In this fast-paced but predictable thriller, a good kid who has fallen in with a bad crowd comes to the aid of a bullied schizophrenic girl.
Weary of the pressures of being a preacher's kid, Sam falls in with a group of thuggish delinquents. When Sam witnesses Jennifer, a loner known for acting and speaking strangely, being bullied by some of his new circle, he intervenes and consequently invites their wrath. Jennifer has terrifying hallucinations involving demons, the devil and death, causing her to question why God is allowing her to be tormented with these terrible visions. Sam suspects that these visions may be the key to solving a mystery and prophecies of more terrible things to come, but it eventually becomes clear that Jennifer's visions are of the organic variety. These visions periodically punctuate Sam's first-person narration, giving readers direct access to her brain.
In the end, this is a garden-variety, formulaic mystery thriller with supernatural window dressing. (Thriller. 12 & up)
