Another stupid carbon copy YA angel book. One dimensional characters that you don't care about in the slightest, saccharine-sweet, vomit-inducing insta-love, amateurish writing. One more book to add to the list of vapid YA books that should never have been published. ( )

Angel Star, written by Jennifer Murgia, is the story about good vs evil, or light vs. dark. Teagan’s life isn’t that great: she has only one friend, Claire, is the object of torture by a group of girls at school, is plagued by nighmares, and her father disappeared when she was a baby. One day while sitting on a bench, a new transfer student, Garreth, approaches and talks to her. He seems to shine/glow. She realizes that not only does she feel strongly for him, he makes her feel safe from the nightmares and the dark shadows that seem to follow her. Garreth is her guardian angel. He has watched over her and kept her safe for years. He is finally allowed to appear to her as a human, but only for eight days. During those eight days her destiny will be revealed.
I had mixed feelings about this book. I really liked the chemistry between Garreth and Teagan. Their bond was beautiful. Whenever Teagan was worried he would breathe for her, calming her. It was so sweet. Their dynamic was the best part of the book. Hadrian, Lucifer’s brother, is the dark angel. He tries to corrupt people’s guardian angels so that he can control humans. Garreth and Teagan are constantly running from him. When Hadrian starts targeting people close to Teagan, they stand and fight. While Garreth symbolizes light, Hadrian represents the darkness. Teagan finds herself drawn to Hadrian and the darkness only to be reminded of her light, Garreth. This situation is parallel to the good-angel-bad-angel-on-your-shoulders. Both are trying to pull Teagan in different directions and get her to do something. It is both an internal and outward struggle for Teagan.
There were many things I didn’t like about this book. There were times when I was confused as to the location of the characters; one minute they are talking in the car, the dialogue going, with no mention of leaving the car then all of a sudden they are in the park on a swing set swinging. There were times when I couldn’t tell the difference between her nightmares and reality because she kept “waking up” suddenly in her bed like it was all a bad dream. I could never tell if the action sense took place in her nightmare or in reality. I really liked the basic story of Angel Star. I think Jennifer Murgia could have slowed it down a bit by adding more detail to the action scenes and adding more depth to the characters.
Overall, this book wasn’t for me. I didn’t really like it. In all honesty, I only continued reading, and will probably read the sequel, Lemniscate, because of Garreth and Teagan’s relationship. Their connection was deep, like down to the soul deep. It was fascinating. Jennifer Murgia’s idea was fresh and different from many of the angel books I’ve read. ( )

Jennifer Murgia's debut young adult novel, 'Angel Star', was a marvelous, fast-paced adventure of a young girl faced with a new awareness of non-human beings and the danger surrounding her knowledge. Murgia explores symbolism and the existence of 'guardian angels' that will take you on a journey of a lifetime.*

One aspect of 'Angel Star' that I highly enjoyed was the picture that Murgia painted with her words. The details that she illustrated were very concise and specific without being overdone. I appreciated the world that she created and I felt welcome to jump right in for the ride.

Along with being in the young adult genre, 'Angel Star' explored teenage issues, such as insecurities, bullies, best friends, and first love. All Teagan wanted was a regular high school experience, since growing up without a father made her home-life not so normal. She lacked an outward confidence that her best friend, Claire, made up for during the constant harassment by most popular girl in school. And first love, le sigh, in walks in Garreth, her Guardian Angel (literally). But with light comes the dark to balance it out, and Garreth opens Teagan's eyes to a frightening truth and dilemma that only she can undertake.

I adored the characters that were portrayed in this book. Teagan was so easily identifiable as the normal girl that just tried to survive adolescence unscathed. Claire was so likable as the fun-loving partner in crime that challenged Teagan's boundaries each day. And I was absolutely smitten with Garreth. He was the most perfect angelic love interest. His unwavering love for Teagan was sweet and charming.

On the other spectrum was the mysterious and provocative dark side that threatened to tear Teagan from her world and her new-found love. She had to learn to use what she has buried inside of her to save what matters most in her life. But the dark side explores passion and the excitement of danger that overwhelms and confuses her during this momentous situation.

The fight between light and dark consumed me while reading, I was not sure at any point what would happen. As a whole, I really enjoyed this book. The concepts that Murgia introduced were so creative and fresh that I was on my toes the whole time. This story had so many twists and surprises I was completely mesmerized and never wanted the story to end! This story left a big cliffhanger and I cannot wait to read the next installment called 'Lemniscate'. ( )

This book was a really good read because of the shortness of the book. To me this is the one of those love stories. Most people dont like many love stories. But, I did enjoy this one and I cant wait to pick up other of Jennifer Murgia's books. ( )

i had a hard time finishing this book. the writing was very choppy and the story dragged on a bit at the beginning. i seriously contemplated abandoning this book altogether if not for my almost obsessive-compulsive need to finish stuff that i've started. i also didn't like how the author just seemed to breeze through a character's death mid-way through the book as if it wasn't that important. the one bright spot in the story is hadrian and his conflicted ways. i liked the end part of the book because of him.

3 stars: one star solely because of hadrian and one measly star for everything else that i had to slug through just to finish this book. heh, maybe i really am just a sucker for bad boys. ( )