Common Sense Media Review
By Michael Berry
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
An intense, sometimes horrific, end-of-the-world adventure.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
Six weeks after angels have descended upon Earth and destroyed most of civilization, 17-year-old Penryn struggles to protect her mentally ill mother and her wheelchair-bound sister. She witnesses a battle between two angels, only to see the victor fly away with her sister, leaving behind the loser, Raffe, shorn of his wings. Penryn and Raffe form an uneasy alliance as they make their way to San Francisco to confront the new angelic regime.
Is It Any Good?
ANGELFALL serves up a fresh take on the Apocalypse, using angels as the instruments of humanity's destruction. Seventeen-year-old Penryn is an engaging and resourceful narrator-protagonist, and the relationship that develops between her and the injured angel Raffe has a refreshingly sarcastic undertone. Much of the story's big picture, however, remains obscured, with little hint about what the angels are actually up to, and that withholding of key information undercuts some of the plot's urgency. Some of the revelations at the book's climax, however, are likely to discomfort some of the novel's more sensitive readers.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the popularity of angels in recent young-adult fantasy fiction. Why might this be a trend these days?
What kinds of moral tradeoffs might you have to make in the wake of a cataclysm as in Angelfall?
What do various religions tell us about the end of the world?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Fantasy
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , Family Stories ( Siblings ) , Friendship
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Amazon Children's Publishing
- Publication date : August 28, 2012
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 14 - 17
- Number of pages : 290
- Available on : Paperback, Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Kindle
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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