Angelfire is the debut novel from Courtney Allison Moulton. It was released February 15, 2011 by Katherine Tegen Books, an Imprint of HarperCollins. This book started off as a simple NaNoWriMo project. NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month and it takes place in November. It is a challenge for all inspiring authors to write a 50,000 word story within a month. Take a moment to imagine writing a full-length novel in the span of a month. Daunting, is it not? But Miss Moulton not only did it, but she also created a world that is refreshingly new an imaginative within that time span. Kudos to her.
Set in a small town in modern day Michigan, Angelfire follows the journey of Ellie Monroe. She has been having nightmares of grotesque monsters. It’s not until she meets a mysterious boy named Will that her nightmares begin to make sense. Ellie has been dreaming of Reapers, monsters that cannot be seen by human eyes and steal human souls and drag them to Hell. Ellie also learns she is this ancient warrior known as the Preliator and has lived several lifetimes. Each lifetime, Will is there to find her, restore her memories, and help train her for the battles she will have to face. But this lifetime is different, as she can’t seem to remember her past lives all too well and the one Reaper that has been able to kill her has been set loose. So now, Ellie must uncover the secrets of her past lifetimes in order to defeat a foe that has killed her before.
The World
The world in Angelfire is extremely fascinating. Moulton mixes and molds a world where Reapers are nightmarish creatures that exist at different levels and in different forms. With each level, the Reaper is harder to kill and takes on an entirely different look. Reapers are also not able to be seen by human eyes as they are mainly located on a different plane called the Grim.
Angels also play a big role in the world she has built. These are not the typical guardian angels one thinks of, but battle-hardened warriors fighting off Reapers and trying to prevent the Apocalypse. It is such a different take than the usual, sweet and innocent creatures that reside on Earth to watch over the humans. The way Moulton weaves the mystery in with the religion and myths surrounding the Angels, and making you question whether they are truly the good guys or not in some points, is one of the main things that kept me hooked the entire book.
Characters
The characters of the story, I would have to say, are what really drive this book. Ellie seems like such a relatable character for any teenage girl. She is quirky and fun, but when she turns on Preliator mode, she becomes this kickass hero that any girl would look up to. It is fun watching Ellie take on this journey and you stand behind her, rooting for her to succeed.
However, there are moments in Ellie’s characterization that left me somewhat befuddled. When she first discovers her abilities as Preliator, she seems to take on the abilities with a cold detachment. Afterwards, she seems to have the normal reaction of denial to what had transpired, but that quickly changes as she seems to easily accept Will’s desire to train her. This is all within a span of a few pages. It seemed somewhat rushed and out of character for Ellie, who was just denying everything that had happened just ten pages before.
Will’s character seems to be the heart of the story. Of course he is the clichéd mysterious stranger that Ellie knows very little about, but in some ways it truly works. Will is learning how to handle this new version of a woman he has known for hundreds of years, so he seems to be somewhat guarded with her never revealing much about her or him. But as the story continues, bits and pieces of Will's personality are revealed and things from his past are slowly being introduced.
It gets frustrating at times at the slow pace with which things about Will are revealed, but at the same time it seems necessary. Moulton tries to balance the information overload as best she can as a debut author, but at times I really wanted to learn more than what was given about Will. Only towards the end did I get a sense of who he seemed to be.
Plot
The plot is redundant in some aspects, with the whole “girl must learn about her destiny and stop a great evil” theme. There will be predictable aspects to the story because of this, but it does not slow the story down. Moulton does try to put a new spin on it, however with the reincarnation twist. It plays heavily throughout the book, helping to support certain actions made by Will or helping to reveal important information that effects Ellie.
And the plot is not overly slow or fast. It has moments where you may feel it is dragging along, but those are few and far between. It is a nice pace that keeps the reader engaged and sitting on the edge of their seat, hungry for more. Until that final page is turned, your heart does not stop racing.
All in all, Angelfire is a story worth reading. It may drag out important information, slowing the pace, but the wait is well worth it in the end. And the way Ellie and Will handle certain situations may leave readers confused, but these moments are few and far between. If you are interested in a quirky, but tough heroine that you can relate to with a mysterious boy that has you drooling within the first few paragraphs, Angelfire is the book for you. On the plus side, Angelfire is the first in a planned trilogy. I cannot wait to continue to follow Ellie's journey.
Rating: 4/5
Rachel Brantley - As books, television, and movies are my life, I feel I can spot what is quality and what is simply a marketed product.
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