Book blurb from Amazon:
Michelle Cross is an average, seventeen year old girl growing up in a small town in New Jersey. Up until her senior year, her life has consisted of a rather unglamorous existence. Her closet friend Cami has been by her side since kindergarten, she has a loving if somewhat absente father, and a mother who is unique to say the least. Michelle’s mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia when she was twelve years old, and ever since then she has had delusions of angels and demons battling over her only child. Michelle accepts her mother’s delusions as schizophrenic ramblings, until a handsome new boy finds her at school. Little by little Michelle’s world is turned upside down. The new boy claims to be the Archangel Gabriel cast from heaven, her best friend falls for the Antichrist, and come to find out Michelle’s mother has seen it coming all along. So instead of being consumed with prom and graduation, Michelle finds herself battling the evils of Hell in her small town. The four horsemen of the apocalypses have descended on her high school and with the help of Gabriel, her very own angel; she must stop the events leading to the apocalypse. What surprises Michelle even more than her role in saving humanity is the love that develops between Gabriel and herself. Can their love bridge the world between heaven and earth? Can Michelle stop the powers of Hell in time? Michelle and Gabriel find themselves the pawns in a very dangerous game between an ancient power with a mysterious message and Satan himself.
**My thoughts**
I have been reading rave reviews about this book since it came out last summer. I am often wary of so many rave reviews and find such books to be lacking something by the time I get to them. Not so much with this story. It was awesome.
In a world of paranormal saturation comes a different story idea. It's the Apocalypse, redone. Okay, it was written during the year that the Mayans had predicted the apocalypse, but I hadn't yet read any YA books about it. This was like a breath of fresh air in the genre for me.
Michelle has a lot to overcome. Her mother is schizophrenic. Her best friend decides to abandon her. And suddenly, she is in charge of saving the entire human race. You can see her strength build from the beginning to the end of the book, as she accepts her destiny in life and battles evil incarnate. With Gabriel by her side, anything seems possible, even in the face of supreme tragedy. But their story isn't over with just this first book. This one spans an entire trilogy, so there is more to come.
I felt like the book as a whole got stronger as the story continued. In the beginning, there was a lot of focus on what everyone was wearing, and other mundane details. Of course, these details help to illustrate how boring and "normal" Michelle's life was before Gabriel came into her life to reveal her destiny. As the action picks up, so did the writing. The plot developed with twists and turns that you didn't always see coming. Michelle's focus shifts to finding and stamping out the evil, before it ruins her and her loved ones. She doesn't care as much about those trivial topics that preoccupy so many high schoolers.
My only problem, really, was a bunch of typos sprinkled throughout the book. I encourage potential readers to try to overlook those, because the story is really a good one that is worth reading. I now understand the persistent buzz about it and greatly look forward to continuing it in the sequels!
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