daysed's review against another edition
4.0
NOOOOOOOOOOOO
THAT'S IT?????? NOOOOOO!!! COME BACK!!!! NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
THAT'S IT?????? NOOOOOO!!! COME BACK!!!! NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
kelsea's review
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
ekrammarkee's review
4.0
Interesting book with interesting ideas. Well developed with typical Maureen humor. I liked it.
public_book_club's review
3.0
This was the first book I've ever read by Maureen Johnson. It was pretty good and really unique. The plot was really refreshing from a lot of other YA books out there. It was a serious plot with not so serious details which kind of detracted but overall, it was a really fun read I couldn't put down.
broccolini's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ireadthebooks's review
3.0
I once watched a vlogbrothers video where John Green described Maureen Johnson as a “true eccentric.” That’s never more apparent than on Twitter, and if you don’t already follow her, you should because it is hysterical. She has a very distinct style and voice as an author, and I think if you gave me a bunch of chapters by different authors and said, “Pick the Johnson one,” it would be easy. Her characters are intelligent, sarcastic, and spirited, and they’ve got spunk. I don’t use the word spunk very often, but there you go.
Maureen often references her experiences in the Catholic high school system, and watching that color this book was very fun, from Jane’s cracks about the nuns to the polyester uniforms littered in many of MJ’s novels. Honestly, this book was so full of small tidbits of snark that I’ve got about four quotes in my head to add to this post, but I won’t, because 1) I left the book at home and 2) they’re funnier in context, like everything else. Here’s just one:
Favorite Quote: “There was something wrong in Providence today, and I, for one, was going home to hide from it.”
Devilish is much shorter than Johnson’s other novels, but this was appropriate for a retelling of the Faust myth. I liked Jane, who was a consummate Johnson heroine, but I was far less enamored with her friend Ally, who just seemed sad and boring. The romance angle felt forced, and the story would’ve worked just as well without it. I realize that most YA contains romance to some degree, but the story was more about friendship and being comfortable with who you are. Jane is different: she’s short, she has spiky blonde hair, she mouths off to the nuns and she’s too smart for her own good. And she’s fine with ALL of that. She is not at all concerned that the popular girls don’t like her, or that the nuns give her so many demerits, because it’s high school, and it’s temporary, and as long as she’s got Ally, she’s good to go. Then she loses Ally, and instead of letting the triumph be: “I outsmarted the devil’s representative and got my friend back and also did not get damned myself,” it’s upstaged by “cool I got a boyfriend.”
Devilish was a fun little read, but it’s not my favorite of Johnson’s work. It was short, and read more like a novella or a really long short story. If you haven’t read anything by Maureen, I’d recommend starting with Suite Scarlett or 13 Little Blue Envelopes. They’re cute contemporary YA novels that are packed full of quirky, intelligent characters.
Maureen often references her experiences in the Catholic high school system, and watching that color this book was very fun, from Jane’s cracks about the nuns to the polyester uniforms littered in many of MJ’s novels. Honestly, this book was so full of small tidbits of snark that I’ve got about four quotes in my head to add to this post, but I won’t, because 1) I left the book at home and 2) they’re funnier in context, like everything else. Here’s just one:
Favorite Quote: “There was something wrong in Providence today, and I, for one, was going home to hide from it.”
Devilish is much shorter than Johnson’s other novels, but this was appropriate for a retelling of the Faust myth. I liked Jane, who was a consummate Johnson heroine, but I was far less enamored with her friend Ally, who just seemed sad and boring. The romance angle felt forced, and the story would’ve worked just as well without it. I realize that most YA contains romance to some degree, but the story was more about friendship and being comfortable with who you are. Jane is different: she’s short, she has spiky blonde hair, she mouths off to the nuns and she’s too smart for her own good. And she’s fine with ALL of that. She is not at all concerned that the popular girls don’t like her, or that the nuns give her so many demerits, because it’s high school, and it’s temporary, and as long as she’s got Ally, she’s good to go. Then she loses Ally, and instead of letting the triumph be: “I outsmarted the devil’s representative and got my friend back and also did not get damned myself,” it’s upstaged by “cool I got a boyfriend.”
Devilish was a fun little read, but it’s not my favorite of Johnson’s work. It was short, and read more like a novella or a really long short story. If you haven’t read anything by Maureen, I’d recommend starting with Suite Scarlett or 13 Little Blue Envelopes. They’re cute contemporary YA novels that are packed full of quirky, intelligent characters.