Soul Enchilada by David Macinnis Gill

 Bug Smoot has had a rough life. First her mom died when she was a little girl, then she moved in with her grandfather and auntie. Then her auntie died and soon after her Papa C died too, leaving her his most prized possession, a 1958 Cadillac Biarritz. The thing with that car though is Papa C used Bug’s soul as collateral, yes that’s right her soul.

Now five years later Bug is still having to deal with everything her Papa C left behind. She’s dropped out of school, stopped playing basketball (which is what she used to live for), and working as a pizza delivery girl. Life really can’t get much worse until the day her landlord comes looking for the way past overdue rent. On top of having to find the money, Bug finds her car has been egged and absolutely reeks. Inside of her car she finds Beals, a demon that has come to collect her soul.

Being the rough and stubborn girl that she is, Bug refuses to let anything happen to her or the car. Her only problem is getting rid of Beals. In order to do this she has to find some loopholes in the contract, or risk giving herself up. With the help a pretty hot guy (who just happens to like her) and a special attorney, Bug sets out on a non-stop adventure to secure her soul and her Cadillac.

This book would truly have to be one of the best books I’ve read this year, hands down. It is jam packed with enough humor, sarcasm, and adventure to satisfy anyone’s reading needs and it is certainly well written.

Bug’s character was absolutely wonderful. While she isn’t your idyllic character, she’s rude, snarky, and doesn’t have the best grammar, she is completely lovable. Her courage and determination to stand up for herself is respectable, even in a fictional character. A great thing that the author did with Bug’s character is made her into a real person. She talked like a real person, not with perfect sentence structure and words, but just like a teenager would. Beals, the demon was also a great character. He reminded me of one of those evil butlers you see in old movies! I was able to picture him absolutely perfectly as I was reading, and found myself getting really aggravated (in a good way!) with his character when he was doing some of his dastardly deeds.

The plot of the story was also very unique and interesting. The whole idea that you would make a deal with the devil in order to get a car and then use a person’s soul as collateral is absolutely priceless. The story was able to hold my attention all the way to the very last word and I just couldn’t put the book down. I also loved how complex the story was. All the little elements of the book fit together like a puzzle and really came together to create one heck of a book.

I recommend this book to both boys and girls alike, as it is just superb! This is a brilliant debut novel from David Macinnis Gill and I absolutely cannot wait for more from this very promising author. Whenever you get the chance I strongly urge you to run out and get a copy (when it’s released in April 2009) and pick up a copy. You’ll have a good laugh and the story will make you reflect on what you have.