Angel
Grade 8–10—Mixing fantasy with brutal reality, McNish's novel is disturbing as well as moving. Freya, an angel-obsessed 14-year-old, has recently been released from a mental hospital, free to attend public school. Her 16-year-old brother, Luke, cautions her about the popular girls who have befriended her. From personal experience, he has seen how vicious they can be to those who step out on their own for any reason. Beyond his warning, Luke is not able to help Freya negotiate the world of high school because of problems of his own, including harsh bullies and his knowledge of their father's serious illness. It is gradually revealed that Freya, inexplicably, is part angel herself and, as the story progresses, she becomes more and more angel-like; she is eventually given the task of being a guardian to a number of human wards. While there are important and well-developed messages within this narrative, there are too many subplots for them to be effective: verbal bullying by girls, physical bullying by boys, fantasy that is just this side of reality, and illness of a parent to name the most evident. The writing is clear, and Freya and Luke are well developed, although the minor characters are little more than stereotypes. The busyness of the plot notwithstanding, McNish is an author to watch.—Wendy Smith-D'Arezzo, Loyola College, Baltimore, MDCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.