Title: Calling for Angels
Author: Alex Smith
Publisher: The Red Telephone
Publication date: 15/11/2010
Book source: Received from publisher
My Rating: 6/10 (a good read)
Summary:
Em tries to avoid the annoying clones – the girls in her year at Philiton Comprehensive who spend all their time thinking about clothes, make-up and boys. She worries about her aging grandparents and her older brother Ollie, who seems to be behaving in a distinctly odd way.
Then three new people come into her life: the mysterious woman who gives her a beautifully carved figurine, Kai whose own story has a touch of sadness, and Zak, the new guy who causes a stir amongst the girls.
And she discovers she needs to call for angels.
My thoughts:
I was intrigued when I heard about this story. It sounded different and it immediately caught my attention – as well as the cover of course which is unlike anything I’ve seen before (in a good way).
I have to admit though, this book wasn’t entirely for me. I did like it for the most part, but I felt that the plot didn’t grab hold of me as much as I wanted it to.
I did like the idea of the story, but I thought there were too many things missing for me that should have been included. I did think maybe there could be a sequel where these things could be brought back to light but I found it too vital for the plot for it not to be included in the first book. For example, who was the woman who gave Em the figurine that lead to the drastic change in her life? And what did Kai do to warrant him being thrown into hell?
These questions were what kept me reading and kept me interested. But then I got to the end of the book and they still weren’t answered which I found a bit disappointing.
However, I did love the characters. Em was a sweetie and took me right back to high school (which wasn’t that long ago I don’t know why I’m exaggerating). High school, especially towards the end, is not just about getting those crucial qualifications for later life, but for finding yourself, who you want to become and maybe how to change to achieve that. Em goes through all those things throughout the book which I found refreshing. She grew up and took responsibility for her own actions.
Em’s former best friend, Caitlyn, was a great character in that she was so unlikeable which was made obvious to be the author’s intention. She was the girl to find popularity more important than true friendship and the one to abandon Em completely. She was refreshing to read about. The only problem I had with Caitlyn and Em’s relationship was that I would have loved to see how they interacted before things became awkward and they became distanced.
Zak was a cutie! I loved Zak I really did. He was so realistic and such a good representation of a high school boy. Kai was great too. I loved how torn he was in what to do and how to help. I only wish I found out more about him at the end of the book!
That’s more or less the only problem I had with the book. The ending. It was too fast and not enough vital questions were answered. But I did enjoy reading the story, it was a cute, fast read.
I also have to mention that the author was 14 when she finished writing this book. Reading it, I can see so much potential for the future and I seriously think that she will write many great reads! Hats off to Alex Smith!
This book counts as:
- Book #4 in 100 books in a year challenge
- Book #2 in Horror and Urban Fantasy challenge
) and it looks like it will be an amazing read! Let me know what you thought of it if any of you have already got your hands on a copy and read it.
A resident of San Antonio, Rachel Vincent has a BA in English and an overactive imagination, and consistently finds the latter to be more practical. She shares her workspace with two black cats (Kaci and Nyx) and her # 1 fan. Rachel is older than she looks-seriously-and younger than she feels, but remains convinced that for every day she spends writing, one more day will be added to her lifespan.
