Angel Eyes

Introduction: I try to keep these reviews as objective as possible, but sometimes I have to just insert a personal opinion! This book reminded me what a really good book is like! Sometimes I get tempted to just give in and start giving 5’s to books that are really only 3 or 4’s. Then I stumble across something like this and remember what a 5 really looks like! I’ve read a number of speculative fiction books and often they downright contradict Scripture. Instead, this one supports it, even quotes it! It teaches Biblical truth in an entertaining, fascinating story that draws you in and makes you long for more! Romance, passion, adventure and scriptural truth combine to make it a great read!

I scoop the halo from the ground and take one, two deep breaths before placing it on my head. The light and heat return. I raise a hand before my eyes and watch as gradually my palm begins to swirl with color. Light flickers from my fingertips. Beyond Jake, the trunk of the willow churns, a kaleidoscope of earth tones. Raindrop prisms fall from it’s branches as the great tree drips away the recent downpour. The whirling colors are in a constant state of movement, and I can’t keep my eyes open for longer than a few seconds before they start to water. I close them, and the vibrant hues continue to swirl on my eyelids, absent any shape, just like my dreams. I open them, and there’s Jake. And his white eyes.

“What is all this?” I breathe.

“It’s the Celestial,” he says, his voice thick. “A realm seen only by angels and their kind.”

“Why can I see it?”

Book: Angel Eyes by Shannon Dittemore, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2012

Genre: Speculative Fiction/Supernatural

Target Audience: Girls 15+

Subjects: Faith, Loss, Angels, Fear

Summary: Cold is all she can feel now. The darkness, being alone, small spaces, everything makes her fear. Along with the fear though is the guilt. She should have known! She should have done something! She could have stopped it. Convinced she’ll never be ok again, Brielle comes home, leaving behind the life that held such tragedy for her. Now she just wants to be warm again. Warm doesn’t begin to describe what she feels when Jake’s hands touch hers. Hot, heat that spreads through her whole body and calms down the fear and guilt, replacing it with a peace she can’t begin to understand. A mysterious gift leads to more of that peace, but questions along with it. Who is this boy? What is this object? Why the heat? Why the peace? When her eyes are opened, Brielle is introduced to a world she never knew was real. Sure she’d heard the ideas spouted, but what she sees is more real than anything she’s ever known!

Notes: The first in a new series, Shannon Dittemore speculates on what a halo might be and what kind of experience someone would have if they could see the spiritual realm. The story begins with a retelling of the story of Elisha praying that the eyes of his servant would be opened to see the angelic warriors surrounding the enemy army and how the servant saw the spiritual realm (Found in 2 Kings 6:8-23). Then it introduces the story of two eighteen year olds, ordinary humans who are given a special gift from God. When wearing the halo of his angel guardian, Jake was given the gift of healing. When wearing the halo after Jake gave it to her, Brielle is given the gift of seeing the spiritual realm – the angels and demons and the physical manifestation of feelings such as fear and love. The application/lesson focus in the story is fear and the power it holds over it’s victims. Brielle has known loss – first her mother when she was only three, then just recently, her best friend was brutally murdered. She can’t fathom how the God who let that happen could be anything but cruel. She and Jake have a discussion about how God hates death as well and will someday make everything right, restore it back to the way it was supposed to be. This section is very well written, not glossing over the hurt and pain of loss, but simply focusing on God’s character and ultimate victory over sin and how sin affects our world. There is another section in which some characters discuss whether or not Brielle is saved and quote straight from Romans 10 as they look at whether she will go to Heaven or not.

Overall – this book is speculative, but in it’s speculation it does not contradict Scripture in any way, but rather supports and even quotes it. I highly recommend this one!

Recommendation Scale: 5/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

2 Kings 6:16-17 – “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those are with us are more than those are with them.” And Elish prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.