Review: Good, but misses really good by one good editor
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 01 21, 2014
I am an adult with a fondness for YA books, because I find that a lot of the best world-building is found in them. The SF-Fantasy world is being taken over by "artistic" authors who seem to be looking for the praise of the critics; YA authors are writing books for readers to read.This book starts with a fairly new, and interesting, idea: the Nephilim, angels who came to earth and mated with humans, have living descendants today, some (many?) of whom have no idea of their semi-angelic ancestry, or the powers that go with it. Even better, or worse, if you are one of those not in the know, these descendants are divided into groups that don't get along. Our "I" character, Skyla, is of the rarest group-the one that is in the most danger from the largest group.  She has gotten her powers and angelic blood from her now-deceased father, who, of course, told her nothing before his death. Did he know? We don't find out, at least not in this book.The book begins with Skyla, her mom and stepfather, sister, and two stepsiblings are moving onto Paragon, an island off the coast of Washington State from L. A. She finds out that the girl who used to live in her new house died; was killed, in fact. She becomes friends with the girl next door, who was the dead girl's best friend, and ends up with her boyfriend, too. She learns, through these friendships, about all of the angel business.Sorry, I know this is not the best synopsis; they are not my strong suit.  Let me just say that it is a good story. The problems with the book are in the need for editing. I don't want to be cruel, but these things are true. The author does not seem to have a firm grasp on the use of commas or apostrophes; she has trouble with her verb tenses,; and she occasionally needs the help of a dictionary. When she refers to the island, after describing the fog and rain, as arid, well, I wonder if she is trying to impress us with her vocabulary. Unfortunately, she fails, since she chooses a word that means the opposite of what she means when she is clearly not trying to be sarcastic.The only other thing I had real trouble with was in the main character, Skyla. Maybe I have forgotten too much about being a teen, but I can't get a handle on her. Is she a basically good kid with anger issues? Is she basically bad, but trying for our sympathy? I am hoping that she gels more in the later books. Surprised? Yes, in spite of the grammar problems, the story is good enough that I am interested in continuing with this series.This book is never going to be "great literature", but it isn't trying to be. With a little editing, though, it could go from good to very good.(While it may be arrogant, I will make this offer for the first time. I admit I do not have the imagination to write my own book, and I am not perfect at grammar, but I am very good. I would love to work with Ms. Moore in editing this book, for free. If she likes what we end up with; if she thinks her book is better for it, all I ask for is a one-line credit. I really would like to see this book be really good.)