Surrender: A Possession Novel

by Elana Johnson

The thrilling and seductive sequel to Possession puts love on the line in a dystopian struggle for independent thought.

Raine has always been a good girl. She lives by the rules in Freedom. After all, they are her father’s rules: He’s the Director. It’s because of him that Raine is willing to use her talent—a power so dangerous, no one else is allowed to know about it. Not even her roommate, Vi.

All of that changes when Raine falls for Gunner. Raine’s got every reason in the world to stay away from Gunn, but she just can’t. Especially when she discovers his connection to Vi’s boyfriend, Zenn.

Raine has never known anyone as heavily brainwashed as Vi. Raine’s father expects her to spy on Vi and report back to him. But Raine is beginning to wonder what Vi knows that her father is so anxious to keep hidden, and what might happen if she helps Vi remember it. She’s even starting to suspect Vi’s secrets might involve Freedom’s newest prisoner, the rebel Jag Barque…

• ISBN10: 144244570X
• ISBN13: 9781442445703
• Publish Date: 5 June 2012
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Format: eBook (EPUB)
• Pages: 480
• Language: English

Reviews

"Every person has a season for knowledge."

  
Surrender isn't as confusing as Possession, so I enjoyed it more.

Surrender reads like a companion novel rather than a sequel. The main characters are Raine and Gunner and the story is told from their PoVs. There are aspects of their background, personality and abilities that are interesting and I prefer them as main characters (instead of Vi and Jag), but I feel indifferent towards Raine and Gunner. 

The relationship between Raine and Gunner is a little instalovey and mediocre and the romance between Violet and Jag is such a mess. I can't get behind the romances in this series.

While I couldn't relate to the characters, the worldbuilding is much better and I still find the concepts interesting. 

I'm still a little confused about what the heck is happening, but in Surrender I could follow the plot and understand where it was going, something that I had trouble with when reading Possession. The characters have clear reasons for their actions, the world and its system of control is explained, we get to see more abilities and the tech is easier to visualise. 

I also enjoyed the plot progression. Things are still a little all over the place, but there are interesting plot twists, characters with ulterior motives, resisting control, power struggles and fighting for choice and freedom. 

This sequel is a major improvement and I'm hoping that the finale continues on this upward trajectory.