The Exorsistah

Claudia Mair Burney

Dec 2009 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

If you think the streets are mean, meet Emme Vaughn, demon-huntress.

She just wants a home, a hottie, and some kickin’ boots. Does she really have to fight the devil to get them?

After the creep who’s married to her friend Kiki tries to assault her, Emme Vaughn finds herself in an all-night Walgreens at 3 a.m. with a quarter in her pocket and a rumble in her stomach. She sure does wish she’d gotten to eat her french fries before she had to kick and run. But God has his plan, and apparently tonight he means for her to whip some serious demon butt.

Ever since her mom went crazy, Emme’s been wary of the gift they share for seeing demons, but she’s not about to let one get to her. So when an ugly beast lurks into Walgreens behind a dude who’s clearly up to no good, Emme tells it exactly where it can go. Problem is, the beautiful guy beside her at the magazine rack just helped her conquer the nasty duo, and now he wants her to join a group of demon-fighters led by an aging exorcist bombarded by requests to deliver people from evil. Shoot, and all she really hoped for was some breakfast.

Ratings and reviews

Quick true story: when a kid I work with began about a year and a half ago, I realized that I could only understand about 2 or 3 words out of every 6 or 7 he said. Finally, I had to ask another co-worker: "what the heck is this kid saying?" This was my first introduction to Ebonics. The definition of Ebonics is "African American Vernacular English," and if you've never heard of it, don't worry - as soon as you start reading THE EXORSISTAH, you'll know exactly what it is. I give the book 5 Stars, regardless, because even with the Ebonics it's a great read, and once you pick up the flow of the writing style and the way the characters speak, you'll quickly begin to go with the flow and enjoy the story. Emme Vaughn is only a month away from her 18th birthday. She's just fled the best foster home she's ever known (her mother is gone, shut away in the nut house), and she's wasting time in a Walgreens in the middle of the night. Enter the finest brother she's ever seen, quickly followed by a dude up to no good, who happens to also be accompanied by a demon. Yes, Emme can see demons, whether she wants to or not. She's always dealt with it the best she can, using her faith in God to get rid of them when she needs to. But now, the fine brother turns out to be a priest-in-training who wants her to join his cause - that of doing the "work" of exorcism. THE EXORSISTAH is a great, fast, fun read. Emme is a great character, as are all of the secondary characters. Everyone is well-defined, the dialogue is perfectly believable (Ebonics included), and I just loved everyone in the story. I can't wait for a sequel, which the ending just calls for. I really recommend this one to everyone - it would be perfectly suitable to teens as well as adults. This one's a winner!

About the author

Claudia Mair Burney is the author of the Amanda Bell Brown Mystery series. The first in the series, Murder, Mayhem, and a Fine Man was released in 2006. She lives in Ann Arbor with her husband, five of their seven children, and a hamster.