Possession (trilogy)
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''Possession'' is a
young adult A young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of ...
dystopian novel Utopian and dystopian fiction are genres of speculative fiction that explore social and political structures. Utopian fiction portrays a setting that agrees with the author's ethos, having various attributes of another reality intended to appeal to ...
trilogy written by
Elana Johnson Elana Johnson is an American author and also writes under the names of ''Liz Isaacson'' and ''Jessie Newton''. Her works of young adult fiction and romance have appeared on USA Today's bestseller list three times. Johnson is a Utah-based write ...
and published by
Simon Pulse Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...
. The first book in the series, ''Possession'', was published on 7 June 2011, and was followed by ''Surrender'' (5 June 2012) and ''Abandon'' (4 June 2013). The series follows Vi, a rebellious teen girl who is unwilling to follow the rules set out by the oppressive 'Thinkers' yet unable to leave her prospective mate Zenn behind. After the release of ''Possession'' Johnson issued a 20-page short story entitled ''Resist'', which serves as a prequel to the series.


Reception


Possession


Surrender

School Library Journal said that Surrender "can stand on its own though the sometimes convoluted plot and references to characters introduced in the first book can be confusing to those unfamiliar with it," and compared it to the Hunger Games and Uglies.


Synopsis


Possession

Vi is a beautiful and rebellious young teen living in a world where people are separated into "Goodies", people who live in the Goodlands and give up their free will in exchange for safety, and "Baddies", those who are willing to live in pollution and danger but retain control over their will and thoughts. While Vi mostly abides by the rules, she will occasionally break a few of them- especially when she is around her approved mate Zenn. Girls are not allowed to mingle freely with boys, but Vi decides that she will take the opportunity to walk alone with Zenn and possibly even kiss him, as she figures that since he is her future mate that the rules will not matter as much in the long run. This ends up being far from the case and she attracts the attention of the oppressive "Thinkers", who control everything that the Goodies do. They place her in prison, where she meets Jag, an equally rebellious teen boy that Vi finds herself falling for. The two of them manage to break out of the prison with the intention of joining the Baddies' rebellion, but Vi is unwilling to leave Zenn alone with the Thinkers and is willing to fight against them in order to keep him safe.


Surrender

''Surrender'' is told from the viewpoint of the "Baddie" Raine, the daughter of the Director of Freedom. She is roomed with Vi, who has managed to escape the oppressive rule of the Thinkers, in accordance with a request by her father. As Vi was extensively brainwashed, Raine's father cannot trust Vi completely and he wants his daughter to monitor Vi's activity and report everything back to him. He is especially curious about Vi's potential special abilities. However, as Raine watches Vi, she also begins to fall in love with Gunner, who has had a crush on Raine for a long time.


Abandon

In ''Abandon'' everything comes to a head: Vi finally makes a choice between Jag and Zenn, which could prove to have far reaching repercussions. At the same time, the group must find a way to defeat the Thinkers once and for all, something that is made more difficult by the fact that the resistance has a traitor in their midst.


Characters


Violet/Vi

Vi is a rebellious teen living with her mother after her father vanished, soon followed by her sister. After being imprisoned for touching her fiance, she meets Jag Barque, the leader of a large band of rebels. She joins the rebels, using her latent Thinker-like abilities to turn the tides against the Thinkers for good. She is captured and brainwashed, but ultimately has this undone with the help of Raine Hightower and the rebels.


Jag Barque

Jag is the leader of a rebellion against the Thinker government. He has the ability to force anyone to do what he says. By the end of the series he gets into a relationship with Vi. Despite his young age, he leads the rebellion.


Zenn Bower

Zenn is the former fiance of Vi, and a member of the society's government. He struggles with questions of where his loyalty lies; he is aligned with the rebellion, but Vi's father, a high-ranking Thinker, makes him question this. He ultimately falls in love with another rebel named Indy, and he dies at the end of Abandon. A Thinker, Zenn has the ability to control the wind.


Raine Hightower

The daughter of the ruler of a city, Raine is responsible for leading a group of elite teen Thinkers. She is in love with Gunner, a pilot, and her best friend is Cannon. Raine helps Vi, her brainwashed roommate who she is to spy on, escape. She is brainwashed into thinking she is 'Arena Locke', before the rebellion helps undo the brainwashing.


Books

# ''Possession'' (2011) # ''Surrender'' (2012) # ''Abandon'' (2013)


Short stories

*''Resist'' (2011, released as 0.5 of the series) *''Insider Information'' (2011, released as 0.5 of the series) *''Regret'' (2012, released as 1.5 of the series)


References

{{Reflist, 2 2011 American novels American post-apocalyptic novels American science fiction novels American young adult novels Children's science fiction novels Simon & Schuster books