This is one of those humorous books that makes me giggle like a drunken maiden and I'm totally loving it. We have a teenage demon and douchebag extraordinaire, Dante Walker, who was totally self-absorbed. He thinks God himself should worship the soil he walks on. Told from his POV, he is mean, he is arrogant, he is selfish, he thinks he was the coolest kid in town. You just wanted to kidney-punch him repeatedly. At the same time, his inner thoughts were freaking hilarious. "I'm Dante freakin' Walker, the best damn collector on planet Earth." *punch*
"I'm not big into people with jumbo self-esteem. I've got enough of that on my own."
Dante is a Collector who worked for the Big Boss of Hell to seal people of their sins and collect their tainted soul. His latest assignment is Charlie Copper, the dorky girl with the heart of gold. She had frizzy hair, walks with a limp, pimple face, socially awkward and carry her backpack on both shoulders. According to Dante, that is a fashion faux pas.
I can't believe that this entire story actually took place within just ten days because a lot of life changing things happened. Dante was given ten days to complete his assignment and with Charlie being such a Saint, he had a hard time trying to corrupt her mind. We see Dante playing Devil's Advocates here, persuading Charlie to commit sinful things such as skipping class, partying, drinking booze and he make her demand to be beautiful. Charlie's bff Anabelle and Blue did help to speed things up. Peer pressure is a serious phenomenon, no kidding.
"It's a mixture of envy and detestation and makes me feel like a gangsta, like Biggie Smalls."
"They look like fallen dominoes. Or fallen soldiers. Or maybe just drunk asses."
When Dante is not having mean inner thoughts about Charlie. How he thinks she sucks and all that, he is actually quite a nice fella (ok, i need to have my brain check). Most of the time he had this polite facade with her because he wants to gain her trust. But deep down you see that Dante is just a lonely kid who needs someone to connect with him. I like seeing them do normal day to day stuff and having fun together like hanging out for breakfast, bed jumping and naming his car Elizabeth Taylor.
As Charlie slowly changes from someone so pure and innocent to someone tainted, Dante is no longer sure of what he wants anymore. He misses the old Charlie. The simple girl who likes to help people, never skip a class and loves eating Skittles. Charlie makes him realize there are selfless people who help others, real friends who will stand by you and beauty that is within ones soul. Okay, enough with the cheese, but it does reminds me of Nicholas Spark's A Walk to Remember. You know, the story about the bad boy who ended up doing social services and he met this pure like a saint girl who changes his life. In the end, she died of cancer, he became a doctor. Sob story
We had a major turn of event when a Liberator, who worked for the Big Guy in Heaven shows up for Charlie. Dante finally brings himself to face the truth that Charlie is someone special to garner such attention from the Heaven and Hell's bosses. So what's the deal with Charlie, huh?
"She stops and points upward. Apparently Big Guy has become the new Voldemort, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."
In the end, Dante had to make a choice. To save Charlie or save himself?
There is so much character development in Dante. Seeing that this is a series, I find this surprising. What does Victoria Scott plan to write about this Dante character if he already grew so much in Book 1? I guess we just have to wait and see.
"And for the first time in my life, I wonder if I can be that person - the one who cares about people outside of themselves, the one who picks the right and honorable path."