Budding Star

Angels Unlimited #8

by Annie Dalton

Mel Beeby's eighth adventure takes her to medieval Japan, searching for a lost soul. Mel and Reuben have been studying Soul Retrieval, running through all manner of challenging scenarios in virtual reality, in order to learn the specialised skills necessary to rescue human souls. The two angels are sent to Japan, to try and re-unite a young girl's soul with her body, as she lies in a coma. It isn't her time to die. In their quest for the soul, Mel and Reuben have to enter a realm that's magical and exquisite, like an idealised Japanese fairy-tale dream. Feudal lords, fabulous magical castles, ninjas, wandering monks, waterfalls, demons and shapeshifters. But like all dreams, it has its dark side, and the Japanese afterlife has some extremely scary aspects. Mel and Reuben must stick together...and at the end, there is even a little hint of romance for our two angel buddies!

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Angels, Young Adult, Fiction, Roman, Middle Grade

208 pages, Paperback

First published March 4, 2004

About the author

Annie grew up as an only child in the English countryside during the 1950s. Her father was not always around but when he was, he would tell her fantastical stories, often with her as the principal character. Annie missed him and his stories, which led her to the fantasy section at her local library, thus sparking life-long love of fiction.

After undertaking jobs such as waitressing, cleaning and factory work, Annie went on to study at University of Warwick and soon started writing.

Annie lives in Norfolk. She has three children, Anna, Reuben, and Maria (the inspiration for the first “Angels Unlimited” book, “Winging It”) and two grandchildren, Sophie and Isabella.

Reviews

[Sally · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars is probably a bit harsh, but I really didn't like this one as much as the others. Probably it was the setting - in Limbo, where everything was like a Japanese video game. I also didn't really care for Tsubomi, which didn't help! It felt like a very long read, as opposed to the others which I breezed through.

[Joss · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great series

Even as a 31 year old adult, I love this series. It's so laid back and easy-going and easy to read. I absolutely love it!

[Kiki_chieuse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hey hey le retour de Leo en mission !

A chaque tome, il y a des sujets importants à aborder pour des adolescents. Par exemple, les cauchemars, la crise d'angoisse, les doutes sur son avenir ou encore sur l'envers du décors chez les (jeunes) superstars.

Je ne me sens pas autant marquée par l'absence de Brice ou par le peu de présence de Lola que je l'ai été par celle de Léo précédemment. Finalement, retrouver Mel avec Léo c'est particulièrement sympa. 

Il y a toujours un petit truc auquel on ne nous donne pas la réponse pour nous donner envie de lire la suite. D'autant que ce n'est pas forcément le tome immédiatement après qui nous répondra. 

Cette jeune japonaise prise dans les méandres de la dépression m'a touchée. Leur mission façon jeu vidéo était originale, je me suis laisser prendre au jeu.

L'univers s'élargit et nourrit ma curiosité. Surtout qu'il y a plein de situations ou remarques qui peuvent être transposée à notre vie d'humain. C'est plus ou moins subtil mais je trouve ça bien de diffuser ce genre de pédagogie dans de la littérature jeunesse.

De nos jours, les romans pour ados n'ont pas toujours de "moralité", de pédagogie à offrir. C'est vrai qu'il faut leur offrir de l'évasion, du suspense, etc. mais les faire réfléchir en même temps me semble important. C'est l'âge auquel on développe son esprit critique, non ?

J'ai la sensation que cette saga est un bon premier pas pour apprendre à être critique tout en étant instructif et positif.

[Rebecca Andersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dette er bog 8 i serien Agent Engel. Vi skal her på en mission for at rade en popstjerne som er i en coma. Denne bog er var nem at læse og skrevet til teenagers. Selv om den er skrevet til denne aldersgruppe tænker jeg også andre aldergrupper kan læse denne bog. Det var en hyggelig lille bog.

[Emilia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting continuation - I like that we see more of Reuben. However, the adventure itself and plot line is not as exciting or entertaining as some of the other books in the series.

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

best one yet i reckon, big up annie dalton. the ending was a slight let down in comparison with the rest

[JWinter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Loved this when I was younger, This book being one of the best in this series. Somewhat original and different from the rest in the series.

[beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book. Again, it's not one of my favs, but I understood all of it, making me not dislike it. It's in the middle. I really wanna know how to pronounce Tsubomi right though. I've been pronouncing it Sooboomi, but IDK if that's right or not.

I really liked the whole video game aspect of this book. And I think the connection Mel and Reubs had was sweet.

I've sort of already finished Keeping It Real, as I just could not put it down.

[Pája · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though I've missed some characters, I liked the concept of this book