Angels Aplenty

Angelfall

By Susan Ee

Angels. Those damn angels.

Penryn lives with her mentally unstable mother and physically disabled little sisiter, just trying to survive. The world was attacked by Angels and any semblances of man's civilization is crumbling. Why they attacked, no one knows for sure. Day to day living is rough, but Penryn is a survivor. 

She's keeping her family together, until she meets Raffe. Attacked by fellow angels, he falls from the sky in front of her. When the attacking angels see her try to help him they fly off with her beloved, defenceless sister. In order to get her sister back, she must ally with the angel, Raffe, for only he knows where her sister's being taken.

Action packed. The lulls are few and far between. From page one, things are happening and they just keep coming. Supernatural beings are overdone for me and rarely do I find myself wanting to read stories about them. Well, here. This one. Pick this one.

Penryn is strong, sarcastic, loyal, and takes charge. She never feels sorry for herself, she keeps on trucking. A disaster happens, she thinks, “Ok, what do I need to do now”. Her mother is incredibly scary. You can never tell when she's acting rationally or not. And the beautiful, glorious, angel Raffe is an enigma. He lets nothing show and it frustrates Penryn, as it does the reader.

Susan Ee's writing is beautiful and detailed. You never misunderstand what she's describing. It's clear and concise, a mix of poetic descriptions and driving dialogue.

I will definitely pick up the sequel, and the next, and the next. (5 total projected in this series)

5/5 STARS

Classroom: Nah. Keep this one for a weekend to read on your own.

Double Feature: As we know it to be

Life As We Knew It

By Susan Beth Pfeffer

Heck yes! This was recommended to me by a university professor who was reading this one. A year later it was in my possession and I was sucked into this apocalyptic world.

Told in diary form by Miranda, a typical teenager, the story begins with day to day thoughts of your average teen. One day it changes when a meteor hits the moon, sending it off it's original orbit causing earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes to erupt. All the things that Miranda once had have been gradually disappearing, friends, school, electricity, the Internet, and food, forcing her family to make hard decisions.

What kept me reading was the question “What else can happen next?” because the events that happen just lead to one thing after the other and the family is forced to adapt. Miranda is a brilliant character that is so relatable in her journey of confusion, denial, and finally acceptance. I believe this book is excellently told and really makes you think the “what if” question we all dread to approach.

Overall, yes! Recommended over and over to anyone who will listen.

5/5 STARS

Use in the classroom:

I would use this in a literacy circle for grades 7-9. Possible discussions on “what if there were no internet” or “electricity”. In our consumer-oriented world, what would many of our students have to say about going without their internet access? I would love to find that out. The very recent tragedy of the Japanese tsunami can be discussed or the current famine in some parts of Africa. I highly recommend this for classroom use.