The Earth Angel Training Academy

The Earth Angel Training Academy by Michelle Gordon

(Summary taken from the author's website) "When Head of the Earth Angel Training Academy, Velvet, receives a call from an Elder on the first day of term, she knows that the new class will be unlike any other she has taught.

While experiencing the most tumultuous time of her very long existence, Velvet must remember her buried past, and open her eyes to the future so that she can prepare the Earth Angel trainees for the toughest missions of their existence - to Awaken the humans before the world ends.

Time is running out..."

I didn't know what to expect with this book, but I really enjoyed it! It is very different from everything else I have read lately, and that is a bonus in and of itself. Ms. Gordon's writing style is light and fun and easy to read. The character development in this book is really good. I fell in love with Velvet, Aria, and Amethyst right from the beginning. I love the names of the characters as well. Some of the characters are a little hard to relate to, like the ones that are shaped as shapes (like rectangles), but it's fantasy, right? So you just find yourself going with it and in the end it works. Ms. Gordon has created a very fun place to live. I would love to be able to snap my fingers and change the decor in my house or transport myself from one area to another.

The really great thing about this book are the lessons taught, and the fact that it really makes you think. No matter what your thoughts are on heaven or what happens when you die, this book makes you think. Are there really people in heaven trying to help us here on earth? Did we know some of the people around us before coming to earth? How do we become "awakened," as she calls it, or how do we remember who we really are? This book is a fun and light-hearted way to make you think about those things. Even though the questions may be deep, the storyline is mostly light and fun. There are a few heavier moments, but everything ends up happily.

There was some language in this book, which I thought didn't really fit in. I mean, can you picture angels swearing? I don't know. I thought it was awkward and took a good story for kids to read and made it not kid-friendly. Not only that, I just didn't think it fit in the storyline. There was a kind of suicide scene.  It was a little different since she was already dead, but still a heavier part in the story. There was lots of talk of love and some times when you knew things happened but they were never described.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I do recommend it with the previous warnings. I thank Ms. Gordon for allowing me to read and review her book.

Rating: PG-13 (Language, suicide, and some innuendos)

Recommendation: 14 and up. Like any book, you may want to read it first to make sure it is appropriate for your child.

Disclosure: I did receive a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.