Angel by Cliff Mcnish

Freya is recently out of the hospital where she lay essentially comatose for years. She wasn't suffering from a disease, instead she was suffering from being visited by an angel who never returned. After the first visit she waited for him to come back, when the angel never returned she retreated into her mind. Now after long years of therapy and a father who she credits with bringing her back to herself she's out in the world again. Back at school, and she's even become friends with the in-crowd. Everything is going well, until she spies an angel. A very different angel. This one is dark and full of hate and he is following Freya around.

This was a very interesting book. At first I wasn't sure if Freya was suffering from delusions or if she had actually been visited by an angel, especially because the cover flap states that she's turning into one. What to believe? When the answers finally come it is rather beautiful.

McNish writes short chapters, each one beginning with a black page that I've tried to figure out if they are significant and don't think they are, but somehow they added a gravity to the story. How? No idea, but I liked them.

I also really enjoyed McNish's take on angels. It was original and extremely thoughtful. He tells a story filled with light and dark, the eternal struggle between hope and despair, and shows us the powerful influence a person can have on another's life.