Opinions do change overtime. Maybe I didn't know better years ago when I first read 'Angelfall', when it was hyped up like hell on earth. I was young and naive and had been disappointed, even outright disgusted, by YA angel literature in the past, and this seemed like a breath of fresh air in comparison. Maybe I was swept up by the fast pace and addictive prose, and by Penryn, who was a cool heroine compared to so many other, passive YA "heroines" at the time. She did stuff, and was like an action star, with her ideas, moves, and sword-swinging.
But I won't ignore or gloss over the flaws anymore.
This book is sexist and ableist, the romance is unnecessary and a joke, and it makes no damn sense. Why are there so few female angels? Why and how do the angels have a sex and gender at all? Why is there an angel nightclub? A nightclub during an apocalypse which started only a few weeks ago, at most? Why the scientific experiments on humans? To what end? What's the point? I thought the angels just want to kill the humans, because they're inferior, I guess? Why are only the female human resistance fighters doing laundry? Do the women even fight?
Why the catfight between Penryn and some other, jealous girl (over Raffe, because of course) who's inconsequential to the story - with wet clothes involved? It's for the bastard twins to jerk off to, so that they'll give Penryn her chance to escape. Why did that have to be included? Why did I still think that Penryn was an exceptional heroine after reading that sexist, trite shit? If humanity has really regressed this much in the few weeks that the angels have been attacking earth (and making prostitutes of the women and girls, at their bloody nightclub - wow that was a stupid idea), then why is it never commented on? Are there any male prostitutes?
Penryn is not a "strong female character". She slut-shames other girls, and describes her nightclub clothing as slutty. Her saintly, disabled sister is the only other female character she doesn't either despise or ignore. Other teen girls keep glaring at her because Raffe is so hot. He's an angel; he's the same kind that is killing humanity, for fuck's sake. Way to insult your target audience. The romance between Penryn and Raffe did not need to happen. They're both annoying together.
Penryn's mentally ill mother exists to pop up at convenient and unexpected places, usually running and comically waving her arms around, generally being a nuisance to Penryn; never mind that there's a fucking apocalypse going on and her mother is alone and in danger all the time. I don't recall her being very concerned or wanting to find and protect her vulnerable parent as well as her kidnapped little sister. It's all played for laughs. Said disabled little sister also becomes a victim of body horror. So the disability rep is abysmal. It's borderline offensive.
And Raffe is agnostic. Seriously, what the Hades? As I've said before, why are agnostic angels so adamant that they shouldn't breed with "daughters of men", as it is forbidden in the Holy Bible? I bet there aren't any queer angels in the sequels. Is there any queer and/or POC rep in this series?
Right, I'm done. Glad to finally get that off my chest. There are far better YA books, and YA fantasy and dystopia books, out there, is what I'm saying.
Final Score: 2/5
Probably the most praised and loved self-published novel that's ever come up on my radar. I've even heard that Sam Raimi is considering adapting it into a film. So after reading it, what did I think personally? Did it impress me? If not, were my expectations just a little too high?
In the years I've spent reading books and watching films of all sorts, I've learned to keep my expectations fairly in the middle, especially when it comes to hype. But even so, did 'Angelfall' disappoint me? No, not really. In fact I enjoyed it very much.
It definitely starts off excellent. The first chapter pulls the reader straight into the action while also introducing the protagonist Penryn, her pure-hearted and disabled seven-year-old sister Paige, and their mentally-unstable mother. On their way towards a new shelter in a ruined city, Paige is taken away by the angels of the apocalypse, Mom goes missing, and Penryn is left with her only hope of saving her family - a helpless angel covered in his own blood. His wings have been torn off.
His name is Raffe, and he appears not to be on the side of his brethren. Though he isn't fond of humans either.
The dystopian world is dark and disturbing; I could really picture it in my head. Despite the out-there concept of angels destroying our earth in such a short amount of time (six weeks), the people's reactions to this and the situations and circumstances caused by both angels and humans are believable.
Penryn's determination, cunning, self-awareness, and her strength to survive for herself and for those she loves are awe inspiring. How she talks about her mother is creative, creepy and sad. Mom's madness isn't merely played for comic relief in an otherwise intense story. Her "demons" which she had hallucinated throughout Penryn's life reflect how the real world has also come to fall prey to the real monsters out to devour everyone's physical and mental state.
This contrast is also symbolised here: Penryn's mother is damaged on the inside, while her sister is damaged outwardly. What a very deep and well thought-out concept on the subject of the human psyche, especially compared to most other YA novels. And it's a good change to see a female main character who doesn't outright hate her strange mother - for she still wants to keep her safe despite how her life turned out because of Mom's madness. She is still Penryn's mother after all.
Anyway, the beginning of 'Angelfall' I loved. However I got slightly lost during the middle of the book. This is when Penryn and Raffe come across a human defense army unit. I felt that the cold, lonely and dystopian tone got replaced by one with comic and romantic antics between people who seem fairly upbeat in spite of the apocalypse. I do like that the leader Obi is determined not to let the angels take over the earth, which belongs to the humans - they will fight back, for hope is not yet lost. But what really I don't like is the sexism of the unit (only women do the laundry apparently; wouldn't people living in a post-apocalyptic world need all the help they can get to survive?), and the forced-in and unnecessary catfight between Penryn and a girl named Anita, who seems only to exist to flirt with Raffe and get Penryn jealous. So our strong female protagonist has to fight with Anita - wet laundry clothes and all - so that the perverted, betting twins Dee and Dum will help her to escape the unit afterwards and find Paige faster. The fact that Penryn agrees to spoil her dignity like that, even if she is desperate at that point, didn't gel with me.
In what would be called the third act of 'Angelfall', Penryn and Raffe go undercover in an angel nightclub. I am not joking.
At first I didn't see how and why angel nightclubs are necessary, especially compared to how monstrous the angels are portrayed in the beginning. But I see now that the angels crave power over the humans in more ways than one, in different parts of the world. And humans may choose to work alongside their destroyers for the survival of their loved ones and themselves.
But speaking of angel-human relationships, I don't like that Penryn and Raffe are set up to be in love with each other. It happens too quickly in my opinion and I prefer them staying companions or friends. I mean, it's only been six weeks since the angels started attacking and killing people! At least Penryn is aware that falling for an angel is disgusting, not to mention it's distracting her from her mission to save her family. I was also bothered that she can't see that it's obvious Raffe feels the same way about her, despite what he tells her. He's lied to her before, and this kind of relationship has been written to death, not just in YA. She also has to be saved by Raffe a few times (however she's saved his life twice in the beginning, proving that humans, even teenaged ones, can be resourceful), especially at the end, which I won't spoil any further.
Female angels are also surprisingly absent in 'Angelfall', at least ones who are useful to the plot. No mention is made of any of them falling in love with human men. And why are there no female warrior angels? Are they only at the nightclubs? Why, with the exception of family members, do the secondary female characters keep glaring at Penryn? Is Raffe really all that hot? Not at all progressive in a YA novel.
A little talk about the writing of 'Angelfall' now. While it is straight-to-the-point, fast-paced and addictive with the present-tense-and-first-person-perspective of Penryn, it does feel a little like the novel was self-published without an editor. For example, the phrase "I'll bet..." or something along the lines of that is used too many times.
But back to the positives, the things that made me give 'Angelfall' four stars regardless of the parts that annoyed me. I like that it is under 300 pages - a change from most other YA books that feel they have to be longer than the Bible in order to be successful. Less is more, and 'Angelfall' accomplishes that feat with the imaginative substance it has.
And the ending.
It really put me on the edge of my seat - to read the build-up and eventual pay-off in the climax. I felt like I was there with Penryn as she came across a most horrifying discovery. Moral dilemmas are written in beautifully without delaying the action. And a girl who wields any sword - be it an ordinary one or one belonging to an angel - is always badass.
So overall I can see why 'Angelfall' is being hailed as much as it is. It has a strong narrative and is full of action, character development and reflection.
There are interesting takes on angel mythology as well. These are greatly bizarre, if a tad inconsistent (for example, if there are agnostic angels, why are they so adamant that they shouldn't breed with "daughters of men", as it is forbidden in the Holy Bible?)
'Angelfall' is definitely one of the better YA angel novels I've read. While it definitely has flaws (but what book doesn't?), in the end they didn't ruin my experience of enjoying this passionate piece of work, and sequels be damned.
Final Score: 4/5
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