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A review by bookph1le
Angelfall by Susan Ee
5.0
Staying up late to finish this book is not a good idea. I'm surprised that those last few chapters didn't give me nightmares. This book really just blew me out of the water. Now it's time for something a little more lighthearted, though, considering I read this one and The Drowned Cities back to back. More complete review to come.
Full review:
I admit that I'm always a little bit skeptical when I start reading a book about which so many people have raved. I expect to be let down, and it never fails to shock me when I read a book and find that it is as good as the hype says it is--and then some. There is so much to admire about this book. Ee is a wonderful, gut-wrenching author, and, since this is her debut, I can only imagine how much she'll blow my mind in the future. There will be some minor spoilers in this review.
From the very start, I adored Ee's portrayal of Penryn. First, Penryn has a very complicated family situation, but this isn't mere back story as it would be in far too many other books. Instead, Penryn's family factors into the story in a myriad of ways, some direct and some indirect. All of it furthers Penryn's character growth, but not at the sacrifice of the characterization of Penryn's family. On the contrary, they are every bit as fully realized as Penryn. Secondly, Penryn is an extremely strong character, but not to the point of absurdity. Her strength is twofold, as she has both truly impressive mental reserves and physical prowess. This doesn't mean she's so almighty that she can take all the bad guys on alone. It does mean that she can and does defend not only herself, but others. She's anything but the fainting wallflower who needs a big, strong knight to come rescue her. Her strength also manifests itself in her truly impressive strength of will. Sometimes her headstrong ways get her in trouble, but I never ceased to admire the fact that she was proactive, that she was determined to shape her own fate rather than just sitting back and letting things happen to her. Penryn sometimes makes bad choices, and she has definite flaws, but at no point did this detract from her character. Rather, they made me like her more. She is easily the most well-rounded, admirable female character I've read in any book in a very long time.
Full disclosure: I was pretty sure I was going to dislike Raffe. I swear to Susan Ee, it's not that I meant to sell her short in any way, it's just that I've read far too many books with very predictable, cardboard characters. This is exactly why I'm so thrilled to have found an author like Ee. Raffe has all the ingredients of being one of those eye-roll inducing male characters: he's gorgeous, he has super strength, and he's an angel. But all of that is pure surface veneer. Raffe also possesses personality in spades. It's obvious that there's a lot going on in his head, and I like that the narrative is first person from Penryn's point of view, because it leaves exactly what's going on in his head a mystery. There are clues that his perspective is shifting, but he remains complicated and, to a certain degree, unknowable. I really loved this. I love feeling like the characters aren't just reacting in a prescribed way in order to move the narrative along, but feeling as though they find themselves reacting to circumstances in ways they wouldn't have foreseen. I'm really anxious to know what will ultimately happen with Raffe, precisely because I'm so uncertain.
Really, this uncertainty is the whole reason why I loved this book. At no point did I ever feel like the story or the characters were going to evolve along stereotypical lines. Ee does not shy away from harsh reality, and I have a lot of faith that she isn't going to just tie things up neatly in a bow at the end. The reality that Penryn and Raffe face is extremely harsh, one that fits well within the context of the world Ee has established. It's a world that's dark and disturbing, in which there were several passages that made me cringe. Sometimes, when I read post-apocalyptic or dystopian novels, it feels like this setting is just a very thin veneer upon which a predictable story takes place. That's not the case here. Everything operates within the parameters of the world Ee has created, and that's definitely to the story's credit. It shows that there's an actual story here, not just a typical boy-meets-girl-and-overcomes-all-obstacles-to-be-with-girl structure.
I can't close out this review without saying something about the ending, but nor would I give it away. Suffice it to say that it was very late at night when I finished this book. It was one of those situations where I just couldn't put it down and go to sleep because I HAD to know what was going to happen. Then, Ee took me to a place I hadn't imagined she'd go, and I was convinced that I would have nightmares all night long. Fortunately, I didn't, but I also haven't ceased to be really disturbed by the imagery in the final chapters. I just kept thinking, "Wow, I can't believe she did that." But she did do it. Oh, did she ever.
Needless to say, I can hardly wait for the second installment. I am absolutely dying to know what will ultimately happen with all of the characters. I'd worry about how Ee is going to handle the second book, given how nightmarish a place this book led to, but her skill with twists and turns has left me confident that, wherever Ee ultimately takes the story, it'll be in a direction I couldn't have foreseen.
Full review:
I admit that I'm always a little bit skeptical when I start reading a book about which so many people have raved. I expect to be let down, and it never fails to shock me when I read a book and find that it is as good as the hype says it is--and then some. There is so much to admire about this book. Ee is a wonderful, gut-wrenching author, and, since this is her debut, I can only imagine how much she'll blow my mind in the future. There will be some minor spoilers in this review.
From the very start, I adored Ee's portrayal of Penryn. First, Penryn has a very complicated family situation, but this isn't mere back story as it would be in far too many other books. Instead, Penryn's family factors into the story in a myriad of ways, some direct and some indirect. All of it furthers Penryn's character growth, but not at the sacrifice of the characterization of Penryn's family. On the contrary, they are every bit as fully realized as Penryn. Secondly, Penryn is an extremely strong character, but not to the point of absurdity. Her strength is twofold, as she has both truly impressive mental reserves and physical prowess. This doesn't mean she's so almighty that she can take all the bad guys on alone. It does mean that she can and does defend not only herself, but others. She's anything but the fainting wallflower who needs a big, strong knight to come rescue her. Her strength also manifests itself in her truly impressive strength of will. Sometimes her headstrong ways get her in trouble, but I never ceased to admire the fact that she was proactive, that she was determined to shape her own fate rather than just sitting back and letting things happen to her. Penryn sometimes makes bad choices, and she has definite flaws, but at no point did this detract from her character. Rather, they made me like her more. She is easily the most well-rounded, admirable female character I've read in any book in a very long time.
Full disclosure: I was pretty sure I was going to dislike Raffe. I swear to Susan Ee, it's not that I meant to sell her short in any way, it's just that I've read far too many books with very predictable, cardboard characters. This is exactly why I'm so thrilled to have found an author like Ee. Raffe has all the ingredients of being one of those eye-roll inducing male characters: he's gorgeous, he has super strength, and he's an angel. But all of that is pure surface veneer. Raffe also possesses personality in spades. It's obvious that there's a lot going on in his head, and I like that the narrative is first person from Penryn's point of view, because it leaves exactly what's going on in his head a mystery. There are clues that his perspective is shifting, but he remains complicated and, to a certain degree, unknowable. I really loved this. I love feeling like the characters aren't just reacting in a prescribed way in order to move the narrative along, but feeling as though they find themselves reacting to circumstances in ways they wouldn't have foreseen. I'm really anxious to know what will ultimately happen with Raffe, precisely because I'm so uncertain.
Really, this uncertainty is the whole reason why I loved this book. At no point did I ever feel like the story or the characters were going to evolve along stereotypical lines. Ee does not shy away from harsh reality, and I have a lot of faith that she isn't going to just tie things up neatly in a bow at the end. The reality that Penryn and Raffe face is extremely harsh, one that fits well within the context of the world Ee has established. It's a world that's dark and disturbing, in which there were several passages that made me cringe. Sometimes, when I read post-apocalyptic or dystopian novels, it feels like this setting is just a very thin veneer upon which a predictable story takes place. That's not the case here. Everything operates within the parameters of the world Ee has created, and that's definitely to the story's credit. It shows that there's an actual story here, not just a typical boy-meets-girl-and-overcomes-all-obstacles-to-be-with-girl structure.
I can't close out this review without saying something about the ending, but nor would I give it away. Suffice it to say that it was very late at night when I finished this book. It was one of those situations where I just couldn't put it down and go to sleep because I HAD to know what was going to happen. Then, Ee took me to a place I hadn't imagined she'd go, and I was convinced that I would have nightmares all night long. Fortunately, I didn't, but I also haven't ceased to be really disturbed by the imagery in the final chapters. I just kept thinking, "Wow, I can't believe she did that." But she did do it. Oh, did she ever.
Needless to say, I can hardly wait for the second installment. I am absolutely dying to know what will ultimately happen with all of the characters. I'd worry about how Ee is going to handle the second book, given how nightmarish a place this book led to, but her skill with twists and turns has left me confident that, wherever Ee ultimately takes the story, it'll be in a direction I couldn't have foreseen.