Possession by Elana Johnson

Tittle: Possession

Author: Elana Johnson

Publication Date: 6/7/2011

Ages: 14 up 

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Synopsis:

Vi knows the Rule: Girls don't walk with boys, and they never even thinkabout kissing them. But no one makes Vi want to break the Rules more than Zenn...and since the Thinkers have chosen him as Vi's future match, how much trouble can one kiss cause? The Thinkers may have brainwashed the rest of the population, but Vi is determined to think for herself.

But the Thinkers are unusually persuasive, and they're set on convincing Vi to become one of them...starting by brainwashing Zenn. Vi can't leave Zenn in the Thinkers' hands, but she's wary of joining the rebellion, especially since that means teaming up with Jag. Jag is egotistical, charismatic, and dangerous--everything Zenn's not. Vi can't quite trust Jag and can't quite resist him, but she also can't give up on Zenn.

This is a game of control or be controlled. And Vi has no choice but to play.

My Review:

Ok, so the first thing I noticed about the book was the cover. It’s a great cover. I loved it so much that I just had to read it even though it was a dystopian novel. Because who isn't attracted to the line Control or be controlled? Uh? I wasn't able to resist. The blue butterfly is trapped in that ice cube that by the way looks fragmented or about to break and that's exactly the whole point. For the butterfly to be free. Awesome, right?

Anyways, I don’t usually read dystopian novels because… well, they don’t really appeal to me. Some do. Some don’t. But this was one was just awesome! (Control or be controlled!!!) 

At first Violet knows who she loves and wants to be with no matter what. Zenn has always been her best friend and now her match so she sneaks out at night to meet with him. She’s even kissed him, something that’s prohibited at the age of eight when touching someone else is wrong. Except that she gets caught by a hovercopter and is sent to jail where she meets Jag, a guy with wicked cool hair and also a Baddie. Violet is placed in a cell with him and as the days go by she starts to actually like and kind of trust the guy. But then she’s tagged (Some sort of tracking device inserted in her wrist) and has to get out of there with Jag before he’s tagged too. That’s when the adventure begins.

It was pretty fast-paced so it didn’t give me much time to put it down. At the end of each chapter I couldn’t wait to read the next. (I even got mad when I had to leave it for a moment). Violet and Jag go in a mission to escape the Thinkers and all that but she’s been tagged and any Mech (A robot) can sense her. But the whole time she was struggling with the fact that she was with a Baddie. Because she’s a Goodie, right?

Goodies and Baddies are somewhat not right. Or, perhaps they are just with a different meaning to us. Because the Baddies live in the Badlands and are rebels who resist to the Thinker’s mind games. They represent our society as of now and they can do pretty much anything they want without restrictions. They are free to do what they want. Because they are Baddies. They don’t follow rules or listen to the transmissions. They actually have a life and personality. Something that the Goodies lack with their brainwashed minds. In this case, or rather my opinion, it would be better to be a Baddie. I would much rather be myself than some sort of half-alive robot. That’s exactly what Jag thinks. 

Duty or Death? 

 Let’s talk about Violet (Vi) shall we? She’s such a strong and rebellious character that I just had to know more about her. Since the first page it is clear that she doesn’t follow rules at all. She knows it’s wrong and all but she just can’t follow them because she doesn’t believe in them. She hates Greenies, or Thinkers, because they control everyone’s every move and thought with the transmissions that the Goodies are supposed to listen every day for eight hours. Except that she’s stopped listening to them. I loved her! Mostly because in most of the Dystopian novels we have the protagonist be a goodie-two-shoes (Goodie, get it? Hehe.) and even though she changes throughout the novel she sometimes isn’t strong enough. That wasn’t a problem here. Violet was strong, alright.

Now, Zenn or Jag? Hmm. I was leaning towards one at first because I just felt for him. But then I realized I was wrong and liked the other one better. I know I need to make up my mind but hey, Violet needed to do that too so it’s not a problem.  What I found kind of funny is that Zenn’s name resembles the word Sin and in the book he’s a Goodie in the Force (kind of like a cop). Maybe it’s just me but it seemed to me that way.

Jag. Oh, my sweet, sweet and wicked-haired Jag. (Everyone in the badlands seems to have wicked hair, you know.) At first I thought he was a jerk, then I realized he was awesome. Mrs. Johnson did a great job writing so the reader was feeling and seeing exactly what Violet was going through, which is why I so loved the book.

I don’t know why but Zenn kind of reminded me of a character from another book I read: Dimitri Belikov. (Swoon). Oh, yeah. He was serious and loving and… (swoon). He loved Violet a lot. Let’s just say that because I don’t want to give anything away. He’s her match and has always been there for her. God, I love and hate love triangles because I can never make up my mind! But don’t we all?

The plotline was very good, too. Everything came to place and made sense at the end. Mrs. Johnson made a very good job at making everything have a reason why and click into place.

But. Yeah, there had to be a but. I had a problem with the fact that when it switched point of view it didn’t say who. You figure it out quickly but I was sometimes a bit confused. It also changed scenery pretty fast and it left me confused as to how she got there.

But there was wicked tech. Stuff that would help a lot now days like the Tech-cube that produced food, some sort of teletransportation and other cool stuff.

In conclusion, Good is bad and Bad is good. Or at least being a Baddie gives you freedom. Though Baddies are us right now... hmm, look at where we are. You have to read the book to know what I'm talking about and it'll make you think about a lot of things.

Just remember, this captivating book will keep you awake at night, dying to know what will happen next and thinking about Thinkers.

Favorite line: 

“I love you, Vi. Don’t forget about me.” & “Remember me, Vi. I’m on your side.”

Rating: 4.5