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Angel Burn

by L. A. Weatherly
Angel Burn by L. A. Weatherly High School Candlewick 452 pp. 5/11 978-0-7636-5652-2 $17.99
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Here are new supernatural villains to add to the mix: angels. It's not as contradictory as it might seem, as Weatherly has created a logical, fully realized world in which these celestial beings are up to no good. While oblivious humans bask in angels' radiance and beauty, even worship them at a massive Church of Angels, the angels are in fact destroying them, feeding on humans' auras. The result is "angel burn": cancer, schizophrenia, MS, etc. To Alex, their threat is personal; he blames angels for the deaths of his father, mother, and brother. As an angel assassin, he responds to text messages (presumably) from the CIA, telling him which angel to kill next. While Alex is stalking angels, Willow is "Queen Weird" at her small-town high school. Refreshingly tough and sarcastic, she spends her time fixing cars and grudgingly giving psychic readings to classmates. Willow doesn't know that she's half-angel, nor that Alex has received a text message with instructions to kill her. Alex doesn't, of course, and what follows is a novel packed with action and romance, culminating in a conclusion full of gratifying revelations (including the identity of Willow's father). But there's plenty still to be addressed in the remainder of this morality-bending, dynamic (planned) trilogy. Rachel L. Smith
Gr 8 Up—Angels are appearing to humans all over the world, filling them with an overwhelming sense of love and peace. Angel mega-churches spring up everywhere. But no one seems to notice that the people who've been visited by them quickly begin to waste away. That's because angels are actually creatures from another world who feed on human energy, sickening their hosts and eventually causing their deaths via natural-seeming illnesses. Alex is a trained AK (Angel Killer) who believes he works for the CIA. He suddenly finds himself acting as bodyguard to Willow, a high school student with psychic powers who just might be half angel-and therefore his sworn enemy. The angels seem to believe that she has the power to destroy them, making her safety of paramount importance to the survival of the human race. The relationship that eventually develops between Alex and Willow is steamy but chaste (at least in this first installment of the planned series). Fans of supernatural suspense with a generous dollop of romance will be clamoring for the next book.—Hayden Bass, Seattle Public Library, WA
While oblivious humans bask in angels' radiance, the beings are actually destroying people. Willow doesn't know she's half-angel--nor that angel-assassin Alex has been instructed to kill her. He doesn't, and what follows is a novel packed with action and romance, culminating in a gratifying conclusion. This is the first book in a planned trilogy.
Reviewed by Hayden Bass , Jul 01, 2011

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