The Girl Who Heard Demons

Imagine if you could hear demons. What would they say? What secrets would they hold? They slither and hiss and writhe about their victims, like a noxious cloud of leaking riddles. Never had they shared an omen, especially of their prey’s impending doom.

Adelle Hansen is an ordinary girl who bears an extraordinary gift. She can hear demons. Though this bane has been a part of most of her life, she suddenly pays particular attention when she overhears one celebrating the imminent demise of popular quarterback, Levi Anderson.

As I opened the book, I knew it would be a good one. I did wonder how Janette would execute a girl hearing demons, though. I imagined something along your paranormal romance, you know: demons and witches and vampires, oh my!

Was I wrong on that count.

She weaves a fascinating and intricate plot of intrigue, lies, and betrayal that Adelle must unravel—a race against unbelievers to save Levi’s life when it seems everything works against her.

I am impressed with how Janette spins the story. The pacing is steady; nary a dull moment as there is a surprise at every corner. The characterization is candid and impressive, the romance, swoon-worthy at best.

As cheesy as this sounds, I have a special bookshelf in my heart for Janette Rallison novels.

*I received an ARC copy from Kindle Scout for an unaffected and honest review

A chance to review a book by Janette Rallison. Yay! I love, LOVE, LOVE her books. The story, the humor, the laughing. Yay me. So I finish the day's chores, hunker down in bed, turn on my Kindle and pull up The Girl Who Heard Demons. Demons and Janette don't seem to belong in the same sentence so it would be fine to read it at night. Right?

The demons came again during the night. I was sleeping alone in my aunt's house, and their swishing whispers woke me.

I turned off my Kindle and vowed I would try again when it was light outside. There was no way I was going to read a scary, creepy book right before trying to go to sleep. On a school night. In a dark room. Alone.

I did look at the back liner again though, just to make sure:

Shy Adelle Hansen hears demons, but she’s determined to make friends at her new high school by keeping her ability secret.

When she overhears supernatural voices celebrating the impending death of the school quarterback, Levi Anderson, she knows she has to do something to prevent it. However, the demons aren’t the ones plotting; they’re just celebrating the chaos, and Adelle must contend with earthly forces as well if she wants to preserve Levi’s life.

Handsome, popular Levi doesn't appreciate Adelle’s self-appointed role of guardian angel. As Adelle battles to keep him safe, she’ll have to protect her heart, too. Can she do both?

A couple of days later I tried again. And was so very happy I did. Janette does not disappoint and she definitely delivers an A+ story. Her demons are just scary enough to be creepy and scary, but not so ever present as to be overwhelming. And I could have continued reading that first night. Her bad guys are really bad news and the hero should be awarded a white horse because he truly is valiant even if he doesn't know it yet.

Adelle just wants to be normal, liked, accepted and not judged but that is really hard when people can't understand why you want to help them. But she turns out to be a pretty good person anyway. And Levi needs help, even if his friends are jerks, maybe especially since his friends are jerks. But they are teenagers, so maybe they aren't jerks but just unguided teenagers.

I work in a high school and the dialogue, the setting, the cliques all rang true. I often read YA lit and am turned off by how grown up, mature and reasonable the teens sound in their conversation. The students outside or inside my office never sound like that. Janette channeled the conversations, thought process, angst, everything perfectly.

When I started reading I couldn't put it down. In fact, I had to rush around to finish getting ready for work and Brandi even finished getting ready before me because I kept reading "just one more page". And then the night I finished it Brandi had on a series we had been watching, a cooking show, and I didn't even watch because I just HAD to finish.

Character development gets an A as well. Levi grew the most in the story and it was fun to watch him grow and go through the doubts and acceptance and disbelief and the pain of growing into the person he is at the end of the book. A much better version of himself.

Adelle did her own growing and learning and accepting. Janette has an amazing ability to let her characters grow at a natural pace and she doesn't force anything, she is ok with her characters being imperfect versions of people and then learning how to be a better, imperfect version. There is no forced learning or going from being imperfect to perfect in 3 pages. Nope, her characters grow, and learn and have growing pains and I love it.

Oh, and did I mention the laughing out loud? I did a lot of that. Because Janette has a way of twisting words to find the humor in almost every situation. I don't want to ruin it for you because it is such a laugh out loud moment, and it has to do with beached whales and I am still chuckling over it weeks later. I think that was my favorite moment of the entire book. My favorite among favorites.

The Girl Who Heard Demons by Janette Rallison was an the store Kindle Scout winner. Get it. Read it Love it.

I was hesitant to read this book, because I always avoid anything with evil spirits, or mentions of the devil, but I haves loved everything written by Janette Rallison, so I gave the book a try. I'm so glad I did! It's about a girl who drowned at age 12 while saving her brother. She is given a second chance at life with the gift of being able to sense and hear demons. Her gift often feels like a curse, but she uses it to help people and fulfill her greater purpose in God's divine plan. I have thoroughly enjoyed all of Rallison's books, and this one is definitely included in that!

Loved this one. Read it quickly. Laughed out loud a few times. Swooned a couple of times. Smiled ridiculously through a lot of it. Had my heart in my throat for some parts, racing in others. Choked up a little bit at one point. Ended the book with a wistful, satisfied sigh and the terrible wish that it wasn't over yet. The book's ended was great, don't get me wrong. I just wanted to spend more time with the characters.

Wow! This book was SO good and thought provoking! I would hope that teenagers would read it and think very seriously about allowing bad influences in your life. Totally creative and enjoyable to read!

This was a beautiful book to read. Everything about it was interesting and really kept me amazed. There were no horrible cliffhangers and I will most definitely be reading more of this author's books.

I really enjoyed the concept behind this story! Especially the idea that demons can drive our bodies around like minivans when we get drunk or high. Janette Rallison is a wonderful writer, and I love that she keeps expanding into new genres with excellent results. 4.5 stars

I just finished this book! It is definitely one of my favorite books I have read! I was so emotional and I was crying at the end! That really doesn't happen very often! Jannette Rallison is and will always be one of my favorite authors!

I found the characters in this story was very well built. Levi was a believable character from the beginning to the end because of the way he viewed Adelle as a skeptic. Adelle trust issues with Levi because of her past. But over all this was a very well put together book.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The book is clean and I would recommend it. I love upliving books. If the title is scaring you don’t let it. Read it you will love the girl in it and will want to root for her.