Repossessed by A.M Jenkins

Repossessed by A.M. Jenkins is the story of a demon, tired of his job in Hell, who takes over the body of teen-ager Shaun right before Shaun was to have died in a pedestrian-automobile accident. The demon chooses an American suburban teenager body because the “body was carefree, insulated from earthly considerations like hunger; a protected place to try out physical existence. A body without responsibilities - no job or family to care for; someone who had time to experience the things I wanted to experience.”

The demon calls Satan, the Boss, and God, the Creator. Upon his initial experience of being human, the demon thinks to the Creator, “I’m sorry I didn’t understand what a bang-up job You did on this place.” I couldn’t agree more. God doesn’t get enough credit for having created what He had and if you even hold dear the belief that God created the earth and all that is in it nowadays, you must either be stupid or crazy because the origins of life have been proven without any doubt whatsoever, captured on DVD and broadcast on YouTube.

Repossessed is an intense story in every way that a story can be. It is emotionally intense, it is intense in the theology it attempts to deliver, and it is intense with the issues it chooses to explore (teen sexuality, dysfunctional families, friendships). This is a book a teenager shouldn’t read without finding an adult you trust and respect to discuss this book, process what you are reading and thinking about because of the story. If you were my kid, I would ask that you wait to read it until you are in high school, even if you are a really good reader and way smart and then I would expect you to discuss it with me. Not to change your mind about anything you may decide, but just to have a thoughtful conversation. This is heavy reading.

The demon prefers to be called a “fallen angel”. “The difference between us and the angels who didn’t fall from grace is that the Unfallen were, are, and always will be faithful, stalwart, and obedient….We, the Fallen, wondered, questioned, confronted, eventually demanded, and in general pushed the edges of the envelope till the envelope burst.” The demon has never really liked the Unfallen. I could think of a lot of biblical examples of people who have wondered, questioned, confronted and demanded from God and God not only tolerated it, but was patient and merciful with them. So, this explanation fell short for me. To make matters more interesting, I suppose, the Creator has never personally noticed the demon despite his having been Unfallen for a period of time prior to participating in the Rebellion. Ehhh…. 

The demon as Shaun goes on to explain that Hell is where people go to torture themselves for atonement over the sins they feel they’ve committed. They aren’t exactly sent there and most of the sins are “entirely natural and entirely petty”.

Shaun tells us, “My function has always been to echo souls’ regrets back at them, thus letting them feel the full burden of their shame, guilt, and sorrow. These emotions, in order to be fully experienced, also require the sufferer to know that the sins which caused them are no longer secret, but have been witnessed. By acting as echo, I become that witness.”

The sin of masturbation haunts so many of these poor tortured souls he must oversee in his job in Hell that he can’t wait long to try it out. He does. This experience leads to the intense desire to have heterosexual intercourse. 

I wanted Jenkins to answer these questions Shaun poses early in the story: “Why would an all-knowing One create a being and give it a nature –  give it desire, give it need - and then reject that being for doing what its nature called it to do? Why would He insert imperfections into His creations and then punish them for not being able to overcome those imperfections?” The Boss has irrepressible curiosity, so he tests the limits but not out of disregard for others’ feelings or the property of others. What? Satan cares about us? Just does all the bad, evil things he does because he is curious? Please. These questions are important and they deserve respectful answers. I didn’t find them in Jenkin’s story.

First of all, our nature may call us to ‘sin’ but we choose to commit the sin. Therefore, created beings can choose to do bad things. That is the real difference between the Fallen and the Unfallen. The Fallen chose to disobey God. Imperfections are what makes us beautiful and unique and come along with our good traits and talents. How many artists and writers went through life without struggling with their faults and imperfections? Would they have been great artists and writers without those problems? Doubtful.

Why would God make it so that we can choose to do bad things? Because He wants us to choose to love him. Who would want to create a being who loves you only because they have to? What kind of love is that? Like an arranged marriage that eventually involves love at best and like slavery at worst. Free will is left out of Jenkins equations and I’m not sure why. Even her main character had the choice to either follow the Boss and turn on God or not.

I did appreciate the honest and forthright way in which Jenkins writes about the high school hierarchy “looks don’t always matter as much as self-confidence.” And that the American high school is “a factory designed to get the most products through the assembly line with as little trouble as possible.” It is funny when the Angel of the Lord contacts Shaun through AIM and her handling of Shaun’s little distressed and troubled brother is exceptionally tender and respectful. I especially liked the way in which the sensations and wonders of life itself are appreciated and focused on.

Shaun tries to help the humans he meets and keep them from Hell. Despite Hell in Jenkins world being all about the sins you commit and not what you believe as in there is no way out if you commit sin. No one has paid that price for you, you are on your own theology. But I appreciate that Jenkins makes it clear that pain is a part of our existence here on Earth and the pain is worth the existence.

In the end, the demon must give over Shaun’s body back to Shaun for his final seconds and the Unfallen come to make this happen. The demon accepts and likes his position in this Universe once he realizes the Creator noticed him enough to send the Unfallen to return him to Hell. And that, in a way, sums up the transforming qualities of God’s love for us, when we open our eyes to it. Knowing He loves us and cares for us brings us joy in life even when our lives are filled with pain and sorrow.

Repossessed was published by Harper Teen in 2007 and is a Printz Honor Book.