Book Review | The Day The Angels Fell, by Shaun Smucker

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts in this review are entirely my own.

“Could it be possible that death is a gift?”

I loved this book! It instantly pulled me in, with intense, melodic writing, and was written in such a unique way that it kept me hooked. It was fascinating to read from the perspective of the same character, but as an old man, and a young boy. The difference in his tone, and his age, really stood out, and from the very beginning, we knew that things hadn’t gone quite to plan for Sam, but we didn’t know how, or why. It was all very much a mystery– one that had me reading right until the end.

The Premise:

The book follows the story of Sam, a 12-year-old, who grapples with the death of his mother in a tragic accident after a series of mysterious and strange events. In his innocence and youth, he decides to find the Tree of Life, as described in his father’s stories, to try and bring his mother back.

What I Liked:

1. The switch between Elderly Sam and Younger Sam.
2. Abra– she was a cool character, and I really got a sense of ‘childhood friendship’ through them.
3. The writing style– it’s amazing!

What I Disliked:

I didn’t really dislike anything– it was a good book!

The Characters:

Sam: Sam is a pretty likeable guy. He’s only a kid, but he thinks about some really interesting stuff.

Sam’s dad: I felt so sorry for Sam’s dad. It was interesting to see how he dealt with his grief.

Abra: Abra is such a loyal friend. She was there for Sam all the time, even when she didn’t believe him about his antics. She broke rules to help him,and was there at his mom’s funeral.

Abra’s mom: She was a really lovely lady, and I liked that she was strict.

Mr. Jinn: I instantly got creepy vibes from this guy, but because he helped Sam near the start of the novel I wasn’t sure whether he was good or bad– he might have just been desperate. It was all very cryptic.

Mr. Tennin: I also was on the fence about this guy– he seemed quite pushy at the start, and his charm had me suspicious that he might be the bad guy because he seemed ‘approachable’, which would obviously assist what he wanted.

The three gypsie women: These three kind of freaked me out, but they were cool in their own way.

Sam’s mom: I really liked Sam’s mom, and I was pretty sad when she died.

Final Thoughts:

This is the perfect book for someone who enjoys a balance between real life and fantasy elements and thought provoking concepts surrounding right and wrong, good and bad, and life and death. I found the last few chapters quite bittersweet in some places.