Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

My Book of Life by Angel

3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 · rating details · 326 ratings · 108 reviews

When sixteen-year-old Angel meets Call at the mall, he buys her meals and says he loves her, and he gives her some candy that makes her feel like she can fly. Pretty soon she's addicted to his candy, and she moves in with him.As a favor, he asks her to hook up with a couple of friends of his, and then a couple more. Now Angelis stuck working thestreets at Hastings and Main...more

Hardcover, 256 pages

Published September 4th 2012 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) (first published August 22nd 2012)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

September 2012 YA Fiction

49th out of 111 books — 84 voters

Mock Printz 2013

59th out of 75 books — 278 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 944)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Aug 12, 2012 FREEBIRD rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone

Recommended to FREEBIRD by: karen

Shelves: abusive-relationships, angels, contemporary-fiction, drug-abuse, poetry, real-life-issues, young-adult

Leavitt crafted a beautiful story told completely through verse. Even though this book was gritty, there were still redeeming and hope-inducing qualities to it that kept the story from descending into the route of nihilism. That's a pretty tough job considering My Book of Life by Angel is about child prostitution. This novel balanced on a tight rope, which only served to make it more impressive when this novel succeeded immensely. There were a variety of ways this book could have been crafted, t...more

5 likes · like · see review

Oct 14, 2012 Kari rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, free-verse

Sixteen-year-old Angel, a vulnerable teen, is coerced into drugs and prostitution by a young man she meets in a mall during a time when sex workers disappeared from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. What Angel must endure to get through every day life is heroic enough, but when Melli comes into her life, the stakes get a lot higher.

Told with heart, courage, and amazing insight into emotion and human struggle, Martine Leavitt writes a story that is impossible to forget.

And for readers who rely heav...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 26, 2013 Rebecca Birkin rated it 5 of 5 stars

The night I started Martine's book, MY BOOK OF LIFE BY ANGEL, I had only ten minutes to read. Ten minutes turned into thirty. The next morning I did what I never do: after I got my family off for the day, I opened the book again, planning only to read "Just a page or two.”

Despite the call of a long To Do list, I couldn’t stop reading until I finished the book. I’m busy, so I have to be a disciplined reader. But MY BOOK OF LIFE BY ANGEL was just so incredible that I had to stay with it until the...more

like · see review

Apr 07, 2013 Maddi added it

The author’s purpose of My Book of Life by Angel was to educate the reader about the world of child prostitution. The main character is a 16-year-old girl named Angel who has become addicted, to “candy” that was given to her by a man named Call. He has also convinced her that he’s fallen in love with her, and that she needs here to do a few favors for him (being nice to a few of his friends). She finds herself moving in with him and unable to get away. He even threatens to hurt her younger broth...more The author’s purpose of My Book of Life by Angel was to educate the reader about the world of child prostitution. The main character is a 16-year-old girl named Angel who has become addicted, to “candy” that was given to her by a man named Call. He has also convinced her that he’s fallen in love with her, and that she needs here to do a few favors for him (being nice to a few of his friends). She finds herself moving in with him and unable to get away. He even threatens to hurt her younger brother, Jeremy. Obviously, the author Ms. Leavitt educates the reader about the horrible incidents if prostitution, including the fact that girls are “commonly lured into prostitution because the man she thinks is her boyfriend turns out to be a pimp.”

The theme of this novel is that love will find a way. I’m referring to the love and friendship between Angel and Melli. Melli is an 11-year-old girl who was brought by Call. He tells Angel that she needs to show Melli the ropes, but Angel tells him she alone will make enough money for two. Her devotion to Melli helps her devise a plan that eventually frees them from Call and brings Melli back to her parents.

The style of this book is a narrative. You can tell this is a narrative because she is telling the story through a series of events in chronological order. For example, Angel says that
“When he was gone,
I got out my book
and I went slow and quiet to the couch
and I said, slow and quiet, Melli, I have magic, too.
My book hides secrets, in code: a b c d
abracadabra—sleight of word,
letters up my sleeve.
Call never checks sleeves, Melli.
I’ll find a noun behind your ear,
and make the meaning disappear—
but nothing made her smile.”
This style of writing is effective because the reader feels like they are experiencing the story with the main character, which ultimately makes the story more heartbreaking.

I really enjoyed reading My Book of Life by Angel, by Martine Leavitt. The book was written in free verse poetry. Some authors cannot effectively use this type of poetry, and it ends up an utter disaster. Leavitt is so brilliant with free verse that what she doesn’t openly state you can tell by her emotion. Angel’s voice is conveyed as passionate and broken and sorrowfully beautiful. This book is relatable to others I have read by Ellen Hopkins, such as Identical and Impulse. These novels also tell stories about suffering teenagers, and convey a lot of misery.
(less)

like · see review

Mar 14, 2013 Terri rated it 4 of 5 stars

Between 1983 and 2002, nearly 70 women, many of them sex workers disappeared from the Downtown Eastside area of Vancouver. Little attention was paid even when, in 1997, Robert William Pickton handcuffed and stabbed a prostitute who was able to escape from him and report the incident. The charges were dropped because the woman was seen as "unreliable." The disappearances continued, and in 2002 the remains of nearly 50 of the missing women were found on Pickton's farm.

In "My Book of Life by Angel,...more Between 1983 and 2002, nearly 70 women, many of them sex workers disappeared from the Downtown Eastside area of Vancouver. Little attention was paid even when, in 1997, Robert William Pickton handcuffed and stabbed a prostitute who was able to escape from him and report the incident. The charges were dropped because the woman was seen as "unreliable." The disappearances continued, and in 2002 the remains of nearly 50 of the missing women were found on Pickton's farm.

In "My Book of Life by Angel," Martine Leavitt pays homage to these missing women. A finalist for the 2013 Los Angeles Times Young Adult Literature Book Prize, "My Book of Life by Angel" is a beautifully written novel in verse, deserving of more than one reading - and because it is such a fast read, reading it more than once would not be an issue. The novel is the "book of life" written by teen sex worker, Angel. Like so many young prostitutes, Angel is lured into the life by Call who meets her, gives her lots of attention, pretends to love her and be her boyfriend, and gives her "candy." Addicted, she eventually goes to work for Call and endures his abuse and threats to harm her younger brother. Many of her friends, also sex workers, begin to disappear, including her best friend Serena. Throughout the story, an ominous van appears, which another prostitute, "Widow," has warned Angel away from. When Call brings Melli, an eleven year old he has taken from a group home, to their apartment, he wants Angel to groom her for the profession. She desperately tries to protect Melli by bringing home double pay each day and coming up with a "plan" to save them both. Though the book is dark, the ending is hopeful, while still leaving the reader wondering.

"My Book of Life" is filled with thematic material, imagery, and symbolism. The plight of young prostitutes, the presence of angels, abuse, silence, shoes, and Milton's "Paradise Lost" all add to the layers found in this important novel. There is much here for study, thought, and discussion. It could easily be used in a Youth Issues Social Studies class or an upper level English course. Though the novel definitely contains mature subject matter, there is no offensive language or graphic sex detail. It is appropriate for most high school students and for classroom use.

Highly recommended. Give this to fans of Ellen Hopkins ("Crank") and Carol Lynch-Williams ("Glimpse") - though Leavitt's writing is far superior to either of these books.(less)

like · see review

Feb 10, 2013 Cornmaven rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: high-school

A haunting novel in verse about the world of prostitution. It is a quick read, but a difficult one, too. Angel's dysfunctional life spirals down to drugs and tricks after the death of her mother. She realizes this is all wrong, but finding a way out is easier said than done. Leavitt does a great job of exposing the hatred of women that is part of this industry (and it is an industry), juxtaposed against various johns' remorse, guilt, desires, and her pimp's emboldened plan to have prostitution l...more A haunting novel in verse about the world of prostitution. It is a quick read, but a difficult one, too. Angel's dysfunctional life spirals down to drugs and tricks after the death of her mother. She realizes this is all wrong, but finding a way out is easier said than done. Leavitt does a great job of exposing the hatred of women that is part of this industry (and it is an industry), juxtaposed against various johns' remorse, guilt, desires, and her pimp's emboldened plan to have prostitution legalized in Vancouver, much like it is in the Netherlands. You read Call's business model, then read Angel's accounts of her customers, and you want to slap someone.

Melli Smith's appearance in the book only makes the reader angrier at the situation. It is sad and pitiful, and you know while reading it that it happens all the time. Leavitt's afterword chronicles one of the inspirations for this novel - a serial killer of prostitutes in Vancouver who went uncaught for almost 20 years because no one would believe the women. She lists the known victims in the back and uses some of their names in the book, but not as actual characters.

The ending is uplifting, thank goodness, and the writing is almost breathtaking. Angel's description of her entering this world: "Now I know/in a single breath of yes, yes,/you can hear your soul/leaking out of your mouth. Indeed, she describes feeling like she is evacuating most of her organs as she tries to kick her drug habit, and get out. A metaphor for the destruction of herself perhaps.

Her developed attachment to Paradise Lost is wonderful, courtesy of a customer, is wonderful. And while she is eventually punished for seeing Milton's work in a different way than the professor who makes her read Chapter 9, she becomes lost in the words, and indeed "smiled to know/that you can't see a thing/unless you put on words like glasses." Her notebook are her words which open her eyes and lead her to freedom.

Upper high school suitable because of the content, and there will be much to discuss. Maybe even read Paradise Lost along with it.

(less)

like · see review

Feb 01, 2013 Sandy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: library, ya, favorite

At the corner of Hasting and Main, she stands. Waiting with a pink ballet shoe on one foot and an apple green sandal on the other, she passes the time with Widow. What comes from Widow’s mouth is harsh but Angel takes comfort in the words and feels at ease with the woman who stands beside her nightly as they wait for men to come a-calling. These men just need to help Angel and Widow make it through the night. Angel will then hand her sums to Call who she thought understood her and took her in. C...more At the corner of Hasting and Main, she stands. Waiting with a pink ballet shoe on one foot and an apple green sandal on the other, she passes the time with Widow. What comes from Widow’s mouth is harsh but Angel takes comfort in the words and feels at ease with the woman who stands beside her nightly as they wait for men to come a-calling. These men just need to help Angel and Widow make it through the night. Angel will then hand her sums to Call who she thought understood her and took her in. Call, has his own agenda and his supply of candy never runs out and this cycle is never ending. Her friend Serena has disappeared as well as many others in their profession and Angel tries to find a way out. Fearing the worse of Serena’s disappearance, Angel is scared and sees the despair her life is headed in. Hope is on the horizon until Call brings home Melli, a young child that Angel feels committed to. The life on Hasting and Main is no life for Angel, yet alone a child, but what can Angel do when she feels her own hands are tied?

Written in verse you would think this book would be beautiful and flowery but yet the picture is anything but. The harsh world of working the streets in downtown Canada and the feeling of despair are written within the pages of this book. The verses flowed so wonderfully and so dramatic that as I reader I was reading them out loud to feel the power of the statements and to feel the humbleness of the characters as they shuffled along in their strive. The imagery of old, bitter Widow, standing on the street corner yelling at Angel and Angel standing beside her, feeling her wrath but also knowing that his tone was not intended to be cruel but that it was her way of showing concern and love was so wonderful. There is so much power and imagery inside the pages of this book, if you read it with an understanding of the characters and the openness that they seeking. Truly loved this book

"As soon s I knew what Call had made me,
the first time a man said in a word what I was
and I couldn't even say that's not true--
as soon as that happened

I knew I could not bring that word home
even if I wanted to--
Jeremy and I weren't even allowed to say stupid
or hate--
my dad would never allow a word like me."(less)

like · see review

Jan 07, 2013 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: dark, poetry, not-graphic, voice, ya, life

In a dentist chair
when you're so upside down
and you don't have anything else to hang on to
you want to believe maybe this isn't all you get--
when so many people try to beat the angel out of you,
you hang on for dear life.

And then the baby dentist was done
and I lived.
I always live.

-----

I said, I'm sorry Melli.
I said, there has to be the possibility of sad endings
or there couldn't be such a thing as happy endings.
Endings are happy because they could have been sad.
Maybe ours will be sad.

-----

Child pr...more In a dentist chair
when you're so upside down
and you don't have anything else to hang on to
you want to believe maybe this isn't all you get--
when so many people try to beat the angel out of you,
you hang on for dear life.

And then the baby dentist was done
and I lived.
I always live.

-----

I said, I'm sorry Melli.
I said, there has to be the possibility of sad endings
or there couldn't be such a thing as happy endings.
Endings are happy because they could have been sad.
Maybe ours will be sad.

-----

Child prostitution.

Angel is sixteen and popular with johns because she looks thirteen.

Things were rough at home and Call gradually lured her away from her dad, got her hooked on the high of his "candy" and made her think that he loved her. Now she is trapped living with Call working the streets night after night in a drug-induced haze with no hope of escape.

Serena (who was nineteen but looked sixteen) took Angel under her wing and loved and protected her, but Serena has disappeared. And now Call has brought in eleven-year-old Melli for Angel to teach and mentor.

Angel doesn't really care what happens to herself, but she can't let Melli become first her and then Serena, so now she is going to try to write her own book of her own life with the ending of her choosing.

If she can.

-----

In the Vancouver Downtown Eastside,
where Call lives and now me too,
all the doors and windows are barred at night--
the street is the jail
and there's no escape.

Where Call lives
people know how to sleep sitting up
and how to eat without teeth
and how to carry their whole world
on their backs.

Where Call lives
most of the churches are shelters,
with beds for the bedless
and soup for the soupless.

Call has a good haircut and good shoes--
shoes with laces double-knotted and hard soles
and stiff heels
and pockets in his shirts--
he could walk into an office
and nobody would blink.

But here they blink.
Here, he is gentry.
He says, I am the beginning of gentrification
at Hastings and Main.

Call wants to be the boss of something.
He can't do it in the real world
so he will be the king of Eastside.
He is always disappointed with Eastside.
It lets him down every day.(less)

like · see review

Dec 31, 2012 Courtney rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: abuse, addiction, realistic-fiction, teen-fiction, novel-in-verse

Oh. Wow.
Angel was a normal girl who lived in a "pretty house, with pretty parents". But she liked to steal shoes. Not pairs, just the single ones from displays. She'd been busted a few times, but the last was by Call. Call took Angel under his wing and introduced her to "candy". He asks her is she loves him. Because if she really loved him, she'd help him earn money. So she does. She works the streets now. Then Serena went missing. Angel knows she's dead because her "going-away money" is still...more

like · see review

Dec 04, 2012 Ed added it

Leavitt, M. (2012). My book of life by Angel. NY: Macmillan/Farrar Straus Giroux. 247 pp. ISBN: 978-0-374-35123-6. (Hardcover); $17.99.

Heck, Superhero is still one of my favorite books of all time and Keturah and Lord Death was a National Book Award finalist. Consequently, when I saw that Leavitt had a new book out this year, I was determined to review it. However, when I read this book the first time, it threw me for a loop. It is a verse novel and I had decided that I was tired of verse novels...more

like · see review

Oct 28, 2012 Paul Hankins rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mr-hankins-says-don-t-miss, october-2012-reads, young-adult-diversity, young-adult-edgy, young-adult-fiction, young-adult-in-verse, young-adult-social-issues, young-adult-tender-touching

A gutsy read here with a need for some consideration regarding reader advisory. Angel is a runaway who has been taken in under the care of "Call," who pimps Angel out to the Vancouver streets.

Encounters with her "johns" are not described in detail, but the novel-in-verse approach employed by Leavitt provides enough to let us know what is happening to Angel each time without being gratuitous.

Angel begins to write down her experiences after the disappearance of her friend in the streets, Serena. W...more

like · see review

Oct 13, 2012 Suzanne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: peach-consideration

Prose poetry cry to the angels—or anyone really, even herself—to be saved from life as a 16-year-old drug addicted prostitute in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Angel starts her story after the disappearance of her street friend Serena, she who believed in angels and Wednesday night church, where they served the free hot dogs. If fact, many street girls have gone missing. There’s talk of a hunter, a Mr. P. with his van who takes and hurts the girls. They never come back, and when Serena’s gone an...more

1 like · like · see review

Sep 22, 2012 Liviania rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoy novels-in-verse. The good ones are propulsive. The poetry invites you to linger over the way things are said, yet pushes you along to flow of the words. I find it very easy to slip into the rhythm of the story in a way that rarely happens with prose fiction.

National Book Award Finalist Martine Leavitt tackles tough topics in MY BOOK OF LIFE BY ANGEL, much like YA-novel-in-verse-heavy-hitter Ellen Hopkins. The narrator Angel is sixteen, working as a prostitute in Vancouver. She ran...more I really enjoy novels-in-verse. The good ones are propulsive. The poetry invites you to linger over the way things are said, yet pushes you along to flow of the words. I find it very easy to slip into the rhythm of the story in a way that rarely happens with prose fiction.

National Book Award Finalist Martine Leavitt tackles tough topics in MY BOOK OF LIFE BY ANGEL, much like YA-novel-in-verse-heavy-hitter Ellen Hopkins. The narrator Angel is sixteen, working as a prostitute in Vancouver. She ran away to live with her boyfriend Call, who unbeknownst to her was a pimp. He got her addicted to drugs and convinced her that she wouldn't ever be welcome in her home again. It's a series of events that's happened to far too many girls.

But two events happen that give Angel the strength to go cold turkey. The first is the disappearance of Serena, a more experienced hooker who watched out for her. The second is the appearance of Melli, a mute eleven year old who Call wants to turn out. Angel is not so inured to her life that she's okay with that. She works double shifts and keeps turning down the drugs in order to protect her young charge. But as long as Melli is with Call she'll never be safe.

There is a noticeable shift in Angel's narration as she becomes more coherent and able to think more clearly about multiple things at once. The poetry always felt like a logical way for Angel to express herself. One of the things that makes the most impact on her during her time with Call is PARADISE LOST, Milton's epic poem, which a john makes her read aloud.

MY BOOK OF LIFE BY ANGEL is for mature readers only. It deals with prostitution of underage girls, drug abuse, and murders that go ignored. They are all concepts people have to deal with eventually, but some younger readers may not be ready to handle the intensity of the novel yet. I had trouble with the end note, which discusses the real court cases and disappearances that inspired MY BOOK OF LIFE BY ANGEL.

This is a good book for anyone looking for a contemporary dealing with the darker side of modern life. I expect fans of the aforementioned Ellen Hopkins will really enjoy it. (less)

like · see review

Sep 21, 2012 Barbara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: abusive-relationships, bullies, community, death, families, faith, friendship, ncbla2013, novels-in-verse, writing, addiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. After the death of her mother, Angel is lost and finds solace in shoplifting shoes. She meets Call, who pays attention to her and provides drugs that seem to ease the pain of her loss. Although Call takes her in when her father kicks her out, the sixteen-year-old quickly realizes that he is a pimp, and she is his to sell, to do with as he wishes. Or, as he would say, it's all a matter of supply and demand. In this novel in verse set in Vancouver, Angel hears rumors about the many girls and women...more

1 like · like · see review

Aug 09, 2012 Kathy Martin rated it 4 of 5 stars

I don't think I have ever read a novel in verse before. I was amazed at the complexity of thought and emotion that could be packed into so few words and phrases. Angel has a very powerful voice. I felt so sorry for the child who dealt with grief by stealing and who ran away to the Mall to get away from her sorrow. And even more sorry when she fell for what Call was offering.

It is easy to see how vulnerable children can get sucked into prostitution one little step at a time. Seeing that world th...more I don't think I have ever read a novel in verse before. I was amazed at the complexity of thought and emotion that could be packed into so few words and phrases. Angel has a very powerful voice. I felt so sorry for the child who dealt with grief by stealing and who ran away to the Mall to get away from her sorrow. And even more sorry when she fell for what Call was offering.

It is easy to see how vulnerable children can get sucked into prostitution one little step at a time. Seeing that world through the eyes of a young woman who is still clinging to a little bit of hope and goodness but seldom finding the goodness was heartbreaking.

When Call brings home a little girl of eleven named Melli, Angel tries to protect her. She takes her out with her to her stretch of street by the gate of ten thousand happiness and has Melli hide in the shadows while she works. She is watched over by another of the women when Angel goes on her "dates." The other woman is called the Widow and has lost her name because of the drugs and the abuse she has faced on the streets. Angel tries to find her name but none of them seem right to the Widow. Still she does do what she can for the two younger girls until she is attacked and beaten.

I was disgusted by all the "normal" people who could look right through this child and not do anything. I was angry at the father who threw her away when she acted out. I hated the car loads of young men who drove through the area where Angel was and threw words and garbage at her. I hated the men who bought her but never even saw her as someone real. And I especially hated Call. He was busy trying to get a petition going to legalize prostitution and busy seeing himself as a businessman. No matter what promises he made to Angel he still didn't see her as a person worthy of respect or, even, a person at all. He tried to hold her with drugs and threats but her spirit wouldn't be held.

This was a remarkable story about a remarkable young woman in a horrible situation. It is about the power of hope. It doesn't have a happy ending. As Angel says, "there has to be the possibility of sad endings, or there couldn't be such a thing as happy endings. Endings are happy because they could have been sad." But the ending is hopeful.

I recommend this one to thoughtful readers. The lyrical language and gritty realism will not be easily forgotten.
(less)

1 like · like · see review

Feb 18, 2013 Micah rated it 4 of 5 stars

I must admit that I first approached this novel as . . . something I could rip through really quickly, so as to get on to another from the ever-growing stack of books that demand my attention. Verse-form novels have always struck me as a cute idea, trendy trendy, but not really my cup-o-tea.

So, yeah, I have been taught a humbling lesson in knowing my own mind.

Martine Leavitt’s My Book of Life by Angel is gut wrenching and gorgeous. It is a matter-of-fact portrayal of everyday evil; of teen pros...more

like · see review

Oct 07, 2012 Cm rated it 5 of 5 stars

I read this book, and then re-read it over and over again. Each time I felt the character speaking to me with a voice I'll never forget. Written in verse, Angel pulls us into her disturbing existence that we ache to see, though the language gives us hope that she is not broken by it. We trust that though her life is unfair and horrific, she has found truth and the essence of all that is beautiful. Martine Leavitt has given the world the story of a girl who grabs hold of the innocence in each of...more

like · see review

Jul 01, 2012 Krystal rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc

I was surprised that I liked this book. Typically, I don't enjoy books that are written in verse. However, Martine Leavitt writes powerfully, her words injected with strong emotions that stick with the reader throughout the novel. Angel is a girl who has fallen on hard times at a very young age. After her mom passed away, Angel feels lonely and vulnerable. With her father and her arguing more and more, Angel turns to drugs to feel better-a man named Call her supplier. Before long, Call convinces...more I was surprised that I liked this book. Typically, I don't enjoy books that are written in verse. However, Martine Leavitt writes powerfully, her words injected with strong emotions that stick with the reader throughout the novel. Angel is a girl who has fallen on hard times at a very young age. After her mom passed away, Angel feels lonely and vulnerable. With her father and her arguing more and more, Angel turns to drugs to feel better-a man named Call her supplier. Before long, Call convinces her to leave her home and turn tricks for him. Angel, her brain addled with drugs and pain, is slowly working her way out from under the influence of the drugs when the reader meets her. Melli, a young child brought in by Call, provides further encouragement for Angel to escape from her current lifestyle and ensure Melli's safety.

Angel's character is depressing. Her mother is dead, her father and brother moved, and she is turning tricks in very dangerous streets. Many women have gone missing over the past few months, including Angel's friends, and Angel must be constantly on the look-out...a hard thing to do when one is on drugs. Though Angel wants to dull the pain of her everyday life, she knows she must work past the withdrawal period and begin to feel again. Melli is brought in maybe halfway through the book. Her presence will likely depress the reader even more. She is the one innocent person in the book, someone previously untouched by this kind of lifestyle. Her presence hits Angel hard, reminds Angel of her younger brother. The book continues with Angel doing her very best to "save" Melli.

The humiliation that Angel endures at the hands of the people who "buy" her for a short time is almost unbearable. It's literally like a train wreck that the reader is powerless to stop. She can't seek help from the police; Call has at least one policeman under his thumb. She does not really have her own savings, though she does have her dead friend's "escape money." With Melli in the pictuer, the pressure is on for Angel to "shape-up" and escape with Melli's childlike innocence intact. This book is a quick read, but one that will haunt the reader after setting the book down. The author bravely highlights a very problematic issue and makes it known to her readers with glaring reality. My Book of Life by Angel is recommended to young adult/adult readers.(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 16, 2013 Mary Skramovsky rated it 5 of 5 stars

This powerful novel told in verse is the story of Angel, a teenage runaway. It is based on the Eastside prostitutes of Vancouver B.C. Angel’s mother has died and her father who is still grieving the loss, ignores Angel and her brother Jeremy. The teen ditches school and spends time stealing shoes at the mall. She meets Call who tells her he loves her and has Angel move in with him. He gives her candy (drugs) and soon she is forced into prostitution and Call is her pimp. Angel’s best friend Seren...more

like · see review

Dec 06, 2012 Paul Lunger rated it 5 of 5 stars

Martine Leavitt's "My Book of Life by Angel" is a verse written story that is haunting as it is revealing in substance. The story revolves around Angel a teenager who leaves home & meets a guy named Call who she moves in with since he supplies her with "candy" that makes her feel better. He then prostitutes her out in order to help raise money for the place they live in. When he brings home an 11 year old girl, Melli Smith, things change for Angel as she realizes she can't allow her life to...more

like · see review

Aug 19, 2012 Kelly rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-fiction, read-in-2012

2.5.

I'm not entirely sure if the verse format worked with such a heavy story. I feel like it captured Angel's voice right and really added to the despair and pain of her character, but at the same time, the story itself was so tough I'm not sure the verse was necessary to convey the voice, either.

I think there's something topically and stylistically that'll appeal to some fans of Ellen Hopkins, but this is much more literary. This feels like one of those books that could have some award-y talk...more

like · see review

Nov 08, 2012 Clementine rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, cybils-2012, fiction, ya, verse, favorites

Angel meets Call at the mall when he catches her stealing one of the display shoes. He tells her he loves her and gives her candy to make her feel as though she can fly. It isn’t long before she’s addicted to his candy, and when her dad throws her out, she moves in with him. Then he asks her to help him out and hook up with a few of his friends. Before Angel even knows what’s really happening, she’s working the streets in Vancouver. When her friend Serena disappears without a trace and no one se...more Angel meets Call at the mall when he catches her stealing one of the display shoes. He tells her he loves her and gives her candy to make her feel as though she can fly. It isn’t long before she’s addicted to his candy, and when her dad throws her out, she moves in with him. Then he asks her to help him out and hook up with a few of his friends. Before Angel even knows what’s really happening, she’s working the streets in Vancouver. When her friend Serena disappears without a trace and no one seems to care, Angel knows things are getting even worse. Then Call brings home a very young girl, and Angel knows it’s time to get out–if not for herself, than for this new girl.

I hadn’t heard of Leavitt’s haunting, beautiful verse novel until it was nominated for the Cybils. I’ll be honest: the cover doesn’t do anything for me, and verse novels make me uneasy in general. This is a perfect example of how I can still be surprised and blown away by a book. My Book of Life by Angel is an absolutely stellar read, well worth a reader’s time. This is one of my favorite books of 2012.

Leavitt uses her sparse verse and creative spacing to help illustrate Angel’s constricted life and her drug-induced fog. As she tries to figure out what to do with Mellie, the 11-year-old girl Call has brought home, she also fights off how dopesick she is. There’s a lot going on here and requires a fairly close reading. Leavitt plays around with both plot and theme, and it is Angel’s frequent interactions with “John the john” which proves to be the catalyst to her awakening. This man makes her read from Book 9 of Milton’s Paradise Lost, and it isn’t long before Angel becomes aware of the fact that words have power.

Grounded in fact, Leavitt’s book fictionally explores the disappearances of dozens of women in Vancouver. This book is powerful, gripping, unbelievably moving, and one that readers won’t be able to put down. I can’t recommend this one enough, Gentle Readers.

My Book of Life by Angel by Martine Leavitt. Farrar, Straus & Giroux: 2012. Library copy. Read for 2012 Cybils Round 1 Panel.(less)

like · see review

Apr 16, 2012 Angus rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book is exquisitely told and it completely blindsided me on the emotional level. It's about a young girl prostitute working the streets of Vancouver Canada. It gives voice to those girls who disappear and poses the questions about what happens to them and why their disappearances are rarely solved. The story focuses on Angel and her relationship with a girl, even younger than herself, who she tries to protect from the exploitative characters manipulating the sex trade. It is told in free ve...more

1 like · like · see review

Sep 10, 2012 Angelhorn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: verse-novels-2012-2013

Yesterday I blogged about controversial themes in verse novels. A recent release verse novel goes further into controversial themes than almost any I’ve ever read. MY BOOK OF LIFE BY ANGEL by Martine Leavitt combines a universally relatable tale about a girl who has fallen as far out of respectability as is possible (she’s become an addicted prostitute) with a very specific rather pointed indictment of the city of Vancouver’s lukewarm investigation of the serial killings of prostitutes by Robert...more

1 like · like · see review

Dec 30, 2012 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

A beautifully crafted story told through verse. The story gives hope and courage to those that might not think they deserve it. 16 year old Angel meets Call who offers her some "candy." Then Call asks Angel to "be nice to his friend." Thinking that this is what she deserves and that Call really does care for her, she spirals out and continues down the path laid before her. Then Call brings home Melli, an eleven year old girl who reminds Angel of her younger brother--innocent and pure. This is it...more

like · see review

Oct 13, 2012 Bistro2012 added it

Miranda, 14
Martine Leavitt
My Book of Life by Angel
Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers 2012

My Book of Life by Angel is a horible book that has ruined my life! This book is about prostitution, and although it has a good message and good ending, this book has made me seen stuff in my head I did not want to see. An example passage would be "But Call says I'm supposed to be innocent,| clean baby-girl skin| no makeup| so dates can paste on any face they want| and i can tell new dates it's...more

like · see review

Feb 02, 2013 Melanie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult-literature, prostitution, runaways, drugs, novels-in-verse, vancouver-bc

Angel does not begin to rethink her life until her friend and fellow "girls" begin to disappear. Then she starts to question her own drug use and dependence on Call, her onetime boyfriend turned pimp.

When she realizes that she has lost her allure with Call she tries to find ways to get clear of him. But then he brings home an 11-year-old little girl and tells her to teach the girl the "tricks of the trade." Angel refuses. She doesn't want this innocent creature to become part of this life. Espec...more

like · see review

Nov 24, 2012 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

A taut, dramatic read about a young teenage girl who is lured into the world of prostitution.

Angel meets Call and soon calls him her boyfriend. Soon, she discovers that he's actually a pimp and once he has her addicted to "candy," she realizes it's a world that's hard to leave. When Call brings in a new, 11 year old recruit, Angel recognizes that she is the only one that can help rescue her and make sure she doesn't live the same kind of life.

Told in verse, Angel's story is harrowing but ultimat...more

like · see review

Mar 28, 2013 Diane rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: canadian-author

This is a very dark and gritty, but stunning little book. Dedicated to the families of all the women who have gone missing from Vancouver's downtown East Side, it is told in the plaintive, haunting, spot-on voice of Angel, who is drawn into prostitution when she is caught stealing one shoe at the mall by a man who becomes her pimp.
I haven't read many books written in free verse, but in this author's hands it seems the perfect format for Angel's plaintive, heart-wrenching and unforgettable voice....more

like · see review

Mar 23, 2013 Bridget rated it 5 of 5 stars

I thought I'd just get a start on this story told in poetry. However, I finished the whole thing in one sitting. This book is worth a careful read. With sex-trafficking such a current hot topic, this book was a timely read. Angel is a 16 year old prostitute in Vancouver during the time that a serial killer is kidnapping and killing women, mostly prostitutes. The characters were all believable and Angel simple relation of the story through her book of life was more impactful for its simplicity an...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 31 32 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Henrico Mock Newb...: My Book of Life by Angel	7	13	Jan 20, 2013 03:43pm

combine
Other Editions (4)

Genres

Young Adult

39 users

Poetry

21 users

Realistic Fiction

9 users

Young Adult > Teen

8 users

Contemporary

6 users

Adventure > Survival

3 users

Young Adult > High School

2 users

Dark

2 users

Sociology > Abuse

2 users

Suspense

2 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Martine Leavitt

Martine Leavitt's young adult novels have won many awards and honors in the United States and Canada. Most notable are two Canadian honors: Tom Finder won a Mr. Christie's Book Award, and Heck Superhero was a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award.

Martine earned an MFA in writing for children from Vermont College. Though Martine was born in Canada and lives in High River, Alberta, Can...more

More about Martine Leavitt...

Books by Martine Leavitt

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About My Book of Life b...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

title link	preview: My Book of Life by Angel
avg rating	preview: My Book of Life by Angel Goodreads rating: 3.97 (326 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13160329-my-book-of-life-by-angel?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1343931320l/13160329.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13160329-my-book-of-life-by-angel?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]My Book of Life by Angel by Martine Leavitt[/url]

My Book of Life by Angel

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website