Young Adult Review: No Angel by Helen Keeble

No Angel by Helen Keeble

Paperback, 352 pages

Published: October 8th, 2013 by HarperTeen

Source: Publisher

Rafael Angelos just got handed the greatest gift any teenage boy could ever dream of. Upon arriving at his new boarding school for senior year, he discovered that he is the ONLY male student. But what should have been a godsend isn't exactly heaven on Earth.

Raffi's about to learn that St. Mary's is actually a hub for demons-and that he was summoned to the school by someone expecting him to save the day. Raffi knows he's no angel-but it's pretty hard to deny that there's some higher plan at work when he wakes up one morning to discover a glowing circle around his head.

Helen Keeble's debut novel, Fang Girl, has been praised for its pitch-perfect teen voice, and VOYA called it "refreshing and reminiscent of Louise Rennison's Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series." No Angel brings you angels and demons like you've never seen them-complete with the wry humor of Vladimir Tod, sinfully irreverent romance, and some hilariously demonic teenage dilemmas.

Last year I read Fang Girl and it was really a lot of fun, so I was really excited when I received No Angel for review.  This is not a sequel, or even close to it, but it does have the same silliness and humor.  I think maybe Fang Girl had more of the ridiculous silly stuff, but this was still a lot of fun. 

I love male narrated books and Raf was a fresh voice for me.  He's typical male in many ways, but he has a big heart.  He's clearly very caring and incredibly brave when he needs to be.  He may be shocked at discovering he's an angel but he deals with at all very well.  He is pretty hilarious, especially his inner dialogue.  It had me in giggles a few times.  

This book was a lot of fun, but I found at times I started to get a little bored.  Like we were going in circles and not really getting anywhere.  I also didn't know what to think of the romance. It's pretty much non existent but even when it's talked about and so and so likes so and so, I never felt any vibe or real romantic feelings.  It's okay that there wasn't a real strong romance, but I wish it would have been more clear on who was feeling what.  I suppose that's realistic though, teens can be all over in their romantic feelings, especially when it comes to being the only boy in a girls school.  

Overall this was a really enjoyable read.  I have debated the rating on this one a lot, whether it's a 3 star or 4 star book.  I'm settling on 3 stars, but remember that I really had a lot of fun while reading it and I adored Raffi.  If I were to do half ratings 3.5 would be about perfect.  

Disclosure: I received this book for review purposes, all opinions expressed are my own and I was not paid or influenced in any way.

Review: Fang Girl by Helen Keeble

Fang Girl by Helen Keeble

Paperback, 352 pages

Expected publication: Sept. 11th, 2012 by HarperTeen

Source: Publisher

Things That Are Destroying Jane Greene’s Undead Social Life Before It Can Even Begin:

1) A twelve-year-old brother who’s convinced she’s a zombie.
2) Parents who are begging her to turn them into vampires.
3) The pet goldfish she accidentally turns instead.
4) Weird superpowers that let her rip the heads off of every other vampire she meets.(Sounds cool, but it doesn’t win you many friends.)
5) A pyschotic vampire creator who’s using her to carry out a plan for world domination.

And finally:
6) A seriously ripped vampire hunter who either wants to stake her or make out with her. Not sure which.

Being an undead, eternally pasty fifteen-year-old isn’t quite the sexy, brooding, angst-fest Jane always imagined....

Helen Keeble’s riotous debut novel combines the humor of Vladimir Tod with Ally Carter’s spot-on teen voice. With a one-of-a-kind vampire mythology and an irresistibly relatable undead heroine, this uproarious page-turner will leave readers bloodthirsty for more.

Fang Girl is a book you don't take too seriously.  It's quite ridiculous and on the satirical side. But I gotta say that I don't think I have laughed this hard in ages. Seriously, don't drink anything while reading it, it's likely you'll snort it right out.

Jane wakes up buried in a coffin and she immediately knows she's a vampire. Her sire is even digging her up. Unfortunately she's chased off and Jane emerges on her own. But now what? Oh yeah, she calls her mum and dad. And while appropriate behavior occurs, with slight freaking out, this family quickly accepts things and even delves right in to help her figure this all out. With ridiculous experiments of what she 'eats' to testing out the vampire blood on a gold fish, her family is on the road (not literally) to learning everything about vamps.

Jane's matter of fact way of thinking will have you guffawing aloud as she realizes things that are pulled straight out of books. And as she discovers not all that is true, we are learning alongside her.  I mean, some of these things are so ridiculous but absolutely hil-arious.

I had a lot of fun reading the book and I think the ridiculousness was the part I liked the most because the characters didn't really blow me away and the more serious aspects of the book didn't wow me.  I still enjoyed this book and recommend it if you're looking for a satirical comedic ride.  Its worth it for those laughs, trust me.

Disclosure:  I received this book for review purposes, all opinions expressed are my own and I was not paid or influenced in any way.