My review of Prowl by Amber Garza

About the book:

Seventeen-year-old Mackenzie Smith is sent away to spend a boring summer at her grandma's. But then she meets Wesley. He tells her exactly what she wants to hear and has information about her past that no one else knows. It's almost like he can read her mind.

Only Wesley isn't who he seems.

By the time Mackenzie discovers his true identity it may be too late. She's in too deep and he won't let her go. Now Mackenzie must call on the strongest power of all in order to save her life.

My review:

This was a captivating novel and to my delight, very well-written. Even though I typically don't like supernatural stories all that much, I thought it would be fun to read a story that is young adult in tone and yet has a different perspective than is often seen in popular culture. Instead of making witchcraft and the occult look enticing and fun, this story shows how serious dabbling with the dark side can be. It also shows the only way out is though Jesus. I loved that.

When it comes to demonic activity, I usually try not to think about it because I know it's real. The way this story played out you can see the oppression in Kenzie's life. Many of the harmful things she'd done to herself were a direct result of her responding to taunts by the enemy of her soul. This was very well portrayed. The conflict was also well done and the romance was amazing. Isaac was a fabulous hero and I could see why Kenzie felt so drawn to him. I also saw how the enemy was trying to keep them apart because Isaac knew the way to freedom from spiritual oppression and the devil's goal is to prowl around and prey on unsuspecting souls. He takes human hurts and capitalizes on it.

Dabbling in the occult is never a good thing. I remember when I was  young that a lot of teens did the same thing as Kenzie and her neighbor. I also remember how dark and frightening some of those things could be when the very thing that was attempted happened. Thankfully, I moved away from those things after awhile, but like Kenzie, there was still a time that followed those events where I became a bit self-destructive. I know it was the enemy of our souls trying to destroy me, but God is greater than all of the darkness in the spiritual realm. Prowl does a fantastic job of showing you this.

Again, this was a compelling story and very well-written, plus it had some yummy romantic scenes that are very YA in nature. Isaac was such a tenderhearted hero that I adored him. I'd highly recommend this book as an alternative to popular witch-themed novels and such.

Prowl was published through Createspace and was released in January  2012.