ARC Review: Misfit

First and foremost, thank you goes out to NetGalley and Amulet Books (an imprint of ABRAMS) for the opportunity to read Misfit. This, of course, in no way influences my opinion whatsoever.

Title: Misfit
Author: Jon Skovron
Genre: YA Fantasy/Supernatural
Release Date: August 1st


Jael Thompson has never really fit in. She’s changed schools too many times to count. The only family she’s ever known is her father, a bitter ex-priest who never lets her date and insists she attend the strictest Catholic school in Seattle. And her mother—well, she was a five thousand year old demon. That doesn’t exactly help.

But on her sixteenth birthday, her father gives her a present that brings about some unexpected changes. Some of the changes, like strange and wonderful powers and the cute skater boy with a knack for science, are awesome. But others, like the homicidal demon seeking revenge on her family? Not so much.

Steeped in mythology, this is an epic tale of a heroine who balances old world with new, science with magic, and the terrifying depths of the underworld with the ordinary halls of high school. --Goodreads


With a storyline that held the promise of a halfbreed demon high school girl and ancient demons that surround her, along with an ex-priest father, I was truly salivating for this book the moment I heard about it.

Unfortunately, Misfit just fell a bit flat for me.

I really wanted to enjoy this, to devour it and hope that it would be one of my favorites, but it was nowhere near. It took me some time to not only get into the story, but to get through the entire book. And I normally read very fast. Even once I was finished, I had to sit awhile and think things through before I could write this review fully.

It wasn't terrible, though. Actually, the best parts for me were the scenes with Jael's mother and father when the chapters went back in time to cover history. I thought that's what really made Misfit.
Jael was a character I couldn't quite understand most times, often annoying, and some of the moves she made were ridiculous on her part. I did, however, like how her character traits were developed and shown through the text with ease. She was a stubborn one, that's for sure.

Oftentimes, I got a bit bored with areas of the text. Especially large chunks of religion talk that sets the background to the story. It really took me almost a hundred pages before the story picked up enough for me.

One thing I did appreciate, though, was that there were very lovely details put into it. Descriptions allowed great visuals and it's really not like most storylines. It's unusual. A Misfit for sure. :)

This was an enjoyable read nonetheless. I do recommend it if you're considering picking it up.

3 stars!