Content Reviews: YA Paranormal with Angels

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Goodreads: Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1

Publication Date: Sept. 29, 2011

Source: Purchased

Summary:

Karou has always been interested in drawing.  Her sketchbook his filled with half-human creatures that only she knows are real.  One of them, the trader Brimstone, raised her as his own, sometimes taking her on his journeys to collect the teeth that he pays for in wishes.  Karou’s secret life and her normal one as a student in Prague suddenly come together when black handprints start showing up on all the portals that lead to Brimstone’s shop.  And an annoying but sometimes charming angel starts asking Karou questions as if she is the key to everything.

Conclusions:

There are some obvious mentions of sex in this book.  In the beginning, the reader learns that Karou slept with her ex-boyfriend.  Her guardian Brimstone tells her: “I don’t know many rules to live by.  But here’s one. It’s simple. Don’t put anything unnecessary into yourself. No poisons or chemicals, no fumes or smoke or alcohol, no sharp objects, no inessential needles – drug or tattoo – and… no inessential penises, either.”  Pretty decent advice, actually.  Later in the book, two main characters have sex.  Nothing graphic.

Another one of the opening scenes takes place in Karou’s art class with a nude model.  This is generally a more amusing scene than an offensive one, however.

The angels and demons in Taylor’s world have some interesting relations to those of Christian theology—basically humans saw these paranormal creatures and built religion around them, trying to explain what they saw.  But the angels and demons really are not in any way close to the divine, nor do they have any sort of mission relating to humans or their spiritual welfare.  Expect interesting species, but little theology.

               

Marked by Kim Richardson

Goodreads: Marked

Series: Soul Guardians #1

Publication Date: March 18, 2011

Source: Free e-book

Summary:

Kara Nightingale is dead.  But when she woke up, she was not in Heaven, she was in Horizon, where the elevators are run by grumpy monkeys—and she is supposed to train to become a guardian angel.  With the roguish Petty Officer David McGowan as her supervisor, she takes on the job with some success.  Yet more demons show up on their missions than is normal, and David suspects that Kara herself is calling them.

Conclusions:

Relatively innocuous, if a little weird.  Kara briefly laments the fact she is flat-chested, using such fun expressions as the “boob-fairy had never visited” and “her feminine curves had been flattened by a giant spatula.”

 On the angel-side of things, these particular beings have little relationship to those of Christian theology, barring the fact they have appropriated a few terms like “cherub,” “archangel,” and “guardian angel” to classify themselves. (God here is the “Chief” and only really high-ranking angels even get to see him.)  In fact, the angels tend to be quite human, including experiencing emotions like selfishness, anger, and hatred.  They also occasionally swear, employing mild works like “crap.”

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Goodreads: Unearthly

Series: Unearthly #1

Publication Date: Jan. 4, 2011

Source: Purchased

Summary:

A few years ago, Clare Gardner discovered she has angel blood.  Now, as she strives to uncover her life’s purpose, she is dreaming of a boy in a forest fire—a boy she assumes she must save.  Her family  packs up and moves to Wyoming, where they believe this mysterious boy lives, but discovering what Clare is supposed to do with him or even becoming friends with him proves harder than she would have thought.

Conclusions:

This book is effectively clean and has a very sweet romance!  It is also the only one of these three novels where the angels are very obviously called to a higher code of conduct than humans. Angels have a link with God and are supposed to fulfill a “purpose.”  When they start doing questionable things, their white wings begin turning gray and can eventually be completely black.  The angels have been somewhat humanized for the purposes of the story, of course, but Hand does a nice job blending this with the divine.