Angelfall by Susan Ee

Northern California is left devastated when angels of the apocalypse descend from the sky with the intent of destroying the world. There, 17-year-old Penryn lives with her younger sister Paige, who is disabled, and their schizophrenic mother. While trying to escape their apartment, Paige is abducted by an angel. At the same time, a wounded angel is left for dead, but Penryn nurses him back to health in the hopes that he’ll know where his fellow angels took her sister. Together, they travel to San Francisco to rescue Paige, and risk everything in order to get her back. Penryn is a refreshing and realistic heroine in this moody dystopian universe, which Susan Ee captures through gritty and electrifying prose. It’s Penryn’s rise as such a fierce protagonist that makes Angelfall, which Ee self-published a year before it was re-released by Amazon Children’s Publishing in 2012, such a captivating read. The love that drives her heroism is a gutting reflection on the strength of sisterhood. —Annabel Gutterman

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