Reviews for When life gives you demons
School Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Gr 8 Up-It isn't easy being a teen exorcist-in-training. For one thing, you have to keep your identity a secret; not even Shelby's best friend knows about her training. She definitely does not want her crush/geometry tutor, Spencer, learning about that part of her life, but it's hard to keep it under wraps when demon-possessed people can show up when you least expect them. Shelby, however, is not the only one keeping secrets. Uncle Roy has not been honest about where Shelby's mother went when she left suddenly several months back, and Spencer may know more about the demon world than Shelby thinks. Readers looking for a paranormal story that doesn't take itself too seriously may get caught up in Shelby's concerns, which range from real-world (obsessing about Spencer, worrying about Uncle Roy's health, trying not to fail geometry) to demon-world (memorizing the proper pronunciation of Latin incantations and finding out what happened to her mother). Despite the dark topic, the tone is light and Shelby's first-person narration is comical. VERDICT A rapid-paced read with plenty of action that may appeal to fans of paranormal fiction.-Mindy Rhiger, Hennepin County Library, MN © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
Shelby Black does not particularly want to be an exorcist, but her great-uncle Roy, who's the traditional kind (a Catholic priest during the day), insists that she has a calling. Despite this, he doesn't seem to trust her at all he won't even let her handle an exorcism solo! so Shelby spends far too much of her free time training with him instead of doing normal things, like homework or hanging out with Spencer, the new guy she's crushing on. Shelby's mom left months ago, allegedly to teach at an exorcism school in Rome, but Shelby's worried it's because they had a massive fight, and it's hard having a secret demon-hunter identity and an incommunicado mom. But a powerful demon is changing the rules of the game, and it's getting hard for Shelby to keep the different parts of her life her mom, her demon hunting, and Spencer separate. Notwithstanding an abrupt ending, this is a quick, enjoyable romance with an entertaining side portion of monster. Readers who like their high-school drama with apocalyptic stakes will eat this up.--Reagan, Maggie Copyright 2010 Booklist
Horn Book
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Shelby can totally perform an exorcism on her own, or she could if her Catholic-priest guardian, Uncle Roy, would let her. Whatever, Shelby's got other things to occupy her thoughts, like her just-up-and-left absentee mom and a super-cute study buddy. With her "bejeweled spray bottle of holy water" in tow, Shelby offers one demonically funny moment after another in this indulgent beach-read for Buffy fans. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
