Crystal Shade by István Szabó & Orlanda Szabó

Synopsis:

Seven year old Grace always dreamt of becoming a guardian angel; like those who guarded and guided her people and prepared to bravely fight in a dreaded mythical event, the Crystal Shade – which never came. It's not like Grace ever wanted to see Demons. Or wants to know what evil and darkness is – things that no one ever faced on her world and as the legends says, the Crystal Shade carries within –, nor does she want to die to be reborn as a guardian. But she thinks the mysterious life of angels is so noble, a fable that it sounds exciting – until it actually happens.

Review: 

This was such an interesting story concept for me, I remember when I received the book for review, and I remember thinking to myself how is a story being told by a seven year old going to work. I mean even in the YA genre seven is a little young, I wondered if I was going to be able to identify with the character, and for me as a reader I need to be able to identify with the characters in the book. But the book is really so much more than I thought it was going to be. 

To begin with I have to say that the writing was very captivating, as well as very vivid in its descriptions. I could easily take the descriptions of things from within the book and then imagine it in my head. The writing was really well done but the only down side to the writing in the book was how it was paced. There were definitely times when I wanted the book to pick up a little bit more because felt like the book was lagging a bit. 

As for the little girl, who I was concerned about her age and my ability to connect with her, it really wasn't that hard to connect with her. She was a well written character, and it was a really interesting concept to read about. It's interesting to think about all the things that children want to be when they grow up, and I don't think I have ever heard a child wish to be an angel so it was certainly unique to have a child who really wants to be an angel. 

I'm not sure that Grace knew what exactly being an angel entailed, but while she learning about how to be an angel you start to get a clearer picture that not everything is happy, there is clearly something going on that is not all good. So over the course of time you get to see not just the good side of being an angel but you also get to hear about the darkness of the Crystal Shade. The entire tone of the book changes, which is kind of an interesting twist to the book. 

Overall, I would say that the book is a pretty good book. I think it has an interesting concept and had a good tone to the book. My only major complaint was that I wish the book hadn't lagged so much, that maybe it was faster paced. But other than that I think the book was pretty good and you might be interesting in giving it a try if you like angel books.