Angels is the third in the Walsh sisters series, but I read it last. I actually read Anybody Out There? first, not knowing it was a series. There were pros and cons to my badly ordered reading: I was totally hooked into the Walsh family by Anna's story, but since it's the last in the series, I already knew what would happen in the first three. Therefore, my experience with Watermelon, Rachel's Holiday, and Angels may not be typical.

Angels is the story of Maggie Walsh, the "plain vanilla yogurt at room temperature" sister. She's the good girl, she plays it safe and is the model Walsh sister. After finding out her husband is somehow involved with another woman, Maggie takes off to Los Angeles to spend time with her friend Emily and sort things out for herself. While in LA, Maggie experiences a host of adventures that she would have never done in her life before, and finds out some things about who she is and what she is like.

I have read the other reviews of Angels and, as with other books I've read, I find some of them to be a little bit unfair. I think of this series as a study in method writing - like method acting, the writer gets into the part of the character, and does not stray. So, while some of the reviews claim this book is boring and progresses slowly, I think that's part of it's personality. Part of *Maggie's* personality. The books are narrated, thus each would naturally take on the personality of the story teller. Watermelon is the story of Claire, the feisty sister and the book is told as if she is talking to you a mile a minute. Rachel's Holiday is about the addict sister, told in a confused, yet subdued manner that brings across Rachel's personality. Anybody Out There?, the story of Anna, is funny if not flaky and filled with psychics and other spiritual ideas, which suits Anna. It should only be, then, that Maggie's safe, boring personality shine through in her own story. Maybe nothing insanely exciting happens, but then that would be atypical of Maggie's life. I can see how if someone read this book without reading the others it could be seen as boring. I can also see someone reading all of them thinking it's boring. I think, however, that there is more to this story than the lack of crazy events and the fact that it's 400+ pages span only a few weeks.

One of the things I like best about Marian Keyes' Walsh sisters series is that each sister tells the story from her point-of-view and one can really see the differences in perception amongst them as well as the sibling rivalries and family dynamics. For example, although Claire if feisty and vocal about everything according to her sisters, by reading Watermelon one can see that she has insecurities and fears like any other human being. The same can be said for Maggie.. Although her sisters find her to be boring and they chastise her for being a goody-goody, one can see through her story that she never wanted to be such a goody-goody, rather she was almost railroaded into that position by always getting caught when she did something wrong. I could really identify with her character, as I never did anything wrong as a child and teenager because I'd been caught stealing when I was 5 and it made a strong impression on me. I've come to describe myself, in the words of Emily Giffin, "risk-averse". I think Maggie is simply misunderstood. Another thing we learn in this story is the true nature of Maggie's husband, Garv. When Maggie and Garv show up to bring Rachel back to Ireland in Rachel's Holiday, we learn that he is a jerk and that the sisters clearly despise him. At the time it was hard for me to understand, having read Anybody Out There? first, where Anna has a good relationship with Garv, but through Angels I learned who the true Paul Garvan was, as opposed to the version the sisters gave.

*SPOILERS*
Finally, I think it's interesting that I did not lose respect for Maggie when she took her husband back in the end. We learn that he didn't actually have the physical affair until after Maggie had left for LA, and that Maggie had been harboring emotions for a long ago love for the duration of their marriage. It hadn't been perfect to begin with, and their respective dalliances seem to be a sort of proving ground - Maggie took some risks for the first time and discovered that she had everything she ever wanted in her life. Garv had a tryst with another woman and ended up missing Maggie very much. I also found the abortion plot very important - Maggie blames herself for her miscarriages since she had the abortion when she was 17. This is a huge weight to bear and could have all sorts of effects on a marriage and childbearing thoughts. It makes Maggie's character more three-dimensional and puts a lot into perspective. This is truly a story of finding oneself, of living a life never before lived by a person, and finding that the life they chose was indeed the correct one. Although the story may progress slowly, what you leave with in the end is quite satisfying.

Overall, I would give this book 4 stars. I didn't adore it, but I liked it a lot. I really hope that Keyes writes the story of Helen - it's been a while since she wrote about the sisters! I'd also like to even see a book from the perspective of Mammy Walsh!