Devilish
Grade 8-11–Tiny senior-class genius/spitfire Jane Jarvis is seriously out of place in St. Teresa's Preparatory School for Girls in Providence, RI. Although she considers herself to be above the school's traditions, she wants to help her clueless best friend, Ally, obtain a good freshman sister at the annual Big-Little ceremony. Alas, when Ally forcefully vomits in front of the entire student body, she needs more than Jane's help. After a brief period of avoiding her schoolmates, all of a sudden she's cool, gorgeously attired, confident, and sophisticated. Well, everyone knows that high school is hell, so it makes semi-sense that demons abound, and Ally has sold her soul to one. Jane is determined to save her. Odd things start happening, from giant hailstorms to self-igniting textbooks, and Jane sadly bids farewell to her family and throws herself into mortal–and immortal–danger. Just when all seems lost, a believable plot twist ties the ends together. Well-developed characters are Johnson's forte, and readers will delight in meeting the heroine's friends and, especially, her family. The scenes in the Catholic high school are hilarious without making a mockery of religion (for example, Sister Rose Marie gives Jane a demerit for lack of caution in adverse conditions for rushing through the lobby when the power goes out). Buy multiple copies for your Johnson fans or you'll end up with a long reserve list.–Susan Riley, Mount Kisco Public Library, NYCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.