A Touch Mortal
by Leah Clifford
Eden has made the choice. She's decided that since life hasn't been very good to her, she's going to leave it. But the moment she decides, Az walks into her life and everything changes.
Az is more special than Eden could ever have thought. He's an angel caught between worlds. He left "Upstairs", but still hasn't completely fallen "Downstairs". He has more free will than most angels, but is always in danger of coming one of the Fallen.
Eden keeps him from Falling, but now she's in danger.
A choice must be made.
Final thoughts: An absolute mess of a book with moments of greatness hidden in the pages. The author seems to have some sort of logic in her head about what's going on, but she's very bad at conveying it. I constantly found myself questioning things, especially those things having to do with suicide. In Clifford's world, once a person commits suicide, she disappears quite literally from the lives of the people she left. Parents and friends forget about you. Your room is magically converted to an office. Your social security number disappears. All evidence that you existed is gone.
REALLY!?!?! Because that's NOT how it works in the real world. Eventually, most people move on, but the initial impact of a suicide is horrendous and gut-wrenching to those who knew the person. No one just disappears within days of dying. I really don't like the message conveyed with this concept. Kids thinking of killing themselves already believe that no one will care if they live or die; did we really need a book that encourages that opinion???
Eden herself is a massive ball of contradictions. She's strong when the author needs her to be, but weak when the author needs it. It's not character-driven personality, but plot-driven.
And can someone explain to me why suiciders (Siders), suddenly return from death and wander the Earth only in the last hundred years or so and why the powers that be above really have no idea what's going on? No logic at all.
Again... moments of greatness surrounded by mounds of trash.
Rating: 2/5
1 comment:
I felt the exact same way. I thought the book was confusing and disturbing. Who thought a book that glorifies suicide was a good idea for teenagers?
Post a Comment