The Angel

The Angel
Nastasha LaBrake
May 2010

Summary:

Seth Salvadore-Knight knew that his family wasn't exactly "normal," but he didn't think his life was really all that different from other seventeen-year-olds'. There were no unusual difficulties in his life, just the average problems all teenagers experienced. That was, until he and his family moved to the town of Madison. Almost instantly the hatred began to show, through violent attacks against him, his family, and his friends. It is this violence, this hatred, that will forever change his life and the lives of those closest to him.

Review:

This book was much better than I was expecting! The summary, being very vague, didn't give me much to go on, but I took a leap of faith and decided to give it a try. And I'm really glad I did.

The Angel had me hooked from the beginning: I have read LGBT books, but this book takes it to a whole new level. Seth's parents are a gay married couple who adopted him when he was a baby. Seth, being straight, still has to deal with the harassment and prejudice that comes with having gay dads. When he comes to a new school, in a new town, he learns just how prejudiced people can be.

This book (or, more specifically, the main character) was so sweet, almost to the point of being painful. Seth has so much love for his parents, his sister, his friends... I found myself completely rooting for him through his struggles. It's upsetting to know that people like Brian Archer (the antagonist of this story) exist. In fact, the crazy things that Brian does seem almost unbelievable. However, I know that hate crimes happen more often than people would like to admit. This book is exploring the very dark side of prejudice, and it's definitely something that should be taken seriously.

While there were a few minor spelling and grammar mistakes, I was able to overlook them because the story had me so intrigued. There are a few self-published novels that I almost regret accepting for review, but The Angel stands above those. Nastasha LaBrake is clearly passionate about the subject, passionate about writing, and I know that she has the potential to go far with her writing.

Jane