Book Review: Angelfall by Susan Ee

Book: ANGELFALL
Author: SUSAN EE
Genre: YA FANTASY/POST-APOCALYPTIC
Published: May 2011

Series: Penryn and the End of Days #1 (upcoming series)
Source: Purchased with my own funds

From Good Reads:
It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

My Review:
Writing my first review of 2012, and having it be for such an awesome book as ANGELFALL (which was actually the first book I finished reading in 2012, too) is a great feeling. This book paints angels in a very, very bad light. The main character, Penryn is a human trying to survive the angel apocalypse that has started on the west coast of the U.S. with her mother, and beloved, but wheelchair bound younger sister. The story is galvanized by the abduction of Penryn's sister by an angel. In fact, this happens in the very first pages. The action is non-stop and the ride is creepy, dark, and absolutely exhilarating.

Penryn's character is brilliantly penned by Susan Ee. There's a beauty to how Penryn owns herself. Her body, her actions and her choices. Though ther are times when the reader can clearly see that Penryn's determination is going to land her in a maelstrom of trouble, I had to admire the way that from thought to action, she followed through. ANGELFALL does not have a dithering female as its lead. And because I think the phrase "strong" is overused and misused to describe YA protagonists, I'm not going to put it in here. BUT...

Though the reader gets to experience the narrative through Penryn's eyes, all of the other characters are just as interesting and fully realized as her. Raffe, the angel that Penryn saves at the cost of her sister, is mysterious and taciturn, but I never felt frustrated at how much is revealed about his character. Same too for Penryn's mother. Almost none of her character's motivation is explained, however her place in the book is important.

ANGELFALL is the perfect novel to read, if you are looking for the next great post-apocalyptic novel to fill the void. Not only am I still thinking about it days after finishing it, it's one of those books that has gotten under my skin. One of those books that could potentially ruin the next book I try to read, because nothing will quite be as great just now. Susan Ee is amazing at the macabre and I'm waiting anxiously for the next installment in Penryn's life.

5/5 for plot
5/5 for characters
4.5/5 for language

My Rating: 14.5/15 (5 stars)

Must Read, if you liked:
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Other Life by Susanne Winnacker
Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton
Enclave by Ann Aguirre

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Purchase book at:
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Available formats: NookBook, Kindle