American heritage.

The possession story itself, while not completely scary, was still suspenseful enough to leave me biting my nails as I turned the page (but, I'm a bit of a scaredy cat, so I might not be the best judge of these things). Courtney is being possessed by an evil spirit, however, I can't say that I cared too much about what happened to Courtney, and I wish this was different. I might have rooted for her some more, if there was more story around why Courtney did and believed as she did.

The biggest issue I had with this story was Blake. Or more precisely Aimee's relationship with Blake. Blake was a great source of conflict for Alan, however, every thing he did to Alan could have happened without him being to be Aimee's boyfriend. Aimee's excuse for breaking up with Blake - though a good excuse - seemed convenient. Her entire relationship with him seemed unnecessary. Along the same lines, the relationship that developed between Alan and Aimee seemed convenient and rushed. I couldn't believe in their sudden connection to each other, so whenever the romantic story line came up I couldn't help but feel a bit cheated, as though it was just there to be there.

The love story aside, After Obsession was a quick and fun read and will be good for those who enjoy a little bit of suspense.

Told in alternating view points from Aimee and Alan, After Obsession is one heck of a paranormal thriller that will have you obsessed. An exciting blend of Indian mythology and demonic possession, this is a fast paced read that guarantees a couple of chills as the plot barrels on to a satisfying ending.

The alternating point of views made this novel special, especially since they were written by two separate people but jived so well together. I liked how powerful Aimee was and how she had a few things to battle on her own before she could really start to help. Jones chose to focus on family with Aimee and did an amazing job crafting a caring character. I expected good things from her after loving her Need series. This is why I was surprised to find that I preferred Alan's chapters. Please don't read into this thinking I didn't enjoy Aimee's chapters because I most certainly did, but I liked getting into Alan's character. Being part Indian, I was interested in how strongly he felt connected to that half of him since he didn't know his father. I wanted to know all about his spirit guide and the rituals he practiced even if he only learned how to do them on the internet. Together, Aimee and Alan made a great pair and you could just feel the excitement flowing off the page as each chapter was handed off to the next character.

I was interested in Wedel so I looked him up and found out he was a horror author prior to writing this novel. This worked so well for the paranormal aspects. The scratching and dark shapes in Alan's chapters really amplified the terror of the demon that Aimee and Alan were facing. Not to be outdone, Jones' chapters were equally as terrifying with their dust storms, knives and possessed best friends. Both authors did an amazing job creating the tone and creepy atmosphere. What was also refreshing was that the demonic possession part wasn't too complicated. There were steps the characters had to take but it wasn't tangled up in a lot of convoluted rituals and magic. Everything about the force they fought was pretty simplified and there wasn't really a need to over-explain.

That being said, I did feel like a bit more explanation was needed in some parts. I would have liked to know a little bit more about where Aimee and her mother developed their powers and possibly a little bit more about Alan's father, even if it was just things Alan surmised or his spirit guide revealed. Sometimes the plot would speed up and things would just be glossed over without much explanation. This might have just been because I'd had an ARC. Overall, I really liked how well both of the author's voice complimented their characters and each other. Aimee and Alan's pull to each other was undeniable.

Benefiting from it's mixed mythology and simplicity, After Obsession really is a hit. Alan and Aimee were a pleasure getting to know, both author;s excitement leaked from the page and there was just the right amount of creep factor to keep pulling the reader in. The tagline for this book says it best, watch out because After Obsession really will be your newest obsession!