Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow

Pages: 293

Intended Audience:  Mature Teens

Genre: Supernatural Science Fiction

Notes for parents: Coarse language and scenes of violence

The Back Cover

Dad? Zombie.

Mom? Long gone.

Me? Well, that’s the scary part.

The Real World is a frightening place. Just ask sixteen-year-old orphan Dru Anderson, a tough girl who has taken down her fair share of bad guys. She’s armed, dangerous, and ready to kill first and ask questions later. So it’s gonna take a while to figure out who she can trust…

Dru Anderson has been “strange” for as long as she can remember, traveling from town to town with her father to hunt the things that go bump in the night. It’s a weird life, but a good one—until it all explodes in an icy, broken-down Dakota town, when a hungry zombie busts through her kitchen door. Alone, terrified, and trapped, Dru’s going to need every inch of her wit and training to stay alive. The monsters have decided to hunt back—and this time, Dru’s on their menu. Chances of survival? Slim to none.

If she can’t last until sunup, it’s game-over.

What the Back Cover doesn’t tell you:

This is the first book of a series. Dru and her father are paranormal hunters. When she loses her dad (I’ll let you read about how that happens), she has to figure out on her own how to escape the strange creatures that are hunting her. She soon learns that there is a lot more to the Real World than she thought.

What’s good?

The story is fresh. Dru is a kick-butt character with a long list of skills and a quick wit. The supporting characters, including Graves and Christophe are well-drawn and interesting. The setting is harsh and well-suited to the cold evil that lurks after dark.  

Best part: The flaming dog.

What’s not so good?

The story is slow. While there are definitely some exciting parts, I found I had to slog through a lot of banter to get there. Also, I’m not found of a lot of her word choices. Her use of uncommon phrases like “water plashed,” “gormless idiots,” and “barked my hip,” felt awkward and a bit pretentious since it was supposedly coming from a sixteen-year-old. As well, I found the author’s overuse of religious curse words bordered on offensive.

Worst part: Ineffective similes and metaphors.

Recommendations þþþoo

It was good, but sluggish. The story itself was suspenseful and the plot was quite unique. Hopefully the pace picks up in future books in the series.

St. Crow, Lili. Strange Angels. New York: Razor Bill, 2009.