Angel Burn

Author: L.A. Weatherly
Recommended Age: Young Adult
Publisher: Candlewick Press
ISBN-10: 0763656526
ISBN-13: 978-0763656522
Year Published: 2011
No. Pages: 464
Genre: Fantasy
Main Character Gender: Male & Female
Read & Reviewed by: Taylor



“This hadn’t been a brief flash or something that might have been a dream-it was utterly, achingly real.
I wasn’t completely human.”

Willow has always known that she is different. She is psychic. When she touches someone, she gets into their mind and sees their past, present and future. Willow lives with her Aunt Joe and her mother, who has been mentally ill ever since her father left them when Willow was a baby. One day, a girl named Beth asks Willow for a reading. Willow agrees, and sees Beth’s dark future ahead, as well as her horrible past. An angel had fed on Beth. When an angel feeds off of someone’s energy, they are diagnosed with Angel Burn. Which eventually causes such diseases as Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, etc.

Alex isn’t like any normal 17-year-old kid. He is an assassin, an angel killer. Alex goes around killing the angels that feed off humans. Alex knows more about Willow than she knows about herself. Her powers are connected to dark and dangerous forces. Alex is sent to assassinate Willow, he realizes that nothing is as it seems. He falls in love with her, leaving them both in grave danger.


What I found interesting is how Weatherly wrote the angels as the villains. The angels in this novel act superior and are beyond beautiful however, they are really evil and they slowly suck the life out of there victims. In most stories, television shows or films, the angel is made to represent Heaven and be peaceful and bright. But throughout this novel, I questioned if all my suppositions were in fact wrong. Maybe we, as a society, all too easily believe what we want to and that in fact, angels are not what we have represented them to be. It is fascinating to be offered a perspective unlike what has become the norm and this helped me question ideas beyond the novel.

I read this book in three days. Weatherly used incredible imagery throughout this novel, making me race through the book. For example:

“Time slowed, sharpened. Alex heard Willow cry out. Cully staggered and fell backward, his gun clattering to the floor; a red bloom of blood burst from his shoulder.”
This passage describes this scene using strong verbs like: slowed, sharpened, burst, cry out, staggered and clattering enabling me to see, hear and feel what happened throughout Angel Burn. This evocative writing is consistent throughout the whole novel.

Another effective writing technique that Weatherly employed to draw me into the book was suspense. She uses mysteries and tangles in confusions and understandings, to create suspense and intrigue making me want to figure out what had just happened and predict what might happen next. For example:

“It was true; the half angel was close to being found. And when she was… Jonah felt his stomach swing with dread.
He still didn’t know whether he made the right decision.”

This passage made me consider the result of Jonah’s choice will be. The more Jonah doubts himself, the more developed his character seemed to be and this really makes me question even farther then what actions he will take next.

I also enjoyed how well Weatherly used three different points of view Willow’s voice is in first person. This lets me know her the most intimately of all the characters. When Weatherly switched into Willow’s perspective, I was able to understand her thoughts and feelings. Alex’s character was written in third person limited, letting me understand him more than a usual third person perspective. When I was able to hear both of their points of view, I was able to understand their romance. The third voice is Jonah, a secondary character, who’s point of view is written in third person limited. By the end of the novel, Jonah’s point of view put most of the puzzle pieces together, but Weatherly made sure that there was still some pieces you had to place together yourself.

I rated this novel a 10 out of 10. It is the first installment in a trilogy. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys action and mystery with a bit of romance.