The A-Word by Joy Preble

This light and fun read is the sequel to The Sweet Dead Life.  If you haven't read that one yet, you might want to check out that review first!

It's been about a year since Jenna and her brother were in their car accident, which resulted in Casey becoming an angel.  Together with angel Amber Velasquez, they solved the Renfrew mystery, healing Jenna and her mom.  Things should be back to normal, right?  But Casey is still here on earth (no promotion for saving Jenna), and he's been "grounded" for using his wings.  Their father is still living mostly in Austin, and might even be seeing another woman.  Even worse:  Casey and Amber have started feeling a "spidey sense" that something is most definitely wrong.  But what?

The best part of this book:  the author's growth since the last book!  You might remember that I wasn't thrilled with some of the writing in The Sweet Dead Life.  The writing in The A-Word is so much better!  The primary characters are more 3D and real and mature.  The characters' actions and conversations feel more age-appropriate too.  In the first book, Jenna's speech and mannerisms seemed much more suited to a high schooler than a middle schooler; in this book she actually is a high schooler, and acting like one.  There was also a ton of putting-down of her brother in the first book and lots of drug references; in this sequel the brother is mostly clean, and there are only a few references to his past drug use.  This leaves a lot of room for character development and plot.

The plot in The A-Word starts right away.  There's a mystery and a sense of impending doom, and a new angel is introduced.  Jenna is struggling with being a normal teen and also trying to help the angels fight the bad in the world.  The mystery kept me guessing up until the end, and I totally enjoyed the ride.  The angels have this great snarky sense of humor, as does Jenna.  Along the way, Jenna will maintain her relationship with her best friend, Maggie (who has her own fantastically fun quirks), and maybe start a relationship with a boy.  :)

Overall, this is definitely a light YA read.  But it's so much fun!  I listened to the the audiobook during my commute and literally laughed out loud a number of times.  I recommend.

Posted by Tynga at 01:00

 angels, Blackstone Audio, Humorous, Joy Preble, Library, Paranormal, Review, The Sweet Dead Life, young adult  1 Person left their mark

Tynga is a 32 years old mom of two, from Montreal, working as a lab technician in an hospital specialized in heart disease. In her free time, she enjoys reading all things Paranormal and photography.

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