See more of my reviews on The YA Kitten! My copy was an eARC I got as a reviewer for YA Books Central.
I was guaranteed to love The Obsession. The premise is the kind of lovely twisted thing I’ve spent years asking for, so short of something like bigotry, ugly prose, or the book ending with Delilah forgiving Logan and moving forward with him as her forever guy, of course this would be a hit for me. When I was a teenager, I even started writing a surrealist YA novel to the same effect. There’s no way what I wrote then could compare to this book. The Obsession is just so, so good.
There’s an often cited statistic that 40% of police officer families experience domestic abuse, but the numbers vary and that statistic comes from two studies done in the early 90s. Even so, it’s generally understood cops are more likely to abuse their partners and children than someone from the general populace. Our heroine Delilah Wong lives under the thumb of her mom’s boyfriend Brandon, an abusive cop who has taken control of her mom’s finances and done unspeakable things. It’s not a surprise that she snaps one day and kicks the jack out from under the car he was working on. It should be easy enough to play off a man crushed under a car as an accident.
Except a boy named Logan started stalking her a short time before and has video proving the death was no accident. He’s obsessed with her after deciding half-Singaporean Delilah’s resemblance to his deceased, Japanese American crush Sophie is a sign from fate that Delilah is meant to be his. (I guess they all look alike to someone like him.) If she won’t be with him of her own free will, he’ll just take that video to the cops. Anything is worth it to keep Delilah with him.
But Delilah is never going to be under any entitled guy’s thumb ever again–and that’s where the twisted goodness starts.
The Obsession really nails its tagline: boy meets girl, boy stalks girl, girl gets revenge. It alternates between Logan’s and Delilah’s unique perspectives, which amps up the tension of a novel that will already have you tensed up like you’re in the dentist’s chair getting a filling.
The only issue I have with The Obsession is Delilah’s attempt to armchair diagnose Logan via Google. Self-diagnosing with the Internet’s help generally isn’t that bad. I’ve done it myself a few times and been both right (my autism diagnosis) and wrong (thought I had eczema on my arms, turns out it’s tinea versicolor). You just don’t try to diagnose other people. Leave that to actual medical professionals like psychiatrists.
The attempt to pin Logan’s behavior on a mental illness doesn’t sit right with me either. Some people are perfectly awful without being mentally ill. See: Brandon.
The ending is everything I wanted from this novel and then some. Then I realized Sutanto wrote a second novel set at the same school, The New Girl. Though it doesn’t star a stalker and his vicious prey, I think I need that book now. Plus the jacket copy mentions the new main character sees a girl arrested on her first day and I really need to know if that girl is Delilah. I hope not.
Tired of romanticized stalking and ready for an anti-heroine? Pick up The Obsession and enjoy.
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Reviews with images
It's a YA thriller with just the right dose of suspense, excitement, and comedic relief...
Boy meets girl. Boy stalks girl. Girl seeks revenge. Logan used to be obsessed with Sophie until she unexpectedly passed away. Heartbroken and lost, Logan spots Delilah at school, an easy doppelganger for Sophie's replacement. With one goal in mind, Logan's obsession reignites for Delilah's love. Little does Logan know that Delilah isn't an ordinary prey. Logan was a handsome, athletic teenager who wasn't aware of his disturbing behavior. As much as I wanted him to creep me out, I ended up feeling sorry for him. I wish I knew more about Logan's backstory, but I understood that the story mainly focused on stalking Delilah and morphing himself into her liking. It's troubling yet endearing in a peculiar way. Delilah, or Dee as most called her, was a complex character who didn't fit her innocent persona. I surprisingly enjoyed Dee's suppressed darkness, and I appreciated her tenacity during challenging situations.Thanks to the easy flow of the story, I read THE OBSESSION in two sittings. It's an entertaining and fast-paced plot that can cure a reading slump. What I loved most is that every character had some form of likability, even cringe-worthy Logan. It's a YA thriller with just the right dose of suspense, excitement, and comedic relief. Even though the conclusion was a bit rushed and the narrative was moderately light, the underlying message on mental illness and how it festered when left untreated was genuinely profound.Jesse Q. Sutanto's writing was superb and utterly addictive. As a debut author, Jesse has a bright future, and I am very much looking forward to reading her upcoming works.
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2022
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2021
Logan was a handsome, athletic teenager who wasn't aware of his disturbing behavior. As much as I wanted him to creep me out, I ended up feeling sorry for him. I wish I knew more about Logan's backstory, but I understood that the story mainly focused on stalking Delilah and morphing himself into her liking. It's troubling yet endearing in a peculiar way. Delilah, or Dee as most called her, was a complex character who didn't fit her innocent persona. I surprisingly enjoyed Dee's suppressed darkness, and I appreciated her tenacity during challenging situations.
Thanks to the easy flow of the story, I read THE OBSESSION in two sittings. It's an entertaining and fast-paced plot that can cure a reading slump. What I loved most is that every character had some form of likability, even cringe-worthy Logan. It's a YA thriller with just the right dose of suspense, excitement, and comedic relief. Even though the conclusion was a bit rushed and the narrative was moderately light, the underlying message on mental illness and how it festered when left untreated was genuinely profound.
Jesse Q. Sutanto's writing was superb and utterly addictive. As a debut author, Jesse has a bright future, and I am very much looking forward to reading her upcoming works.
It's a YA thriller with just the right dose of suspense, excitement, and comedic relief...
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2021
Boy meets girl. Boy stalks girl. Girl seeks revenge. Logan used to be obsessed with Sophie until she unexpectedly passed away. Heartbroken and lost, Logan spots Delilah at school, an easy doppelganger for Sophie's replacement. With one goal in mind, Logan's obsession reignites for Delilah's love. Little does Logan know that Delilah isn't an ordinary prey. Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2021
Logan was a handsome, athletic teenager who wasn't aware of his disturbing behavior. As much as I wanted him to creep me out, I ended up feeling sorry for him. I wish I knew more about Logan's backstory, but I understood that the story mainly focused on stalking Delilah and morphing himself into her liking. It's troubling yet endearing in a peculiar way. Delilah, or Dee as most called her, was a complex character who didn't fit her innocent persona. I surprisingly enjoyed Dee's suppressed darkness, and I appreciated her tenacity during challenging situations.
Thanks to the easy flow of the story, I read THE OBSESSION in two sittings. It's an entertaining and fast-paced plot that can cure a reading slump. What I loved most is that every character had some form of likability, even cringe-worthy Logan. It's a YA thriller with just the right dose of suspense, excitement, and comedic relief. Even though the conclusion was a bit rushed and the narrative was moderately light, the underlying message on mental illness and how it festered when left untreated was genuinely profound.
Jesse Q. Sutanto's writing was superb and utterly addictive. As a debut author, Jesse has a bright future, and I am very much looking forward to reading her upcoming works.
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2022
Top reviews from other countries
Lulu
Jaw dropper
Reviewed in Spain on December 17, 2023
Lulu
Reviewed in Spain on December 17, 2023
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Khushi
Just obsessed
Reviewed in India on January 22, 2023
Khushi
Reviewed in India on January 22, 2023
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