Angelfall ~ Susan Ee (Penryn & the End of Days #1)

★★★☆☆

Here's an out of context quote:

Please, please don't make him take his shirt off.

The Writing and Worldbuilding

I've been intrigued by this book since the moment I found out about it. It's basically what happens when The Hunger Games and The Mortal Instruments are popular at the same time. However, I found it somewhat lacking. It definitely could have been executed better.

The biggest issue was the first person narration. It had that snarky wit prevalent in YA and MG fiction and unfortunately, instead of adding necessary humor to lighten the darker themes, it lessened the darkness. It felt tonally unbalanced--tone deaf, if you will. Much of the plot felt juvenile and unrealistic (namely the "cat-fight" with Anita) and much of what happened ultimately could have been cut. The book does not wax philosophical and therefore has no central themes. It says nothing on the human condition, the state of society, and morality, which are all things its premise implies it discusses. Ultimately, it's meaningless fun.

A big issue was the perceived age of the characters. I can believe that Penryn is supposed to be 17, but I cannot even comprehend the intended age of much of the rest of the cast. Raffe feels distinctly 25 at least, 35 at most (physically, of course, since his real age is MUCH older), and the same with Obi, especially considering their positions in society. All this girl's love interests would be considered perverts in real life; something is very wrong here.

The world itself was probably the best part. I really like post-apocalypses and I really like angel-demon fiction, so there was definitely stuff to love there.

The Characters

Penryn: She's snarky in that "I'm a YA heroine--look at me kick butt!" way so there wasn't really much to care about, but her quest to save her sister instead of her mother was appreciated. Rescuing parents is too cliche at this point.

Raffe: Besides being the resident old man, he was my favorite character, and I quite enjoyed reading about him. Though I'm not sure how his blue eyes can be so blue that they are black, Susan Ee. That's a little nonsensical.

The SpOo0oOoky fam: Penryn's mom's madness was...a little offensive, I imagine, to people with schizophrenia, and I thought it would play more into the plot, but overall, I appreciated the way it was introduced and explained. I'm excited to see where Paige's character goes now that things are...different.

The Resistance: Obi and his gang were okay but didn't feel real whatsoever. Honestly, they could have been cut completely and the story would have mostly played out exactly the same and probably would have been better.

Conclusion

It's pretty standard as far as YA books go. Not much there and not too intense for the youths, but with the beginnings of potential deepness. I enjoyed it and will likely continue the series.