Title: The Darkangel

Author: Meredith Ann Pierce

Page Count: 238

Series: Darkangel Trilogy, Book 1

Publishing Date/Publisher: April 1, 2007 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (originally published in the early 1980s)

Format: Paperback

Review: I checked out this book from the library because it came to me as a patron recommendation.  I was helping her find a book for her son, and we began reminiscing about book series we read and loved in our youth.  She was very nostalgic about this particular book series, and when I discovered that we had a couple copies left floating around in our system, I decided to read it.

This book is categorized as Young Adult Fiction (I assume because of the dark content), but it read to me more like Juvenile Fiction.  There is very little world building, and the Darkangel gets surprisingly little page presence despite the fact he is constantly being mentioned by the other characters.  He is more like a periphery character, yet he drives the plot.  The heroine of the story, Aerial, reminds me of the character of Belle in Beauty and the Beast.  She is selfless and kind, and for whatever reason sees good in the Darkangel.  She is the only one who can save his soul from the clutches of his evil witchy “mother.”

This book was highly predictable and sometimes I became frustrated that the characters came upon their revelations so much later than I did as a reader.  I didn’t have to be frustrated for long though because I was able to read this book in a matter of a few hours.

This book lacks broad appeal, but I can see how some people might really enjoy it.  It’s gothic feel and dark brooding anti-hero would certainly titillate people who fetishize this sort of paranormal subgenre.

Reader: Bekah

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