4 stars - I liked it.
This is what I would consider the perfect YA novel. And it's following the formula made famous in Twilight. Two love interests, eternal love, supernatural creatures.
I picked up Fallen because of its amazing cover. There are times when I can just feel whether a book will be good or not. ... Well, there are times when I hope a book lives up to my feelings. I typically find that when I love a cover and am intrigued by the back-ad and just can't wait for the book come in... then it's usually good. I'm pretty sure it's because when a publisher puts time and effort into a book, it shows, and they usually only do it when a book is good. So in this case, the book lived up to my expectations.
Fallen is about a girl named Luce, a guy named Daniel that she's drawn to, and another guy named Cam who wants Luce. The formulaic love triangle.
Luce is new to a reform school for, apparently, setting her previous boyfriend on fire. She also sees shadows and hears voices, so her track record wasn't spotless before even her boyfriend spontaneously combusted.
Sword & Cross, the school, is pretty drab. Androgynous teachers. Boring classes. Rowdy students.
Readers will figure out the story long before Luce does, but in a way, that was a draw for me. The first few pages tells the reader about Daniel and Luce's history, so we know they're going to end up again. What we don't know is where Cam fits into all of this.
We also figure out that Daniel's an angel long, long, long before Luce does, even though she provides the reader with all the clues. I'm going to go easy on the author here and say that it was part of the mystery. Rather than Luce being stupid, she had to remain naive in order to survive.
I was a bit disappointed with the climax of the story. Luce runs off while Daniel and his good fallen angels fight Cam and his bad fallen angel army. She's stuck in a basement while explosions happen elsewhere. I think staying wtih Daniel and Cam would have been much more interesting, and the same betrayal could have happened closer to the fight scene.
The book ends with a sequel clearly in mind, which is one of my pet peeves... I like books that are stand-alone but end up so fabulous that a sequel would be awesome. But I'll read the sequel, because I still want to know exactly what's going on between the two factions of fallen angels and what exactly Luce's role is in all of this. (Beside obviously being Daniel's eternal love interest, it's implied that her death could lead to the end of the world, and I get the impression that she and Daniel have been around since creation and their love story has to do with the salvation of the world.)
Like I said, this is the perfect YA novel, and it's a pretty good read. It's not deep; it won't move you, but it will keep you entertained for a good couple hours.
Showing posts with label angels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label angels. Show all posts
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Devil's Kiss by Sarwat Chadda
4 stars -- I like it.
I would have been better served writing this immediately after I read this book, but a busy work schedule and spotty home internet connection make for difficulty in the blog-posting area. Plus, as I've said before, I procrastinate :)
Devil's Kiss has a female protagonist, but the author is male. And while I could tell that Billi was a little less girly than most female protagonists, I wouldn't have guessed the author was male. Mr. Chadda did a fabulous job writing from a girl's POV!
15-year-old Billi has grown up training to be a warrior for the nearly extinct Knights Templar. They exorcise demons and ghosts and kill werewolves and vampires. Every now and then, they have to banish one or more of the the three different kinds of angels. And to make a tough life even tougher, Billi is resentful of her father's treatment of her and jealous of (but possibly in love with...) the other young knight, Kay, with whom she grew up.
The culmination of the story is that Kay's new budding romance turns out to be the insane-and-banished angel of death, Michael. Kay has to defeat him herself (as Kay prophesied she would) after her dad is severely injured, her godfather is killed, and Kay sells his soul to the devil (literally). But I don't want to give away too much...
Regardless, this fast-paced story starts with a bang and continues that way. The ending is not as predictable as most YA endings, and there are a lot of terrifying new ideas (based on really old stories) that are fun to think about. Readers might get a little annoyed with Billi's angsty-ness, but that is, after all, how 15-year-olds tend to be.
If you like the sci-fi/fantasy YA that's been coming out lately, you'll probably enjoy this one too.
I would have been better served writing this immediately after I read this book, but a busy work schedule and spotty home internet connection make for difficulty in the blog-posting area. Plus, as I've said before, I procrastinate :)
Devil's Kiss has a female protagonist, but the author is male. And while I could tell that Billi was a little less girly than most female protagonists, I wouldn't have guessed the author was male. Mr. Chadda did a fabulous job writing from a girl's POV!
15-year-old Billi has grown up training to be a warrior for the nearly extinct Knights Templar. They exorcise demons and ghosts and kill werewolves and vampires. Every now and then, they have to banish one or more of the the three different kinds of angels. And to make a tough life even tougher, Billi is resentful of her father's treatment of her and jealous of (but possibly in love with...) the other young knight, Kay, with whom she grew up.
The culmination of the story is that Kay's new budding romance turns out to be the insane-and-banished angel of death, Michael. Kay has to defeat him herself (as Kay prophesied she would) after her dad is severely injured, her godfather is killed, and Kay sells his soul to the devil (literally). But I don't want to give away too much...
Regardless, this fast-paced story starts with a bang and continues that way. The ending is not as predictable as most YA endings, and there are a lot of terrifying new ideas (based on really old stories) that are fun to think about. Readers might get a little annoyed with Billi's angsty-ness, but that is, after all, how 15-year-olds tend to be.
If you like the sci-fi/fantasy YA that's been coming out lately, you'll probably enjoy this one too.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
The Unfinished Angel by Sharon Creech
5 stars - I love it!
The Unfinished Angel is a wonderful book. It is for children or juveniles (a bit younger than I usually read), but it's really sweet.
I think what attracted me to the book is the cover... or rather, the back cover :) The front cover is a simply drawn rainbow-colored pigeon. On the back or multi-colored pigeon footprints. It's adorable. I love rainbows, and the simplicity of this cover (with its intriguing title) drew me in.
The story is told from the point of view (POV) of an angel, who readily admits he doesn't think he's all he's supposed to be. He doesn't have a mission; he doesn't know what he's supposed to do for people; nor does he have all the words he knows he needs to communicate properly. Reading from his POV is like reading a story told by someone who speaks English as a second language, but it's done well enough that you don't mind.
I really enjoyed reading his made-up words. Some of them are just so perfect. For example, "... below the mountains is a blue-green lake, and above the mountains at night is a blue-black sky all pokeled with blue-white stars." Pokeled is exactly how the sky looks at night! He describes the secondary main character, Zola, as having "crippy-croppy hair." It certainly puts a strong image in my head.
The book's plot is simple, and it doesn't end up finishing the angel or answering any of his many questions, but it's a sweet and simple story that I think would entrance younger children.
If you have a 7-10 year old, this is definitely something you can read to them or with them.
The Unfinished Angel is a wonderful book. It is for children or juveniles (a bit younger than I usually read), but it's really sweet.
I think what attracted me to the book is the cover... or rather, the back cover :) The front cover is a simply drawn rainbow-colored pigeon. On the back or multi-colored pigeon footprints. It's adorable. I love rainbows, and the simplicity of this cover (with its intriguing title) drew me in.
The story is told from the point of view (POV) of an angel, who readily admits he doesn't think he's all he's supposed to be. He doesn't have a mission; he doesn't know what he's supposed to do for people; nor does he have all the words he knows he needs to communicate properly. Reading from his POV is like reading a story told by someone who speaks English as a second language, but it's done well enough that you don't mind.
I really enjoyed reading his made-up words. Some of them are just so perfect. For example, "... below the mountains is a blue-green lake, and above the mountains at night is a blue-black sky all pokeled with blue-white stars." Pokeled is exactly how the sky looks at night! He describes the secondary main character, Zola, as having "crippy-croppy hair." It certainly puts a strong image in my head.
The book's plot is simple, and it doesn't end up finishing the angel or answering any of his many questions, but it's a sweet and simple story that I think would entrance younger children.
If you have a 7-10 year old, this is definitely something you can read to them or with them.
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