Misfit (Early Review)

Misfit by JonSkovron

Jael Thompson has never really fit in. She’s changed schools too many times to count. The only family she’s ever known is her father, a bitter ex-priest who never lets her date and insists she attend the strictest Catholic school in Seattle. And her mother—well, she was a five thousand year old demon. That doesn’t exactly help.

But on her sixteenth birthday, her father gives her a present that brings about some unexpected changes. Some of the changes, like strange and wonderful powers and the cute skater boy with a knack for science, are awesome. But others, like the homicidal demon seeking revenge on her family? Not so much.

Steeped in mythology, this is an epic tale of a heroine who balances old world with new, science with magic, and the terrifying depths of the underworld with the ordinary halls of high school.

Jael's always been different and she carries a terrible burden, a secret she must never tell. She's half demon, but she doesn't really understand what that means as her father has kept her completely in the dark and bounced her all around the world to keep in hiding. All that changes when she turn sixteen and her father gives her an unexpected gift. This opens the door for a whole world of changes some good, and some that just may mean her doom. She'll have to quickly learn to balance the demonic half with the mortal one if she is to have any hope of staying under the radar. Otherwise her next step could very well be her last as a psychotic demon is out to get revenge and Jael is his prime target.

Jael (love that name - pronounced yah-EL) started out as intriguing character that seemed a little weak in the gills for my taste, but I quickly realized that she had an iron backbone and only needed a little time to find herself in order to shine. Considering the mess of a life she has had being bounced around so much and living in almost complete ignorance of her heritage its a wonder she didn't crumble under that "terrible" secret long ago. I guess you could say this is a coming of age story, except not only does Jael have to do some maturing to find her inner strength but she also has a demon half that takes a little finesse to understand fully. While she needed time to grow into her new found powers, what she needed more than anything was to have confidence in herself and I was happy to see it grow bit by bit. She still has a long way to go of course, but she definitely made major strides, making her a really great character.

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about Misfit being a book for teens. For a YA novel, it just didn't seem to fit at times. I mean, yes the story is about teenage characters in high school and there wasn't any graphic sex. However, the story barely got started and one of the characters, who is supposed to be uber-religious by the way, was going on and on about how she gave a guy oral sex just because he bought her dinner. Definitely sends the wrong message to teenage girls. Now I'm not a prude in anyway shape or form and I don't mind sex in books at all, although it isn't really expected in YA books. I just took issue with the demoralizing aspect of it, especially when you consider just how much this character looked down on those she felt act according to the Catholic Church's standards. It made her one heck of a hypocrite in my opinion. Of course another character points this out and all that is said is that's what confession is for. I just don't think she should throw stones at others when she is no where near a perfect Catholic either. Also later on in a book a character is talking about eating someone and then shitting them out for fertilizer. This just really put me off and I felt it had no place in a YA novel.

While I had some issues with Misfit, I enjoyed the writing and was glad to see that it wasn't a cookie cutter book about teen angst with paranormal aspects thrown in. It actually was pretty unique compared to most books in the same genre. I'm not sure if it is a stand alone novel, or part of a series, but I had the feeling that things were set up for more. I actually hope there will be more books, because I would love to see the characters have a chance to grow further and hopefully triumph in the end. So if you like stories about demons with a twist and want something a little different than most books out there, then I would definitely say Misfit is the book for you.

(Received from Netgalley)

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