Book #25: Halo

Title: Halo

Author: Alexandra Adornetto

Date started reading: March 19, 2013
Date finished reading:  March 23, 2013

Publish date: January 2011
ISBN: 9781907410965
Number of pages: 496

Official summary: "Three angels are sent down to bring good to the world: Gabriel, the warrior; Ivy, the healer; and Bethany, a teenage girl who is the least experienced of the trio. But she is the most human, and when she is romantically drawn to a mortal boy, the angels fear she will not be strong enough to save anyone — especially herself — from the Dark Forces. Is love a great enough power against evil?" (http://us.macmillan.com)

Official book trailer:

How I obtained the book: Bought for $3.89 at local used book store (it's actually new, not used)

My commentary:

•  I saw this book and its sequel in the book store several times before I decided to actually pick it up and look at it. Initially I cracked up hardcore because at the beginning, the author includes a quote from William Shakespeare and Beyonce. My first thought was, "Who the hell does that?"

• I finally decided to buy the book when I turned to the author's biography and saw that the author was actually a teenager when the book was published. I was very intrigued to see how a teenager writing a book for teenagers would do compared to adults writing teenager-targeted books. 
• I was extremely pleased with this book. I normally find that the first book in a series lags really bad near the beginning, but this one didn't. I didn't feel like I was being bogged down by all this detail at the first of the book. It got right into the story and dispensed background as it went on. 
• I've seen some reviews where people say that they didn't like the love story between young angel Bethany and human teenager Xavier because it was "immediate love."  I don't agree with that. I think they were fascinated with each other immediately, but the love took time. I think they fell in love as they got to know each other. I don't agree that it was a cheesy love-at-first-sight story. 
• Compared to the other angel-related young adult series I've read, this one starts out much better than the "Fallen" series by Lauren Kate and the "Hush Hush" series by Becca Fitzpatrick, just as good as "Unearthly" by Cynthia Hand. I would also venture far enough to say that it starts out better than the "Blue Bloods" series by Melissa de la Cruz, but that is a combo of angels and vampires, so I don't think I can really compare them in the same way.

Memorable quotes:

• "A man in love can do extraordinary things, I don’t care if you’re an angel, you’re my angel, and I won’t let you go. I don't care if you're an angel, you're my angel, and i won't let you go." ~ Xavier to Bethany
• "One of the most frustrating words in the human language, as far as I could tell, was love. So much meaning attached to this one little word. People bandied it about freely, using it to describe their attachments to possessions, pets, vacation destinations, and favorite foods. In the same breath they then applied this word to the person they considered most important in their lives. Wasn’t that insulting? Shouldn’t there be some other term to describe deeper emotion?" ~ Bethany
• "Humans were so preoccupied with love. They were all desperate to form an attachment to one person they could refer to as their other half. It seemed from my reading of literature that being in love meant becoming the beloveds entire world. The rest of the universe paled into insignificance compared to the lovers. When they were separated, each fell into a melancholy state, and only when they were reunited did their hearts start beating again. Only when they were together could really see the colors of the world. When they were apart, that color leached away, leaving everything a hazy gray. I lay in bed, wondering about the intensity of this emotion that was so irrational and so irrefutably human. What if a persons face was so sacred to you it was permanently inscribed in your memory? What if their smell and touch were dearer to you than life itself?" ~ Bethany
• "I was not too impressed with human language; it seemed absurdly limited. There was so much that couldn’t be put into words. That was one of the saddest things about people -- their most important thoughts and feelings often went unspoken and barely understood." ~ Bethany
• "Sometimes it's better to stop trying to make sense of things. Life isn't clear cut, there are always gray areas." ~ Bethany
• "Straightforward relationships are overrated." ~ Xavier
• "Some say we can't choose who we fall in love with; love chooses us. Sometimes people fall for the complete antithesis of everything they believe they're looking for."
• "Without complexity, there's no intensity." ~ Jake
• "I prayed for all his dreams to come true. I prayed that I would always be able to connect with him -- even if I was no longer on earth." ~ Bethany about Xavier
• "To make one person the center of your world is bound to end in disaster. There are too many factors outside your control."
• "I'm a girl; of course I have a built-in miss-o-meter." ~ Bethany
• "The angel came, the angel saw, the angel fell." ~ Jake Thorn 
• "Don't worry, Beth; there's nothing I love more than a challenge." ~ Xavier
• "It was ironic how love could awaken them to the wonders of the universe, while at the same time confine their attention to one another." ~ Bethany
• "Most people think of religion as some kind of fashion statement. ... I believe in a higher power, a spiritual energy. I think life's too complex to be an accident." ~ Xavier
• "If Xavier was an illness, then I didn't want to recover." ~ Bethany
• "Even your reaction to being called interesting is interesting." ~ Xavier to Bethany
•  "Molly, the human form is beautiful regardless of size or shape." ~ Gabriel
• "Gabriel has as much feeling as that stone angel in the garden." ~ Bethany
• "Beth, I love you and nothing makes me happier than being close to you. You're intoxicating." ~ Xavier
• "Life's a game -- and I happen to know how to play." ~ Jake

Buy on Amazon.com: Halo