The Demons Among Us

(book review)

It’s always exciting to review one of our own authors! Storytellersquad’s very own Jill Willis’s debut novel, The Demons Among Us, not only won American Christian Fiction Writer’s Genesis award, but it was quickly swooped up by a publisher and dropped just in time for spook season in October. This review is slightly late, but still on time as a Christmas gift for that young reader with a penchant for reading supernatural thrillers. 

The Demons Among Us is a unique find in Christian literature. Geared toward teens, its not only spooky, but funny and relatable while uncovering much-needed undercurrents of truth in our world. 

Willis writes characters we like, who we root for, even while they struggle with their own sins. These characters are offered something that seems like the greatest gift they could imagine—immortality. At least, immortality on earth while the earth is still a-turnin’. The catch? Give your allegiance to darkness. 

Christians would know better, right? Suddenly, it’s up to these teen siblings to stand on the front line to save the souls of their friends, their community, even their world. Can they do it? 

I like this book because, as a former eighth grade Bible teacher, I recognized that kids want to know about the spiritual world. Many stories one might share about the demonic are hard to believe, even if you know by experience what you’re telling them is real (former missionaries can attest to this). It’s the “stranger than fiction” concept. 

However, you want to be careful what you share isn’t actually stoking an unhealthy interest in the demonic. Willis walks this line very well, shining light on evil and pointing young people to the reality that God is victorious over all of the forces of darkness. The fact that it’s a fictional story gives her agency to tease out ideas that require more imagination. By doing so, even cynics can set aside their disbelief for the sake of the story. As they do so, they are meandering through many weighty Biblical themes that can guide young people through truths about God. 

For example, God works through human agency, which is one of many great theological concepts playing out in this book. It would be nothing for God to snap his fingers and remove evil from the earth, and yet… he doesn’t. So then, what is going on while it feels like darkness is taking over? What are we supposed to be doing? Why do we love our enemies and when do we fight against them? The characters in The Demons Among Us are wrestling with the same questions, as well as feelings of inadequacy and powerlessness. They find help in each other, in their families, and in God’s supernatural protection as they put their faith to work. 

If Christian supernatural young adult thrillers are your niche, you should seriously check this one out!