Razorbill, 2009
ISBN: 9781595142511
Available: trade paperback and multi format ebook
I didn’t expect to like Strange Angels. It’s another book about a super special girl, with super powers, who doesn’t want it, but has to bravely accept it to save the world. And there’ll be a boy, I thought. A hot one.
I wasn’t entirely wrong. Strange Angels is a tale of a reclusive girl whose father is a demon hunter, her mother is dead, and she has no other significant ties to the world. Until her father shows up at the back door—zombiefied. It’s the boy that rescues her, or rather, gives her a reason to rescue herself instead of just running.
Here you’ll find lots of familiar creepy-crawlies; zombie, werewolves, vampires and more. You’ll find the lone wolf, special-powered self sacrificer who almost doesn’t want to live. I steeled myself for a laundry list of powers (and yes, powers and special destiny with a great responsibility came, after a lot of violence.)
But the thing that kept me engaged was the feeling that I was watching, not a paranormal tale, but a young woman beginning her own recovery. Strange Angels, when you peek under the black glitter, has a lot more in common with Laurie Halse Anderson’s or Ellen Hopkins’ work than the other paranormal fare out there. The underlying story isn’t that Dru Anderson is the next chosen one, raised on the run after her mom was killed and fighting evil for the good of humanity.
Dru is a terribly depressed girl who has been systematically isolated and (whether her parents, or even author, realizes it or not) abused. Her perceptions and feelings have been twisted by the people around her. Then she finds herself free of that influence, but also knowing nothing else and struggling to filter what lessons she learned were to save her life, and which made her the distrustful, paranoid person she is today.
Graves is a classmate who Dru ends up saving, but who also becomes her sole support in the dangerous world. The twist of girl saving boy physically, and boy saving girl emotionally, is one I particularly enjoyed.
Strange Angels is harsh, violent and dark, especially for a YA book. It won’t be to everyone’s tastes, especially those who prefer a less depressed, angsty lead. But the delicate writing of external and internal influences, vivid descriptions and unique mythos make this an interesting read.
Contains: violence, language