Devil’s Advocate coming October 20th, 2026 from Peachtree Teen; 320 pages
Content Warning: Profanity
About the Author: “Amanda DeWitt is an author and collector of hobbies, including costume sewing and longsword fencing. She graduated from the University of South Florida with a master’s degree in information and library science. Amanda lives in Denver, Colorado with her two dogs and one tiny cat. She’s represented by Cate Hart at Harvey Klinger Literary Agency” (Bio from author’s website).
Find Amanda DeWitt on the following platforms:
Ada Faust loves getting into trouble at her expensive private high school. Unlike her peers, Ada’s dad isn’t just any corporate jerk: he’s the Devil himself and the CEO of LuxCo Media Corporation. The Devil uses LuxCo to sow fear and hate in a world where angels and demons exist on Earth among humans. Ada’s dad decides that he wants to cause the New Apocalypse and retire after naming one of his children as the Antichrist who will oversee the chaos. The Devil believes that getting oil executive Nelson Campbell elected for US President will bring about the end of days. Ada doesn’t really want to end civilization, but as her siblings scramble to join Campbell’s campaign to give themselves a chance of becoming the Antichrist, Ada becomes a spy among the competition’s campaign. However, her chances of sabotaging Senator Perry Harlow’s campaign are threatened by Hasan Attar, the irritating half-angel who is also interning at Harlow’s campaign and is well aware of Ada’s penchant for mischief.
Ada Faust has a distinct voice and I did enjoy her ironic, offhand sense of humor at times. She can be quite ridiculous as well, like when she was wrestling with her brother in public. Unfortunately, I don’t think she was captivating enough. I was uninterested in her constant inner monologue because I prefer seeing what characters do and say. Ada’s internship at Harlow’s campaign turned out to be kind of lackluster, set in offices and filled with talk of things like emails. I was expecting more from a world in which demons, angels, and the Devil himself exist on Earth; it seemed like a waste to be stuck in the boring human world of cubicles. Even when Ada got out of her cubicle to record a damning conversation or snap an embarrassing picture, her exploits still weren’t very exciting. Most of the good things she achieved seemed to land right in her lap and a lot of events in the story felt pretty random. I also think there was unmet potential in the conversations she had with Hasan, which were filled with banter that could’ve been more unique and entertaining. The emotional and ideological revelations she had along the way due to Hasan and Senator Harlow also felt cliche and flat. Overall, I wish Devil’s Advocate could’ve taken better advantage of its interesting premise.
Devil’s Advocate releases on October 20th, 2026.
Pine Reads Review would like to thank NetGalley and Peachtree Teen for sending us an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change before final publication.
Gwen Shetlar, Pine Reads Review Writer, Editor, and Website Manager