The Devil's Intern By Donna Hosie

The Devil’s Intern, written by Donna Hosie, is a fictional novel that provides an view of the world that people enter after their untimely demises and explores the consequences of the alteration of their deaths by the use of time travel. Mitchell Johnson, the protagonist, is a seventeen-year-old boy who died from being hit by a bus after running into the road for a reason that he cannot remember. After being sent to Hell—a place that surprisingly resembles a modern city—he becomes the intern for The Devil and works in the accounting department of Hell. From this setting, Hosie unveils an unlikely friendship that brings together four young adults from vastly different time periods and reveals an opportunity for the group to change their deaths
after Mitchell Johnson obtains a time travel device. With a humorous depiction of life after death and a captivating plot, Hosie presents an entertaining novel that examines the importance of friendships and the limitations of time travel. Mitchell Johnson and his friends Medusa, Alfarin, and Elinor, who died from a bus accident in present-day Washington, D. C., from jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge in 1967, from a Viking battle in 970 A.D., and from the Great Fire of London in 1666, respectively, have all ended up in Hell. Seventeen-year-old Mitchell has a position in one of the highest offices in Hell as the Devil’s Intern. His work eventually allows him to gain access to the Viciseometer, a powerful time-traveling device that can potentially let him change his death. With the Viciseometer their possession, the team of four returns to the time of each of their deaths with hopes of preventing the deaths altogether. However, unexpected events puts their friendship and trust in each other to the test as their pasts are relived. It soon becomes apparent that a change to the past will always have a permanent change in the future, and they are forced to make several difficult decisions.
With all the choices that Hosie’s characters can pick from, the one that each character actually chooses is perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the story.
In the beginning of the novel, the readers have an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the Underworld that Hosie presents and appreciate the humor that can be found in almost every description of Hell. Hosie connects the general audience’s concept of hell to her depiction by the use of irony, such as calling the Devil’s office “The Devil’s Oval Office” (Hosie). Through the use of terms that people can easily identify with, she is able to clearly communicate the setting as well as give refreshing details to the audience. Nonetheless, as the plot progresses and they begin to travel through time, the different attributes that each member of the team possesses from the time period they were from makes their interactions extremely interesting to read, and it was exciting to see their reactions to their deaths. Hosie also considers the concept of paradoxes, and the time traveling adds a twist to an already curious story with veritable characters that many can relate to. As John Peters asserts in his book review, “Mitchell may not be the brightest bulb in the box, but he does show sufficient measures of decency and loyalty along the way to a well-deserved redemption.” The characters have a propensity to draw the reader in because their deaths are situations that are fairly easy for people to sympathize with. The ending of the book is hard to anticipate and not the ideal resolution. Nonetheless, it is one that is emotionally appealing and oddly
satisfying.
The Devil’s Intern is a fascinating novel about the afterlife, time travel, and friendship. Though some concepts may be difficult for younger teenagers to fully comprehend, the many moral dilemmas are the moieties of the novel that truly make it thought-provoking to read. The comical elements are amusing to read, and the fresh and uncommon mix of circumstances sets the book apart from other novels. The Devil’s Intern will be an enjoyable read for high school students who appreciate comedy and suspense.