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JoAnne Keltner is a novelist and freelance editor. She has published YA titles Obsession (Musa Publishing, 2013 ed.), Goth Girl Virgin Queen (Solstice Publishing, 2015), and Possessed (2019, a rework of Goth Girl Virgin Queen and part of the Pagan Light series). She currently lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she enjoys gardening, tending to her chickens, and spending time with family. Every evening you will find her obsessively streaming popular series.
Reviewed by K.J. Simmill for Readers' Favorite
Jackie was born with a gift, but to a twelve-year-old, it had seemed more like a curse. When her talent manifested itself in the form of a vision in the church, it began a string of unforgettable events and a lie she struggled to live with. Five years on, she finds herself a magnet for people's emotions, their touch ails her, and images and emotions flood her mind. When a solar flare upsets the delicate balance, things in town begin to go haywire. Dangers stir and violence escalates. Jackie has the power to help, but to do so she must accept her gift, accept the part of herself she has been denying. She is about to be plunged into a world she had never imagined existed, one she had denied for so long. Does she have the strength to embrace a part of herself she fears for the sake of those she holds dear?
Possessed is the first book in JoAnne Keltner's Pagan Light series. Written from an engaging third-person perspective, this book was everything it needed to be; dark, hopeful, mysterious, and intense. Jackie battles with the person she believes she needs to be and the person she wants to be. After the events at the church, she turned away from religion, and yet the teachings were ingrained in her core, making her unable to accept the part of herself that defied the church. I enjoyed watching her growth and the alterations of relationships within her small social circle. Emotions run high in teenagers at the best of time, and recent events only worsen this, causing one friend to seek revenge and another to seek solace. Self-discovery, evolving relationships, acceptance, and sinister happenings combine to create a gripping plot, vivid characters, and an enjoyable journey. I am certainly interested to see where book two may take us.
