The Obsession

by Jesse Sutanto

A fast-paced teen revenge-thriller from the author of Dial A for Aunties, The Obsession will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very end.

Boy Meets Girl. Boy Stalks Girl. Girl Gets Revenge.

Logan thinks he and Delilah are meant to be.

Delilah doesn't know who Logan is.

Logan believes no one knows Delilah like him. He makes sure of it by learning everything he can by watching her through a hidden camera. Some might call him a stalker. Logan prefers to be called "romantic".

Delilah is keeping secrets though, deadly ones. There's so much more to her than meets the eye.

Logan is determined to make Delilah the heroine in his twisted fantasy and he'll do anything to get what he wants.

Delilah is done with the men in her life controlling her. If Logan won't let her go...she'll make him.

"Sutanto has crafted a page-turning work of suspense that questions the line between romantic 'research' and stalking in the age of the internet, analyzing the roles played by abuse, misogyny, racism, and violence in contemporary relationships."-Booklist

"Set against a Northern California private school backdrop, the sensational plot is riddled with twists that come at a furious pace...A suspenseful page-turner."-Kirkus Reviews

"This tense, quick-moving thriller is also a thought-provoking story about the different shapes of abuse. Fans of high-drama fiction with a dark edge, like Karen McManus's One of Us Is Lying or Gretchen McNeil's #murdertrending, will be hooked."-School Library Journal

• ISBN10: 1728215161
• ISBN13: 9781728215167
• Publish Date: 2 March 2021
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Sourcebooks Fire
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

Proceed With Caution:

This book contains stalking, blackmail, emotional manipulation, talk of suicide, domestic abuse, murder, and drug use.

The Basics:

The Obsession is narrated by Logan, a disturbed young man, and Delilah, the new object of his affection. Logan has a history of stalking and obsession with girls, but she killed herself under mysterious circumstances. Now Logan has his eyes on new girl, Delilah, who happens to look just like Sophie. And she clearly needs his protection, whether she wants it or not.

My Thoughts:

The Obsession is one of those books that I knew I had to read immediately. I am obsessed (pardon the pun) with stalkers and if-I-cant-have-you-no-one-can type stories. Logan is a straight up creep and highly disturbed and I could not put this down! We meet him in therapy where he's saying the exact right things, but his inner thoughts? My goodness. This boy needs real help. Seriously. Then he lays eyes on Delilah and that is it. He's off on another round of unhealthy behavior in the name of love.

Things really get going when Logan is reviewing his hidden camera footage and sees Delilah accidentally on purpose killing her mother's boyfriend which had been declared a freak accident. He uses it as a way to weasel into her life as her boyfriend. He says it's not blackmail. Just proof of his feelings! He loves her despite her being a murderer! It's true love! He'll protect her forever! OMG...just no. Obviously Delilah is highly freaked out by this situation. She doesn't want to go to prison for murdering her abuser, but she also does not want to date another abuser. But she has a plan! Kind of!

I seriously could not stop reading The Obsession. I had to know the lengths that both of these characters would go to. Logan just wants Delilah to himself forever and ever and ever. Delilah wants to get the heck away from Logan forever and ever and ever, while staying out of jail. She also has another secret, which her stalker never found out, but she's gotta handled that too. I had to know!

The only thing that kept me from giving The Obsession a full five stars was the Sophie situation. I'm still confused about that. I get that Logan was "in love" with her, but she was just using him....for? Something. I don't know. Then she killed herself? But something is missing. I don't know. And she looked identical to Delilah which was brought up a few times, so I was expecting something to come of that. But nothing. Either way, The Obsession was most excellent.