Angel Eyes by Shannon Dittemore
Reviewed by: Lara M. Van Hulzen
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publishing Date: May 2012

Brielle Matthews returns to her small hometown of Stratus, Oregon after her best friend, Ali, is murdered. Having spent time in Portland studying ballet at a prestigious school for the gifted, Brielle comes home heavy with guilt and fear. Her single father tries to comfort her and make life as normal as possible, but Brielle knows her life can never be the same.

Jake is new to Stratus and lives next door to Brielle with his guardian, Canaan. He and Brielle share a few classes, one of which is photography. While in the darkroom together, Brielle has a panic attack over a picture of Ali and Jake comforts her. As he holds her, she can’t help but notice how warm he is and that she instantly feels peace. When Brielle goes out into the woods alone to take photographs, she falls and breaks her ankle, only to be saved by Jake and healed by his hands.

When Jake and Canaan go out of town for a week, Jake leaves a gold ring for Brielle to keep while he’s gone. It fits on her wrist like a cuff and fills her with peace. When she places it on her head, she discovers she can see the Celestial world around her and indeed has angel eyes. When Jake and Canaan return, she is told the truth that Canaan is indeed an angel in charge of protecting Jake from the demon, Damien, who wants Jake’s healing powers for evil. Canaan now must protect Brielle as well.

Brielle struggles with her newfound gift, as well as believing in a God who would allow her mother to die and Ali to be murdered. Through the challenges she faces with Jake, and because of his simple, pure love for her, she learns that God is a good God and she wants nothing more than to fight darkness and spread His light.

Angel Eyes is breathtaking. It is a book that will have you reading late into the night, wishing there were more hours in the day to devour the story. It will open your eyes to the Celestial world to where you can’t walk away unchanged. Filled with Biblical truths that hit at the heart of real and raw grief, Angel Eyes reveals the spiritual battle fought daily and the God who controls it all.

Rated PG: Battle scenes between angels and demons and scenarios that might frighten a younger reader. However, I am definitely having my 14 year-old and 12 year-old children read this. Powerful, amazing story.

Book provided by the author. Thank you!!