Summary from the publisher:
It’s been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.
Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.
Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.
Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels’ stronghold in San Francisco where she’ll risk everything to rescue her sister and he’ll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.
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While I have been reading regularly since January, I haven’t read anything that’s inspired me enough to compel me to write a post about it… Until Angelfall. The first book in what is expected to be a five book series entitled ‘Penryn & The End of Days’. I feel a bit shameful about leaving this book for so long but also glad that I didn’t read it in 2011 when I would have had to wait two years for the sequel, World After.
The world that Ee has created in this novel is excellent, just when I thought I had gotten a firm grip on the state of the world and the direction that the book would take – it took me, the reader, in a completely unexpected direction. The book was devoid of the cheesy declaration of love I expected that would have been wildly out of character, instead there were vicious and repulsive angels, an agnostic angel and cannibals! It was a truly wild ride. Let me say that about halfway through the book I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the intensity of the book – if you’re a fan of action packed novels then look no further. My problem was that I felt like every time things were starting to work out and Penryn and Raffe were getting to where they wanted to be, something would trip them up. I found it a little frustrating but I understand that that’s the way that novels work and it by the time I was in the last half of the book I couldn’t put it down. The lesson: never abandon your books!
I loved the main character, Penryn. I was so excited to read a female character who knew how to take care of herself (but to a believable extent). If I had to choose a YA heroine to have as a best friend I’d probably pick Penryn. Her thought process was neither inane nor frustrating and she was loyal, the thing that kept her going was her love for her sister which was highly admirable. The secondary characters also really piqued my attention and I hope to read more about the other characters such as Josiah, the albino angel, charismatic Obi, Penryn’s mother and sister as well as Dee and Dum (did anyone else think Weasley twins when they were described as cheeky boy-next-door redheads?!). I also appreciated the slow build of relationship between Penryn and Raffe which still hadn’t fully developed at the conclusion of the novel, leaving me eager for more.
This book is like a breath of fresh air in angel-centric YA fiction. I don’t know if there’s anyone out there who hasn’t read this yet but if you’re looking for a fast-paced dystopian novel akin to The Hunger Games, look no further than Angelfall. If you’re okay with creepy and a dark representation of angels, and you’re looking for a badass heroine then this is the book for you.
SCATTERED FLASHES 