Halo Book Review

Author: Alexandra Adornetto

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Hardcover: 496

Summary from Book:

Three angels are sent down to bring good to the world: Gabriel, the warrior; Ivy, the healer; and Bethany, a teenage girl who is the least experienced of the trio. But she is the most human, and when she is romantically drawn to a mortal boy, the angels fear she will not be strong enough to save anyone-especially herself-from the Dark Forces. Is love a great enough power against evil?

My Thoughts:

Plot: 5

Characters: 5

Cover: 100

Overall: 5

So it's been a while since I've done any reviews.  I want to start again and keep doing them consistantly as I read new books.  I decided I would do a couple of reviews on books I have read over the year. ANYWAY on to this review!

The first time I saw this book I was standing in the Coles that is in the mall by my house.  I hadn’t planned on buying a book but regardless I plan on buying a book or not I ALWAYS have to stop by Coles when I go to the mall. It’s tradition. Every time I go into that store I grab books and read the descriptions on the back.  I always find thousands (that might be an exaggeration) of books I want to read which just adds to the list of books I already want/plan on reading.  This time I have to admit, it was the cover that caught my attention.  I mean, every time I go into a book store there are many covers that catch my eye. Many covers that make me want to read the description to find out what the story is about.  Halo’s cover was different; it just popped right out from all the other covers.  I fell in love with it instantly without even reading the description.  I know, I know, shame on me; I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. For all I knew it could have been the worst story ever.  Of course, just like the cover the story description caught my interest.  ANNNND of course I walked out of that store with Halo in my hands…after buying it!

Alexandra Adornetto did an amazing job writing this book.  The story and especially the characters were beautifully written. The angels Gabriel, Ivy and main character Bethany church are sent down from heaven to help better the world.  To help humans do good deeds and help rid of any evil. They do this by disguising themselves as regular humans. Ivy spends time within the town while Gabriel takes the role of a music teacher in the local high school. Bethany, the youngest of the three angels is the most curious of humans and their feelings.  She is drawn to them differently than her brother and sister. In the story Bethany goes to a high school where she meets Xavier.  Xavier is sweet, confident and a very lovable character.  He would be the perfect guy to take home and meet your parents. He’s pretty much the whole package, if ya know what I mean ;). Quickly Beth and Xavier are drawn to each other.  This makes Beth confused because as an angel she knows she shouldn’t fall in love with a human, especially since it is forbidden to reveal their true identities to humans. There is something about Xavier that Bethany can’t turn away from.  Soon her need to be with him is to too great and she must struggle with her feelings and what the consequences might be if she acts upon those feelings.   Should she share her secret with Xavier?  Then a new guy arrives into the school, Jake Thorn. Something doesn’t seem right about this newcomer.   

 I love Bethany’s character in the story.  I never found myself getting annoyed with her character as I usually do at one point or another with main girl characters in other books. Since she is an angel and new to living on earth I found her lack of understanding to things said and done by other humans around her funny. Gabriel and Ivy are amazing as well.  Man do I love Gabriel. It doesn’t seem like he thinks he could share human feelings or fall in love. He is strictly there for the mission. He respects human life and will protect it to no end but that’s as far as it goes in his mind. He seems to feel that he is there for a purpose and that purpose only.  He also doesn’t agree with Bethany’s feelings for a human.  But as the story progresses I feel you see Gabriel’s thoughts, feelings and opinions change.  I love his devotion and loyalty to his family. And although he may not agree with Bethany’s decisions you can really tell he just wants her to be happy. He definitely is the definition of protector (and he kicks ass…just saying). Ivy is sweet, caring and overall just a nice person who I think everyone will like.  She is gentle yet vicious when needed which makes her all the more cool.  She always seems to be able to get through to Gabriel.

 Overall I really enjoyed reading this book.  The only part that I found a little frustrating was how descriptive everything was.  I like description but I found there was so much of it.  At the same time, compared to how good the story is it isn’t such a big deal.  Others might love the amount of description.  I think it’s just what you prefer. Also, I find it pretty inspiring that Alexandra wrote such a great book at her age.  She’s two years younger than me. I love writing and I admire Alexandra’s creativity with her story and characters. I recommend this book to any YA reader.  It is definitely worth the read.

Randomness

Let me just say, there is one part near the end with Gabriel that I LOVE. I could see the scene happening clearly in my head like it was in a movie.  I won’t give it away (even though I want to :P).  Maybe it’s just me that loves that part so much.