I'll write a quick rundown of my thoughts and feelings regarding 'Angel Fever', chapter-by-chapter. These reactions will be as non-spoilerific as I can make them; however because they'll cover the final chapters as well, I will say that this is a spoiler review, just in case. The reactions will also be in short sentences (I apologise, I'm not a gif person).
The purpose of this stylistic choice is to put across why I think this final book in a trilogy is on an epic scale, in spite of its shortcomings:
Prologue:
- Nice, but why is this in a prologue?
Chapter 1:
- Oh, that's why; a time skip.
- So are all ninety-eight of the new Angel Killers teenagers?
- They're saying "Shit" now; things got serious.
- Good, Willow's making female friends... but one is in love with Seb, and this bothers her for some reason.
Chapter 2:
- Romance time with Willow and Alex...
- ... but urgent plot is urgent.
- Willow dear, why are you comparing Alex's and Seb's chests?
- Is this the part when Alex gets separated from Willow?
Chapter 3:
- Raziel has his own human harem.
- And Miranda is now haunting him. Foreshadowing!
Chapter 4:
- Dun-dun-dunnnnnnnnnnn!!!!!!!!!
Chapter 5:
- All hope already seems lost, though why does Alex blame himself for this? Is this meant to contrast with how Willow blamed herself for people's deaths in the prologue?
- Then again, the Angel Killers are counting on and trusting Alex as their leader.
- He and Willow nearly get killed and Willow saves his life. So she's not helpless at all.
- Alex inadvertently kills a man simply for doing his job. This won't be mentioned again.
Chapter 6:
- Seb may be falling for another girl, but can't get over Willow, even after all this time.
Chapter 7:
- Raziel is hated by his own kind now, but at least the humans still think he's literally God's gift to them.
- Oooh what does he have planned now?
Chapter 8:
- Willow and Alex's birthday party (I guess them having the same birthday really is meant to be just a coincidence, nothing more to it).
- =sigh= Willow is obviously jealous when she sees Seb with another girl.
- Willow and Seb have an argument, no kissing at least (yet). On top of all the hopelessness, she is confused by boy trouble. Again.
- But the poem Alex gives to her is the sweetest piece of writing ever.
Chapter 9:
- Seb might be leaving. Good riddance at this point.
- Kara's back!
- Poor Claudia.
- A mention of Cully! Hallelujah!
Chapter 10:
- Nice new background on Alex's family life.
Chapter 12:
- Naked showers with Alex. Sounds yummy.
- Sam is coming with Willow to find Alex, not Seb. A huge step-up; no love triangle crap is forced here.
Chapter 13:
- =ominous foreboding music= Wow...
- ... wait, how could Alex have done what he just did when he's still got an injured arm?
Chapter 14:
- Yeah he's coming back...
Chapter 15:
- Willow to Seb: "You can't be my brother again. Not now, not ever." Well that's gonna change.
Chapter 16:
- Suicidal angels. Every plan has its downsides.
Chapter 17:
- One of my favourite chapters. Willow is growing up and becoming stronger, but it's because of a boy. Yet I don't mind this. It's very well written and heartbreaking to read about.
- And hello Grant... goodbye Grant!
Chapter 18:
- Uh-oh. Judgement Day.
- Holy shit, (presumably) young people genocide.
- Willow, having a death wish and being a fighter are not the same thing.
Chapter 19:
- Major character death. L.A. Weatherly is fearless, unlike many other YA authors.
- Evacuation. The plot keeps moving and it thickens. Never a dull, static moment when you're an Angel Killer.
- We finally see Seb's father.
- Seb has moments of insight and reflection; this is what I like best about him.
Chapter 20:
- Willow and Kara have a moment of both story progression and character development. We need to see more of this in stories for girls and women.
- Willow can function and survive on her own, and make her own decisions. Again, more of this is needed in YA involving a female lead.
- Plus her talent for fixing cars isn't forgotten about, and it's very handy.
Chapter 21:
- Cute and wonderful character-defining moments for the lone wolf Willow...
- ... then Seb shows up and ruins them. I knew it was too good to be true.
Chapter 22:
- Well at least Seb isn't annoying. And Willow has other things to worry about, like her mother and the fate of the world.
- More genocide...
Chapter 23:
- More moments of danger, and no forced hot sexy love. At this point Willow is only acting like a human being would - a damaged and traumatised human being.
- Cabin love flashbacks. Whatever, I don't care anymore =shifts away=.
Chapter 24:
- I knew it.
- Another great chapter, all 33 pages of it.
- Miranda does have an important role to play after all.
- Ohhhh noooooooo!!!!!
Chapter 25:
- Well, that's a relief.
- This chapter might have been more effective if the reader had gotten to know Meghan a bit better.
- Back in Pawntucket, and the author remembers Nina! And Jonah! They're part of the main cast now.
Chapter 26:
- And welcome to Expositionville!
- Nina is a lot nicer than when we last saw her. Glad she's still friends with Willow.
- Apart from Jonah, where are all the other adults? They can't all be in an Eden surely. And what about the little kids and babies? Are teenagers really the only people Willow has ever been in contact with all these years?
- Willow is playing the part of the oh-so-tolerable "denier of being a hero and world savior despite overwhelming evidence that says otherwise".
- But at least she still wants to help people and kick Raziel's arse.
Chapter 27:
- So Seb is finally over Willow. Would he be if he hadn't happened to have found another girl?
- And here comes Alex...
Chapter 28:
- Why would Alex not figure out the time differences between worlds yet? Surely he's read newspapers while travelling all the way from Denver to Pawntucket.
- And all is forgiven. OR IS IT!?
- Teenagers learning how to make bombs? In any other context, that would be highly questionable and scary in a YA book.
Chapter 29:
- No, go away Raziel. I want to see more of Willow and Alex.
- Raziel has no conscience after all then. I mean, I'd kind of figured that out already - with the multiple orders for genocide - but still.
Chapter 30:
- All is not peachy. Reality sets in and it is not romantic.
- "Do you want something to eat first? We've got canned stuff, or more canned stuff." Ha, I love Jonah.
- Wait, when did Nina and Jonah have time to travel and come back to Pawntucket without risk of angel detection?
- About the Planned Parenthood thing... can half-angels have children? It's never discussed.
- Willow, as much as I understand your feelings, you are a hypocrite for being angry at Alex for lying to you when you've just lied to him about all the Angel Killers being alive.
Chapter 31:
- Willow is officially dead inside? A woman, but a bitter one? Not what I'd call progressive, but I'm sure she'll get over it.
- Things can only get worse in the relationship department now. Oh and in the human-and-angel war too, of course.
Chapter 32:
- Poor Zaran.
- We finally see Aunt Jo again.
- I'd say this is contrived, but it forwards the plot and weaves things together so nicely, like Alex's threaded aura bracelet from Willow.
Chapter 34:
- Yep, I'd say that THAT little adventure with no consequences IS contrived.
Chapter 35:
- The time has finally come, and Willow doesn't seem to care at all about Alex's feelings or if he dies, despite everything that's happened in the last 500 pages.
Chapter 36:
- Willow, Alex and Seb are all at their lowest point in battle.
- I suppose Willow won't get lost in the angel's world after all.
- But she won't be a damsel in distress; she has power and knows how to use it. And her angel is an awesome friend.
Chapter 37:
- This is Willow's fight.
- Highly implausible and slightly anticlimactic, but an exhausting and breathtaking end to a trilogy.
- And Timmy in the photograph is not forgotten about.
Chapter 38:
- She still loves Alex, but is too shaken to show it.
- How will the world recover after global angel brainwashing, acts of regional genocide, and earthquakes?
Chapter 39:
- Humanity can move on. That I believe. I'm not cynical. (Though when taking religion into account...)
Chapter 40:
- The suspense just keeps coming!
- Why is Willow so modest about being a hero when she is one?
- That is beautiful - a perfect place for our favourite couple to kiss and make up.
Epilogue:
- Willow is still sad, but she can move on for real now. She has literally felt everyone's emotions and thoughts and she can protect them as well as herself. She is healing with love, but she's proven she can live without it. So she has at last grown up.
- Wait, is this another case of a boy getting all the credit for a girl's hard work? I hope not.
- I wish we could have seen more of Meghan.
- Cabin make-out: where it all started and where it all ends.
- Everyone who is said to be dead stays dead. This series is good at subverting tired cliches and cop-outs.
- So... where is Kara? And Liz? Are they still excessively traumatised or does everyone still living have a happily ever after?
There you are. Mixed feelings mixed with moments of danger, suspense, romantic love, family love, logistics, and everything coming together in a neat, fine package make 'Angel Fever' truly an epic conclusion to a book trilogy. If L.A. Weatherly did plan everything from the very beginning, then I am impressed; if not, then I'm even more so. This series is a cut above the rest of what some might call average YA literature, in my opinion.
Similar to the first installment, it has undeniable flaws. Nevertheless, in the end I loved it. And what a spectacular end at that!
But before I leave it there, I wish to talk about one particular element in the 'Angel Fever' trilogy that makes it stand out from your typical YA fantasy romance:
It shows how actual relationships work and function.
Everything that is said and done has consequences. This is effectively shown when we see what happens when two people - especially teenagers - fall in love with one another and become a couple. Nobody is perfect. No couple is perfect. No love is perfect. Because with every moment of peace and giving between lovebirds, there are disagreements and arguments as well. For every "I love you", "I will never leave you" and "You are my life for now and forever", there are the "whys" and "hows" and "whos"; the moments of uncertainty, doubt, confusion, anger, bitterness; all the things that are normal in a relationship. Especially in Willow and Alex's case when they are so inexperienced at being in love on top of dealing with angels and people out to kill them and they have to save the world - something they cannot even begin to know how to accomplish. Every romance is a challenge in itself. When you love someone, it is your responsibility to try to make things work out. How will you both be happy? Just being with someone isn't enough: human beings need more than that. They are complicated and complex and need more clarity and compromise when it comes to spending the rest of their lives with their "true loves". L.A. Weatherly writes this beautifully for a YA audience, without resorting to contrivances and melodrama (well, mostly). The relationship that Willow and Alex have is complicated and of course they are going to have troubles and trials and tribulations. But that's life. That's what being with another person means; maybe not right away but overtime the challenges and responsibilities will become more apparent. Perfect couples with no problems are not only boring, but unrealistic. Willow and Alex and their romance feel real because they have problems, and they have priorities and more important things to worry about than their hormones. But they still clearly care for each other.
But the ultimate question becomes this: Is it worth it? Is Willow's and Alex's teenage love worth fighting for? After reading three 500-700 page books about them now, I will answer: Hell yes. They're both great characters on their own and their chemistry is cute and has a lot of emotional and psychological backing to it. They are worth it. Their romance is worth it. They can be happy together. And I will be rooting for them all the way, for now and forever.
I'll be sad to say goodbye to them. But what a journey!
Series Verdict: Highly recommended for people not wanting to read a typical YA fantasy romance.
Final Score: 4.5/5
PS: I think Alex Kylar is a great action hero and would make a star out of his actor if the 'Angel Fever' series were to be adapted into a movie franchise.
No comments:
Post a Comment