Amazon.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
The Demon\u00a0<\/em> is a sequel to\u00a0The Girl, <\/em>a coming-of-age story grounded in Tagalog folklore and mythology, about a Filipina-American girl whose family has promised her body to a demon on her 18th birthday as part of fulfilling an ancestral pact, but will have to choose whether to fulfil it. I haven’t had the opportunity to read it, but I suspect The Demon\u00a0<\/em>makes much more sense if you’ve read\u00a0The Girl.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
The Demon\u00a0<\/em>starts with the demon, Hukloban taking over the physical body of the girl, who is nameless in the book. It isn’t an easy transition, and not only is the demon now overwhelmed with the physical sensations of her mortal body, but she has lost her memories and most of her demonic powers. Since Hukloban cannot remember anything, it’s unclear why the girl was taken over, what bargain she made, or who she is. Second-in-command to Sitan, the Master of Death, when he asks her she cannot remember why she wanted to be part of the mortal world. Thousands of years old, the demon will have to find her way in the human world, while satisfying her demonic needs and fulfilling her end of the bargain, made with Filipino hero Lapu-Lapu, to keep his bloodline prosperous. As in her previous book, it is a story about making choices, self-determination, and being human. How does a death goddess manage the body, mind, and emotions of a teenage girl?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
I found this compelling, but also confusing. Witherkeigh has written an ambitious story and is juggling a lot of balls: Hukloban’s story as a college student in the modern world, trying to reconstruct herself; her relationships with the girl’s family (there are a lot of them), where the girl’s relationships are entangled with her dulies to fulfill the bargain; the far past, when she initially met Sitan (I didn’t realize they were part of the Tagalog pantheon); the confusion of her love affairs and friendships; her frustration about the benefit Lapu-Lapu’s bloodline has taken from colonizers and dictators because of the bargain; the lack of choice available to women. There are some very adult themes and conversations about death, as well as BDSM, addiction, abortion, toxic relationships, and grooming.<\/p>\n
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While I found\u00a0The Demon\u00a0<\/em>to be an interesting book, it wasn’t an immersive one, as I had to keep stopping to look things up, and I found the ending unsatisfying. It was unusual enough that it kept me reading, but other readers may find it’s too much work. Witherkeigh is talented, though, and I know we will see more from her.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Demon\u00a0by Victory Witherkeigh BookBaby, 2024 ISBN-13 \u200f : \u200e 979-8350951110 Available: Paperback, Kindle edition Buy: \u00a0Amazon.com The Demon\u00a0 is a sequel to\u00a0The Girl, a coming-of-age story grounded in Tagalog folklore and mythology, about a Filipina-American girl whose family has promised her body to a demon on her 18th birthday as part<\/p>\n
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