Soul Enchilada

January 26, 2009
Deep in El Paso, Tex., Eunice “Bug” Smoot is behind on the rent and in danger of losing her job delivering pizzas, but at least she’s got a smooth ride—a 1958 Cadillac Biarritz bequeathed by Papa C., her grandfather. Then the repo man shows up. Turns out Papa C. financed the car with his soul but disappeared upon death. Bug’s got till midnight Halloween to produce grandpa’s soul or turn over her keys—and her free will. To Bug’s aid comes hunky Pesto, a car wash manager who moonlights for ISIS, the International Supernatural Immigration Service. Gill’s debut features hilarious dialogue—Bug and Pesto don’t talk; they sling witticisms at each other. And Bug is easy to love, a tough-talking teen whose life has been riddled with loss. But some readers may tire of the grosser details of demon warfare—lots of vomiting, maggots, even vomiting of maggots—and the story goes on past several natural stopping points. Still, this updated spin on deal-making with the devil shows that Gill, president of ALAN (Assembly on Literature for Adolescents), knows what will make teens laugh. Ages 14–up.