Book Details
Written by
Genre
More details

Repossessed (by A. M. Jenkins)

common sense media says

Human life through the eyes of an awestruck demon.


parents & educators say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that there is quite a lot of talk about sex, though nothing graphic, and no scenes beyond one of kissing.

Violence: A punch.
Sex: Non-graphic masturbation scene, references to erections and ejaculation, a kissing scene, the main character plots to have sex with a girl but does not succeed. A mention of prostitutes, orgasm, rape, and a discussion of penis size.
Language: "Balls," "asswipe."
Consumerism: Deodorant, cereal, soda, fast food, cookie, and snack food brands.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Not applicable.

More on Repossessed

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about the little changes Kiriel tries to make. Is it possible that such small things could make a big difference? If they are so easy and so within our power, why don't we do them more often? Can the ripple effects of small acts really change lives? Also, what do you think of the depiction of Hell and punishment presented here?

What's the story?

What's the story?
Kiriel is a fallen angel with a dead-end job in Hell. Bored and fed up, he decides to take an unauthorized vacation by taking over the body of a teenager just before he dies. He knows he will only have a few days at best before he is caught and punished, but he's determined to experience as much of human life as he can in that time. But life as a human is much more complicated than he realized.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 
Seeing normal life through the eyes of an ignorant innocent has been done before, going all the way back to David Hume. But a demon has a unique point of view -- he may not understand much of normal life, but he knows where the patterns he sees on earth will eventually lead. And being fed up with dealing with the torment of souls in Hell, he'd like to prevent a few from ending up there, if he can. So, while there is much he doesn't understand, there are some things he understands all too well, and better than ordinary humans.

This ingenious conceit allows author A. M. Jenkins to explore both the wonders of the everyday and the metaphysics of sin, retribution, and the afterlife. His concept of the latter, in which the only punishment is what souls inflict on themselves by constantly reliving their sins, is intriguing, and should provoke much thought and discussion, as it seems intended to do. In fact, what misleadingly seems like a lightweight trifle of a story has layers of ideas that would make for some great class discussions -- if only there wasn't all that talk about sex.

Book themes & details

Book Details
Author: A. M. Jenkins
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication date: May 1, 2007
Number of pages: 218
Hardcover price: $15.99
Read Aloud: 14
Read Alone: 14

This review was written by Matt Berman
 
 

Review It

 

Review Repossessed





Hang on! You need to be a member to post your review.
A safe community is important to us. Please observe our guidelines.
 

Most useful reviews by all members

HoneyBunkey
teen, 17 years old
 
Life learning things in books that MOST people don't approve of
I love the book. I was just thinking about it and am going to recheck it out later today. Personally, it is one of my favorite books along with The Catcher in The Rye. I think that parents should worry to much about what their children read. Us kids know a lot for our ages and we learn it through society. Reading books just helps our knowledge ofthe world as we grow up and discover things that maybe parents are too overprotective about. I would say buy it. I would read it every month if I truly had the time, but that is just me.

pandaluv2357
teen, 15 years old
 
Some is awesome and some is boring
In this book, part of it is interesting, like when he's learning about life, but part is boring, like when he's talking about life in hell and stuff. Overall, this book was entertaining, though.

candymagician
teen, 17 years old
 
:)
a must buy book

WikiSorcerer
teen, 17 years old
 
Go to Hell and Back for a Moderate Find
I would say that I would 'go to hell and back' for said book, but I'm not sure if that's the right word for it. There are plenty of awkward themes to it but all in all I found it a very interesting portrail of the concept of how Demons think. Ironically enough though, you could say he is one of the most innocent characters here. What disapointed me about it was that his goal didn't turn out right and that he ended the story on a very happy note. I think it deserves a sequel, for both a positive and negative reason. Slightly Above Average. 6.5 Pitchforks out of 10

brycez
teen, 16 years old
 
hilarious
funny book with hilarious dialogue

dagnytheartist
teen, 15 years old
 
Great Story
Despite the innapropriate language (it is for older kids) the book is great and goes into why people act the way they do. Kiriel is fascinated by things we take for granted every day, brushing your teeth and eating and living life. He's also a great representation of how teenagers view church and school, yet he's also nice enough to do things normal teenagers might not, such as inviting his little brother to go to his friend's house with him. You can see some character developement as well, and the book gets teens to think about their relationship with God, even if (before) they didn't have one. A+

privatemember
teen, 16 years old
 
my review
i think this book is good for teenagers but not good for kids but overall it was a great book.

Ms.JeR
teen, 15 years old
 
awesomeness!
i loved thiss book. im a teen in middle school and i had to do a book report so i randomly chose a book, i hate reading but thiss book was such a page turner i had to read it. it was fantastic!?

kenz_wilson
teen, 17 years old
 
teenagers
i dont love but on the other hand i dont hate cause like its young adult bacause off some of the stuff in it.

An independent voice for families
Age-appropriate reviews
 

vote now

Will you read Repossessed?


Already read it? What do you think?

 

Great alternatives handpicked by our editors


About our rating system
ON: Content is appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child, some content may not be right for some kids
OFF: Not age appropriate for kids this age