Review: The Good Demon by Jimmy Cajoles

Title: The Good Demon

Author: Jimmy Cajoles

Publisher: Amulet Books

Publishing Date: September 18th, 2018

Pages: 320
Audio Length: 7 Hours and 36 Minutes

Genre: YA Supernatural Mystery
TW: Being possessed?

Series: Standalone

Source: Audio

 

True Detective meets The Exorcist in this gripping YA mystery debut about one girl’s exorcism—and her desperate quest to reunite with her demon
Clare has been miserable since her exorcism. The preacher that rid her of evil didn’t understand that her demon—simply known as Her—was like a sister to Clare. Now, Clare will do almost anything to get Her back. After a chance encounter with the son of the preacher who exorcised her, Clare goes on an adventure through the dark underbelly of her small Southern town, discovering its deep-seated occult roots. As she searches for Her, she must question the fine lines between good and evil, love and hate, and religion and free will. Vivid and sharp, The Good Demon tells the unusual story of friendship amid dark Gothic horror

What made me pick this book up: 

Mostly the title. You never see much about good demons. 

What did I like about the cover: 

I actually don't like this cover much. It looks like someone's art project. And not in a good way. 

What made me read this book: 

I honestly thought it was going to be a funny dark comedy about a girl who lost her demon. So I wanted to read it to laugh and find out more about the demon and what made her so great. 

What did I like the most: 

This book was just kinda meh to me. Which I'll talk about more in the "what didn't I like".

This is a really unique story. Most of the time when someone is possessed they want the demon out. But you never see someone who was actually friends with and loved the demon inside of them. 

I found it really interesting reading about the magic in this book and it definitely was a mystery trying to figure out why.

I think that's really it. It was a unique story. That's about all. 

What didn't I like: 

The characters, the demon, the other parts of the story.

I felt like the characters were all either naive or whiny.

The demon didn't feel like she really fit into the story too much.

It feels like the rest of the story just didn't fit. It was weird and didn't make sense. 

The ending was just weird.

I think I should've rated this one more of a 2.5 or even a 2. But I'll be nice and say it's a 3. 

Would I read the rest of the series/more from this author?
I think so, he has two others that sound pretty good.

This wasn't quite what I was expecting. It wasn't bad. Just meh. I felt almost nothing for this book.

“...Not many people care much about the past. We don’t get folks your age in here. It’s either the elderly, or parents come in with their hollering little devil kids. Feel more like a social worker than a librarian most days. But that’s life, ain’t it?” 
“I guess so.” 
“Sure it is. You’ll find out soon enough,” she said. “It don’t go the way you think it should, but it goes alright. I’ll be up front if you need anything.” 
― Jimmy Cajoleas, The Good Demon

Jimmy Cajoleas was born in Jackson, Mississippi. He spent years traveling the
country playing music before earning his MFA from the University of Mississippi. He lives in New York.