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À la tombée du ciel
Cela aurait pu être une météorite, ou une éruption solaire annonçant la fin du monde. Mais ce sont des créatures ailées qui ont commencé à tomber du ciel.Pour Jaya, 16 ans, c'est une anomalie de plus dans un monde qu'elle ne comprend pas. Comment vivre alors qu'elle a vu sa mère mourir? Que son père est obsédé par l'idée de prévoir la prochaine chute? Jaya n'a qu'une envie: Rester loin de tous ces problèmes.Mais quand un ange atterrit à ses pieds, elle va devoir faire un choix. Et réapprendre à vivre, pour l'aider à repartir.
320 pages, Paperback
First published May 15, 2018
62 people are currently reading
5368 people want to read
About the author
Sophie Cameron
6 books145 followersSophie Cameron is the author of several novels for teens and young adults. Her books have been shortlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing, the UKLA Book Awards, the Polari Children's & YA Prize and the Diverse Book Awards, among others, and won a Leeds Book Award in 2023. Originally from the Scottish Highlands, she now lives in Spain with her children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 401 reviews
October 13, 2018
This is a book I probablydefinitely should have just written a mini-review of as soon as I finished it, but I was in a reading/writing/reviewing/blogging/life slump and I didn’t.
And now here we are. Writing a review of a book I even felt meh on six months ago, when it was fresh in my mind. Which it now definitively is not, even a little bit at all.
This is about Jaya, a Cool Teen whose life is looking a bit tragic at the moment because her mom is #RecentlyDead and now she’s being trotted off by her dad, who is fully freaking. Also her younger sister is there.
The reason Father Dearest is totally buggin is that angels are falling out of the sky. Understandably everyone is buggin about this, but Dad is especially because he’s like “I wanna catch one of these bad boys, who, yes, are falling unpredictably but also I bet I can figure it out using the power of Math if I try.” Also he probably would have said “Maths” because England. Ha ha.
Also he’s of course using all this as a defense mechanism because his WIFE just DIED, in a Psychology forDummies YA Writers move that is immediately clear to everyone by page 7 but takes Jaya 200-odd pages of character development and rote empathy education to figure out.
Anyway an angel falls from the sky, Jaya finds it, she and a ragtag group of friends take care of the creepy little glitter ball and also while all this is happening Jaya is getting over her ex-girlfriend, which comes up a lot more than the mom death that just happened. In fact Mother’s Passing doesn’t come up all that much, now that I think of it.
This book has some really great diversity and representation of very underrepresented populations, but otherwise it was super-duper meh for me. Very predictable. Very kind of nonsensical and strange in the ways its characters operated.
I just kind of wish a book about angels falling out of the sky was a bit more exciting!!!! But you can’t always get what you want.
Bottom line: Maybe I just don’t care about angels that much??? Or England??? Or anything at all??
Basically it might be a me problem.
Thanks to Fierce Reads for the ARC!
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pre-review
for a book about literal ANGELS falling out of the SKY, this was pretty predictable.
but look at me!!! i finished a book!!
review to come / thanks to fierce reads for the ARC
And now here we are. Writing a review of a book I even felt meh on six months ago, when it was fresh in my mind. Which it now definitively is not, even a little bit at all.
This is about Jaya, a Cool Teen whose life is looking a bit tragic at the moment because her mom is #RecentlyDead and now she’s being trotted off by her dad, who is fully freaking. Also her younger sister is there.
The reason Father Dearest is totally buggin is that angels are falling out of the sky. Understandably everyone is buggin about this, but Dad is especially because he’s like “I wanna catch one of these bad boys, who, yes, are falling unpredictably but also I bet I can figure it out using the power of Math if I try.” Also he probably would have said “Maths” because England. Ha ha.
Also he’s of course using all this as a defense mechanism because his WIFE just DIED, in a Psychology for
Anyway an angel falls from the sky, Jaya finds it, she and a ragtag group of friends take care of the creepy little glitter ball and also while all this is happening Jaya is getting over her ex-girlfriend, which comes up a lot more than the mom death that just happened. In fact Mother’s Passing doesn’t come up all that much, now that I think of it.
This book has some really great diversity and representation of very underrepresented populations, but otherwise it was super-duper meh for me. Very predictable. Very kind of nonsensical and strange in the ways its characters operated.
I just kind of wish a book about angels falling out of the sky was a bit more exciting!!!! But you can’t always get what you want.
Bottom line: Maybe I just don’t care about angels that much??? Or England??? Or anything at all??
Basically it might be a me problem.
Thanks to Fierce Reads for the ARC!
---------
pre-review
for a book about literal ANGELS falling out of the SKY, this was pretty predictable.
but look at me!!! i finished a book!!
review to come / thanks to fierce reads for the ARC
unread-high
January 11, 2018I've heard this has a disabled bisexual MC falling for a lesbian POC character. I am so here for this! I'm disabled and bisexual and I can't actually think of a book i've read that has a disabled bisexual character in it. Give..it..to..me!!! Highly anticipating this one!
May 6, 2018
3.75 out of 5 stars!
I would like to thank the publishers Pan Macmillan and the team at MyKindaBook for sending me a physical ARC in exchange for an honest review. This standalone novel was definitely one that really appealed to me but being nervous to read, I don't have the most positive of experiences reading angel books or mainly books that feature angels. But this one was different, it was good but had a few areas which I wasn't particularly keen on.
Jaya, our main character, witnesses the death of her mother. Her father is obsessed with catching fallen angels from the sky. So, Jaya, her younger sister and Dad end up in Edinburgh where plans are made to try and catch an angel. Suddenly, one does fall down from the sky but Jaya is shocked to see the angel moving around on the ground. She makes a split second decision to hide the angel away from those who are determined to catch one and sell for profit. During the hiding away, Jaya meets siblings Allie and Calum and the three of them work together, lying to loved ones about their movements.
I really liked the British references in this, Tesco's is mentioned (which is a British supermarket chain) and UCAS Applications (which is how those wanting to go to University in the UK apply through) so I enjoyed reading about the physical locations in Edinburgh. I've never been but would honestly love to at some point in the future. There is LGBTQIA+ representation as well as cystic fibrosis representation for one of the characters Allie. There is also a mention of organ donations and transplants which I personally think should feature more in fiction. The first few chapters I found a struggle to get into, the amount of hiding time with the angel was long. However, the last 50 or so pages really picked up for me. Don't be put off by the beginning, it was a good angel book. I'm thrilled that I got the chance to review an ARC!
I would like to thank the publishers Pan Macmillan and the team at MyKindaBook for sending me a physical ARC in exchange for an honest review. This standalone novel was definitely one that really appealed to me but being nervous to read, I don't have the most positive of experiences reading angel books or mainly books that feature angels. But this one was different, it was good but had a few areas which I wasn't particularly keen on.
Jaya, our main character, witnesses the death of her mother. Her father is obsessed with catching fallen angels from the sky. So, Jaya, her younger sister and Dad end up in Edinburgh where plans are made to try and catch an angel. Suddenly, one does fall down from the sky but Jaya is shocked to see the angel moving around on the ground. She makes a split second decision to hide the angel away from those who are determined to catch one and sell for profit. During the hiding away, Jaya meets siblings Allie and Calum and the three of them work together, lying to loved ones about their movements.
I really liked the British references in this, Tesco's is mentioned (which is a British supermarket chain) and UCAS Applications (which is how those wanting to go to University in the UK apply through) so I enjoyed reading about the physical locations in Edinburgh. I've never been but would honestly love to at some point in the future. There is LGBTQIA+ representation as well as cystic fibrosis representation for one of the characters Allie. There is also a mention of organ donations and transplants which I personally think should feature more in fiction. The first few chapters I found a struggle to get into, the amount of hiding time with the angel was long. However, the last 50 or so pages really picked up for me. Don't be put off by the beginning, it was a good angel book. I'm thrilled that I got the chance to review an ARC!
December 19, 2017
Sophie Cameron's debut really is something special! I'm calling Carnegie and Waterstones Book Prize nominations for next year! It's the sort of story that's just effortlessly beautiful and sweeps you up with the easy-to-follow emotional journeys. The secondary characters were absolutely stellar, in fact, all of the characters were complex and intriguing, and I loved what Cameron did with the dad towards he end of the book.
I really love books like this where the 'dystopian' element feels so magically realistic - you find it more in films, but Laura Dockrill's 'Lorali' is a comp title. The pacing was spot-on for everything: the romance, Jaya's coming to terms with the death of her mother, the reveal of what happened to Leah. For a novel so short, it was doing a lot . The ending was really satisfactory too since it was quite overt with 'what Jaya learned' but at least you could tell she's had character development!
I only have a few reasons why this book didn't quite make it to five stars: the sibling relationship between Jaya and Rani - I could've spent more time on how they don't have much in common, what it's like to be the eldest, etc. I felt like the lyricism of the story as a whole was beautifully sustained, but there were some paragraphs that stood out as more purple than the rest, which really threw me off, but I'm not the biggest fan of that style of writing, so I'm sure it's actually a pro for more people!
I haven't yet mentioned the diversity which covered so many aspects like race, sexuality and even medical (I think Jaya uses ableist language to begin with, but it's part of her re-education. Still, I'll be interested to see what other people make of that). Undoubtedly this is the best angel book I've ever read!
I really love books like this where the 'dystopian' element feels so magically realistic - you find it more in films, but Laura Dockrill's 'Lorali' is a comp title. The pacing was spot-on for everything: the romance, Jaya's coming to terms with the death of her mother, the reveal of what happened to Leah. For a novel so short, it was doing a lot . The ending was really satisfactory too since it was quite overt with 'what Jaya learned' but at least you could tell she's had character development!
I only have a few reasons why this book didn't quite make it to five stars: the sibling relationship between Jaya and Rani - I could've spent more time on how they don't have much in common, what it's like to be the eldest, etc. I felt like the lyricism of the story as a whole was beautifully sustained, but there were some paragraphs that stood out as more purple than the rest, which really threw me off, but I'm not the biggest fan of that style of writing, so I'm sure it's actually a pro for more people!
I haven't yet mentioned the diversity which covered so many aspects like race, sexuality and even medical (I think Jaya uses ableist language to begin with, but it's part of her re-education. Still, I'll be interested to see what other people make of that). Undoubtedly this is the best angel book I've ever read!
May 4, 2020
rep: biracial (sri lankan and scottish) lesbian mc, bi li with a chronic illness (cystic fibrosis)
3.5
this book manages to be so many things all at once. a contemporary novel for the most part, but kind of urban fantasy. a story about grief & the power of love, but there's a sapphic romance in there too. a story of trust and hope, and fighting for urself.
3.5
this book manages to be so many things all at once. a contemporary novel for the most part, but kind of urban fantasy. a story about grief & the power of love, but there's a sapphic romance in there too. a story of trust and hope, and fighting for urself.
February 8, 2018
”This is why hope is dangerous: it it’s taken away, you’re left with even less than you had before.”At the risk of sounding like the kind of completely negative person I try so hard not to be, Out of the Blue is literally the first new book I’ve read in 2018 that I’ve liked. Seriously. I have no idea what this says about me, but if you take anything away from that statement, it should be that this book is amazing.
First off, let it be known that this book perfectly fulfills my personal aesthetic. gorgeous angels with multi-colored feathers in a rose-gold palette and perfect singing voices?? sapphic girls??? a festival in edinburgh?? old buildings and beautiful art?? and that cover tho?? sign me tf up. That’s some god-tier beauty right there.
The world-building in this book is so cool. All the sudden last December angels just started, like, full up falling from the sky?? They’re all dead when they land, they bleed gold blood, and people take their luminescent feathers from their bodies and sell them for thousands of dollars online. There’s cults revolving around the angels being a sign of the rapture, and they’ve gained a huge following online (called “wingdings”).
The characters in this story are all so well-rounded and awesome. It also includes lots of diversity! I mean, we’ve got a lesbian of color, a bi girl with cystic fibrosis, and so much more, and everyone has such a vibrant personality.
Jaya is our narrator, and the guilt over her mother’s death and the disgust she has for all of the cults and wingdings fuels a lot of her decisions. She sees the angels (or, “beings”) as people, and she doesn’t like that no one else does. All of the friendship, relationship, and family dynamics involving Jaya were so well-written, but I think the most interesting relationship she has is with her dad, who’s one of the wingdings and is the one that forced his daughters to come to Edinburgh with him to try and catch a live Being.
Jaya’s dad’s arc is literally SO SWEET. I cried at the end of this book. Full-on tearing up. There’s a huge stress in here on surrounding yourself with people who love you, and letting go of the past, and it completely wasn’t what I was expecting about a book where angels are falling from the sky.
And while it’s nice that a lot of things were unexpected, but at the same time I feel like the blurb might be just a tad bit misleading?? I thought that the relationship would be between Jaya and the angel, and I also thought that there would be more discovery as to where the angels come from. But, make no mistake, even though it wasn’t what I expected, I still loved the plot.
The sibling relationship between Calum and Allie was to die for. It’s complex and nuanced, and I’m really glad that this book also emphasized that people with disabilities are just tryna live their lives. Their disability isn’t their entire person. I’m also really glad that this story didn’t go down the “person with a chronic illness dies at the end” trope, because for a hot second there I thought it was going to, and seeing as how Allie is bi too it also would have bought into the “burying your gays” trope and that would have been,,,, yikes,,, but hey!! it didn’t!! so don’t worry about that if you were worried about it!! it’s all good!
The romance between Jaya and Allie was so incredibly sweet. I wish there had been more chemistry between the two of them, but there was no instalove and it was cute, so I don’t even really care that much?? Honestly my standards are so much lower for f/f romances than they are for m/f, like, tbh,,, as long as it’s not problematic there’s about a 90% chance that I would die for the ship. And I would D I E for this ship. They’re so cute. I love them.
The angel, Teacake, was super awesome and freaking beautiful, as I’ve said before. I really want to see this book made into a movie because, a) gay, and b) YES. HELLO. THE ANGEL, especially after all the wing grafts where she has different color wings ooooohhhh yeah, IS SO BEAUTIFUL.
Also the cult aspect of the story was just as creepy as one would expect. Though I wish it had gone more in depth, and I felt like the whole climax involving the cult was kind of laughably unbelievable , it was satisfying, and that’s all that really matters.
The only thing that really specifically annoyed me was the fact that this book seemed to very actively resist the use of they/them pronouns in reference to the beings. I was seriously sitting here like,,, really,,, y’all seriously gotta strictly enforce the whole Western gender binary thing onto creatures who may not even have a concept of gender??? or might have a completely different gender binary?? Like, they call them she or he, and the people who don’t call them that call them “it.” Every time I saw that I was just sitting there like “just say they/them/their.” It was so annoying
Here’s an interesting and useful article about why you should use the singular they. It’s more inclusive and less awkward than using “he or she or it.”
But besides that, this was such a gorgeous book! I can’t believe that there aren’t any more Sophie Cameron stories out there, because I fell in love with her writing style in Out of the Blue. I can’t wait to see more books from her in the upcoming years, and I would highly recommend this story for anyone in the mood for a quick, sapphic read with gorgeous backdrops and even more gorgeous angels.
I was provided an eARC copy through NetGalley in exchange for a complete and honest review. All opinions and quotes are taken from an unfinished version of the book.
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Pre-review
whoever gave literature permission to make me cry better watch out because I'm in tears and ready to fight
full rtc
--
Pre-read
is this the fifth wave but queer and with angels instead of aliens, if so I am here for it
dnf
August 25, 2021Sadly dnf'ing it for the second time, too.
I would recommend it to teenagers. I'm clearly not the target audience.
I would recommend it to teenagers. I'm clearly not the target audience.
July 9, 2018
"Loss is mathematical: two-thirds less laundry, two-thirds less washing-up, two-thirds fewer footsteps thundering down the stairs. Substract music blaring through the walls. Substract eyeliner smudges on the towels. Add silence. Add more silence.
I've done those sums. The results are always greater than you think they'll be."
So, this is one of the books where I couldn't write a review immediately after putting it down. When I closed Out Of The Blue, I felt so overwhelmed and completely lost I couldn't do anything but repeat "Wow" and "Oh My God" in some sort of trance.
To make it crystal clear, this book is simply beautiful . I remember falling in love with the summary as soon as I saw it, but as always, I was afraid the book would turn out disappointing, or even bad. But what happened was that I was hooked from the very first pages, and I had hard time taking breaks from it. It was obsessing, and still now I cannot totally wrap my mind around it.
If I began with the story itself, there's already so much to say. It is very original, and more importantly well-executed. I love supernatural creatures in books, and I've been searching for a YA novel with angels for what feels like ages. Unfortunately, they're often depicted as brooding, handsome (male) heroes and everything always ends up in romance. I needed something else, something more, but I felt I'd never find anything close to what I wished. And now I found it. This books is everything I dreamed of. If I focus on the fantasy part, I can already say it's stunning: you get these amazing creatures falling from the skies, and the descriptions! My God, the way the 'Beings' were described was so realistic and fleshed-out, yet so mesmerizing and magical:
"Her right wing is torn down the middle, its pinkish feathers littering the ground. The left, however, is perfect: a vast sail of feather and sinew, curving in a slick arch a metre above her head. Even in the darkness, the fibres of the feathers glisten like oil on water: countless shades of pink, speckled with tiny hints of azure and turquoise and teal."
The characterization of the angel we follow through the story is equally breathtaking. She's so mysterious and incredible, and you can literally feel yourself as fascinated as the characters themselves. I loved how the author chose to make her into this strong and eerie creature that is also incredibly soft and curious and simply adorable. It's like the author thought of everything to make this character as realistic as possible, and she definitely did it well: she managed to write such alien behavior and inhuman habits that the angel literally felt out of this word, and her character was simply on point. I especially loved the way she spoke, with incomprehensible yet lovely words that sound like a melody, or how she later learned to speak to humans in her own way. She just was my favorite character, I truly loved her so dearly!
But this book is not only fantasy, it deals with our own, real world. I really, really loved how the author wrote the people's reaction to the angels falling, because it was so damn realistic and I'm 100% sure people would act this way if it happened in our reality. People see their falling as a sign the world is going to end, they close on themselves and their own fear, which leads to even more terror, chaos, and hate. Some are truly terrorized by the angels and only wish them harm, or maybe just feel disgust. And that is so, so well written! When angels appear in fiction, they're always these beautiful creatures that people can't help but be fascinated with, but if we think for one second, not everyone would act this way. If some people already manage to be afraid or hate on immigrants for the sole reason they're from another country, imagine what it'd be like it they came from another dimension or place so far away from our human vision of the universe? Then, of course, there are the ones who are not afraid but see this as an opportunity to be richer and more powerful: yes, people steal the feathers and blood and body parts from the dead angels for money, and now tell me that wouldn't happen in our own world. There are also people who saw the situation from another point of view and tried to tell others these angels were just people in the end, and deserved the same respect as them, and I again definitely think there would people sensible enough to do it if it happened in our world.
This book also deals with an enormous amount of issues and plots in the span of not even 300 pages. It deals with family, and how one can come apart after a tragedy, how human deals with grief through different situations. It deals with guilt and suffering, of regret and remorse. It deals with both mental and physical illness, and how sick people are MORE than their illness, but how easy is it to give up too. It deals with what someone is ready to do to save someone they love, how strong hope can become if cared enough for. It deals with what's better between the truth and what's right, or what's better for your family, or your morals. And of course it gives a beautiful range of character, with women of color and LGBTQ+ MAIN characters!
This book just was so wonderful, it immediately became one of my favorite ever. It's just pure honeyed poetry with lovely imagery, but it's also raw and brutal, reflecting the cruel reality and the small windows we have to escape it from time to time. Honestly, I haven't been that emotional about a book for a long time, but this one definitely pulled all my heartstrings and I ended up tearing up several times, especially at the end. It was just too wonderful , too well-written. I definitely recommend it to anyone, it's just a beautiful, beautiful journey!!
"My gran used to say that god has His plan, and that everything, no matter how horrible, is part of that. [...] Personally, I think it's random. Chaotic, even. But I don't think that makes it less valuable. If anything, I think it makes it more incredible - the fact that we're here at all, just the happy result of some gas and dust and gravity."
November 12, 2018
I'm really disappointed that I didn't enjoy this book as much as I'd hoped.
The diversity of the characters is great (the main character is a biracial gay girl), but there are a few things that bothered me:
1. There's too much that doesn't get explained.
It's annoying that there are so many unanswered questions regarding the angels by the end of the book. Where are they coming from and why are they falling from the sky? Why are their wings slashed?
I doubt that the author Sophie Cameron even has answers to these questions. It's oddly convenient that the humans can't communicate with the angels in this book and therefore aren't able to get any information.
2. The romance.
When I picked up this book I thought the main character would fall in love with the angel. That's not explicitly stated in the summary, but I know books with humans falling in love with aliens or robots, so my assumption wasn't too far-fetched.
Of course I changed my mind immediately when the angel in the book wasn't able to communicate with the humans and was treated more like a pet than a person, but at the time I chose to read this book that seemed like an innovative and interesting idea.
The romance we get instead isn't that exciting and the characters don't have much chemistry.
3. The conclusion.
It was poorly executed, rushed and felt unrealistic. I wish the author would've taken more time and added some details. It felt particularly short compared to the long and slow middle part of the book.
This review sounds harsh and more like a 2 star rating than 3 stars, but I want to point out that it isn't a bad book, especially for a debut novel. I just think my expectations were too high and that I'm not the right target audience.
With its simple writing style and characters this book feels like it's written for an even younger audience than the average young adult novel. It would be unfair to give a negative rating just because I'm too old to enjoy this book properly.
My 13-year-old self would've loved it!
The diversity of the characters is great (the main character is a biracial gay girl), but there are a few things that bothered me:
1. There's too much that doesn't get explained.
It's annoying that there are so many unanswered questions regarding the angels by the end of the book. Where are they coming from and why are they falling from the sky? Why are their wings slashed?
I doubt that the author Sophie Cameron even has answers to these questions. It's oddly convenient that the humans can't communicate with the angels in this book and therefore aren't able to get any information.
2. The romance.
When I picked up this book I thought the main character would fall in love with the angel. That's not explicitly stated in the summary, but I know books with humans falling in love with aliens or robots, so my assumption wasn't too far-fetched.
Of course I changed my mind immediately when the angel in the book wasn't able to communicate with the humans and was treated more like a pet than a person, but at the time I chose to read this book that seemed like an innovative and interesting idea.
The romance we get instead isn't that exciting and the characters don't have much chemistry.
3. The conclusion.
It was poorly executed, rushed and felt unrealistic. I wish the author would've taken more time and added some details. It felt particularly short compared to the long and slow middle part of the book.
This review sounds harsh and more like a 2 star rating than 3 stars, but I want to point out that it isn't a bad book, especially for a debut novel. I just think my expectations were too high and that I'm not the right target audience.
With its simple writing style and characters this book feels like it's written for an even younger audience than the average young adult novel. It would be unfair to give a negative rating just because I'm too old to enjoy this book properly.
My 13-year-old self would've loved it!
April 20, 2019
3.5 stars. Out of the Blue was an immensely enjoyable read. It is really short and an overall quick read but has so many things packed into it.
I think this has a really great storyline overall. My friend Alexis, who gifted this book to me, said that it's "Contemporary with a speculative twist" and I have to agree so much. I think this is definitely falsely labeled as Fantasy on Goodreads because while this does have this paranormal element of "Angels" falling down to Earth, the themes and topics of this book are very much Contemporary.
One of the strongest elements in this book are the family and specifically sibling relationships. I don't think that any of the character stood out much individually but there's so many complex relationships and so many important aspects that get talked about and I really loved that. I adore when you read a book and can very clearly see where everyone is coming from in a conflict and it very much felt like that reading this book.
There is also a lovely f/f romance in this book that was developed so well.
This also very heavily deals with grief and trauma, so be aware going into it. I definitely loved this aspect in the last third or so and it made me really emotional but I'm never a big fan of storylines where we don't find out until the end what actually happened to a character. I know this has a lot to do with trauma and I get that the main character actively pushes away all of her thoughts about her mother's death but just as a personal preference, it's something that I don't really enjoy reading.
That did not take away from how generally well the depiction of grief was done though and especially seeing the way different people grieve and what it does to relationships too.
This book features a lot of diversity. The main character is a sapphic (I think she refers to herself as gay but couldn't find it on page) biracial girl (Scottish and Sri Lankan). Her love interest is a bi girl with cystic fibrosis. The sapphic aspect of this novel is ownvoices!
One thing that stood out a little negatively, especially in the beginning, when there was a lot of talk about what the (Angels called) Beings are, was that there were two fractions: the ones who didn't think the Beings were actually people and used "it" as pronouns and the ones who did, who exclusively used "she/her". It felt a little frustrating to not have anyone consider just using they/them pronouns because we literally don't know anything about these Beings or the way they express gender. I think especially in a novel that's otherwise so inclusive, I had expected this to be a bit better done.
Another gripe that I had with the book overall (which is also why I would not classify it as Fantasy) is that the Beings are never really explained. I know some people are not bothered by Fantasy elements like this but I always end up being a little frustrated. I wanted to know where the Beings come from, why the Beings are falling and all that. If you're looking for answers, this is not the book for you. I was invested enough in the overall storyline and characters to still find a lot of enjoyment in the story but I'm not gonna lie – it's frustrating.
Overall, despite the gripes that I had, I just had a really good time reading this novel and found myself very emotionally invested. It's also generally super unique and actually made me crave more novels about Angels, which I never thought I would say.
Trigger and content warnings for cults, physical abuse, suicide, loss of a loved one.
“Roses aren't any less beautiful because they don't live long. No one looks at them and thinks, man, what a tragedy they'll only be around for a little while. You just appreciate them while they're there. Or if you don't, you're missing the point.”
I think this has a really great storyline overall. My friend Alexis, who gifted this book to me, said that it's "Contemporary with a speculative twist" and I have to agree so much. I think this is definitely falsely labeled as Fantasy on Goodreads because while this does have this paranormal element of "Angels" falling down to Earth, the themes and topics of this book are very much Contemporary.
One of the strongest elements in this book are the family and specifically sibling relationships. I don't think that any of the character stood out much individually but there's so many complex relationships and so many important aspects that get talked about and I really loved that. I adore when you read a book and can very clearly see where everyone is coming from in a conflict and it very much felt like that reading this book.
There is also a lovely f/f romance in this book that was developed so well.
This also very heavily deals with grief and trauma, so be aware going into it. I definitely loved this aspect in the last third or so and it made me really emotional but I'm never a big fan of storylines where we don't find out until the end what actually happened to a character. I know this has a lot to do with trauma and I get that the main character actively pushes away all of her thoughts about her mother's death but just as a personal preference, it's something that I don't really enjoy reading.
That did not take away from how generally well the depiction of grief was done though and especially seeing the way different people grieve and what it does to relationships too.
“It all feels like a sad, slow dance, and I'm being passed back and forth between different partners: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, over and over and over again.”
This book features a lot of diversity. The main character is a sapphic (I think she refers to herself as gay but couldn't find it on page) biracial girl (Scottish and Sri Lankan). Her love interest is a bi girl with cystic fibrosis. The sapphic aspect of this novel is ownvoices!
One thing that stood out a little negatively, especially in the beginning, when there was a lot of talk about what the (Angels called) Beings are, was that there were two fractions: the ones who didn't think the Beings were actually people and used "it" as pronouns and the ones who did, who exclusively used "she/her". It felt a little frustrating to not have anyone consider just using they/them pronouns because we literally don't know anything about these Beings or the way they express gender. I think especially in a novel that's otherwise so inclusive, I had expected this to be a bit better done.
Another gripe that I had with the book overall (which is also why I would not classify it as Fantasy) is that the Beings are never really explained. I know some people are not bothered by Fantasy elements like this but I always end up being a little frustrated. I wanted to know where the Beings come from, why the Beings are falling and all that. If you're looking for answers, this is not the book for you. I was invested enough in the overall storyline and characters to still find a lot of enjoyment in the story but I'm not gonna lie – it's frustrating.
Overall, despite the gripes that I had, I just had a really good time reading this novel and found myself very emotionally invested. It's also generally super unique and actually made me crave more novels about Angels, which I never thought I would say.
Trigger and content warnings for cults, physical abuse, suicide, loss of a loved one.
September 30, 2018
3.5 stars
As endearing as E.T. but with a Scottish- Sri Lankan lesbian MC who falls for a girl with cystic fibrosis. Also the most adorable angel ever named Teacake.
As endearing as E.T. but with a Scottish- Sri Lankan lesbian MC who falls for a girl with cystic fibrosis. Also the most adorable angel ever named Teacake.
May 13, 2018
Let's make the title of this review "But Why Did She Not Fall In Love With The Angel? I Mean, What's The Point Otherwise?"
Spoiler: it's because even though this book spends a lot of time talking about how Angels Are People Too, it spends very little time developing its one speaking (speaking? more on that later) angel character beyond being a plot point. Or a mascot. If I wanted to be really mean: a pet.
Teacake gets a petname (literally) and doesn't speak English (understandably) but for some reason the language barrier seems to stop the author from writing her like a thinking, feeling being (ha) with thoughts and an agency. She just hangs out doing nothing but listening to the radio, is carted around by Jaya and gang, and interjects with nonsensical one-liners every once in a while.
Do you know who manages to be a distinct character with a will while only being able to speak via fragments from the radio? Goddamn Bumblebee from Transformers. FROM TRANSFORMERS.
You know if I'd picked up a hetero YA novel about angels I'd be guaranteed an angel romance. That's the entire reason I picked this up in the first place: lesbian MC+female angel=the angel romance I've been waiting for since I was a 16yo queer in denial. Okay. I get that I can't expect the author to cater to my own specific interests, but goddamn it. Talk about disappointment.
Also doesn't help that I could barely get onboard with the romance that was in the book. One day I will find a f/f couple with actual chemistry (that isn't in a Sarah Waters novel) and on that day I will weep with joy.
That's not even the only thing that bugs me (though I am very mad).
The other thing's that the worldbuilding is just window dressing! It's a prop in the story of Jaya's family issues. And that's a shame, because what worldbuilding is there is actually really interesting, and I want to know more! And I want Jaya's finding of the angel to mean something for this world, but it doesn't. It doesn't change anything.
You can't open up the "angels are falling from the sky" box and refuse to tell me what's inside. The fact that Teacake can't communicate (and once again, a language barrier is no excuse! This woman has lived abroad, surely she knows a few things about making yourself understood when you don't speak the local language!) is very convenient for the author, because it means she doesn't actually have to explain shit to us. Why are the angels falling down? Why are their wings slashed? Where do they come from? What is happening in their world that they're being executed this way? (Because let's face it, slashing someone's wings off and throwing them down to Earth reeks of execution). WHAT EPIC ANGEL POLITICS ARE HIDING BEHIND ALL THIS AND WHY AM I STUCK READING ABOUT JAYA'S FAMILY DRAMA INSTEAD.
Who is Teacake? What's her real name? Is she political, is that why she was executed? Is she a victim of the system? What's awaiting her when she goes home? Does she want to go home? Does she have mixed feelings about it, granted that HER PEOPLE ARE SEEMINGLY BEING EXECUTED EN MASSE? WHY IS SHE NOT TRYING TO COMMUNICATE WHAT'S HAPPENING IN HER WORLD TO THESE PEOPLE THAT FOUND HER?????
I want to shake the book until answers fall out. But nothing is going to fall out. I doubt there is an explanation.
What I mean is that there are two different stories here, the angels falling from the sky and Jaya's family drama, and they are not connected at all except for the fact that Jaya and her family seem to be making it all about them. Which is the point, I get it, they're trying to find ulterior meaning in something that effectively works like a natural disaster (in that it has nothing to do with them, at least--once again GIVE ME THE ANGEL POLITICS). But like. That belongs in a novel that is not hiding a more epic story behind it. A novel that seems to be determined to refuse to make its main characters relevant to the wider world.
As I said earlier: Jaya's little adventure has no significance to the world. It adds nothing to it. Nothing's changed, in the end, for her having met Teacake.
And maybe that's cool for some people, but it just left me unsatisfied. I wish this novel had been more ambitious.
Spoiler: it's because even though this book spends a lot of time talking about how Angels Are People Too, it spends very little time developing its one speaking (speaking? more on that later) angel character beyond being a plot point. Or a mascot. If I wanted to be really mean: a pet.
Teacake gets a petname (literally) and doesn't speak English (understandably) but for some reason the language barrier seems to stop the author from writing her like a thinking, feeling being (ha) with thoughts and an agency. She just hangs out doing nothing but listening to the radio, is carted around by Jaya and gang, and interjects with nonsensical one-liners every once in a while.
Do you know who manages to be a distinct character with a will while only being able to speak via fragments from the radio? Goddamn Bumblebee from Transformers. FROM TRANSFORMERS.
You know if I'd picked up a hetero YA novel about angels I'd be guaranteed an angel romance. That's the entire reason I picked this up in the first place: lesbian MC+female angel=the angel romance I've been waiting for since I was a 16yo queer in denial. Okay. I get that I can't expect the author to cater to my own specific interests, but goddamn it. Talk about disappointment.
Also doesn't help that I could barely get onboard with the romance that was in the book. One day I will find a f/f couple with actual chemistry (that isn't in a Sarah Waters novel) and on that day I will weep with joy.
That's not even the only thing that bugs me (though I am very mad).
The other thing's that the worldbuilding is just window dressing! It's a prop in the story of Jaya's family issues. And that's a shame, because what worldbuilding is there is actually really interesting, and I want to know more! And I want Jaya's finding of the angel to mean something for this world, but it doesn't. It doesn't change anything.
You can't open up the "angels are falling from the sky" box and refuse to tell me what's inside. The fact that Teacake can't communicate (and once again, a language barrier is no excuse! This woman has lived abroad, surely she knows a few things about making yourself understood when you don't speak the local language!) is very convenient for the author, because it means she doesn't actually have to explain shit to us. Why are the angels falling down? Why are their wings slashed? Where do they come from? What is happening in their world that they're being executed this way? (Because let's face it, slashing someone's wings off and throwing them down to Earth reeks of execution). WHAT EPIC ANGEL POLITICS ARE HIDING BEHIND ALL THIS AND WHY AM I STUCK READING ABOUT JAYA'S FAMILY DRAMA INSTEAD.
Who is Teacake? What's her real name? Is she political, is that why she was executed? Is she a victim of the system? What's awaiting her when she goes home? Does she want to go home? Does she have mixed feelings about it, granted that HER PEOPLE ARE SEEMINGLY BEING EXECUTED EN MASSE? WHY IS SHE NOT TRYING TO COMMUNICATE WHAT'S HAPPENING IN HER WORLD TO THESE PEOPLE THAT FOUND HER?????
I want to shake the book until answers fall out. But nothing is going to fall out. I doubt there is an explanation.
What I mean is that there are two different stories here, the angels falling from the sky and Jaya's family drama, and they are not connected at all except for the fact that Jaya and her family seem to be making it all about them. Which is the point, I get it, they're trying to find ulterior meaning in something that effectively works like a natural disaster (in that it has nothing to do with them, at least--once again GIVE ME THE ANGEL POLITICS). But like. That belongs in a novel that is not hiding a more epic story behind it. A novel that seems to be determined to refuse to make its main characters relevant to the wider world.
As I said earlier: Jaya's little adventure has no significance to the world. It adds nothing to it. Nothing's changed, in the end, for her having met Teacake.
And maybe that's cool for some people, but it just left me unsatisfied. I wish this novel had been more ambitious.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 27, 2018
Jaya, biracial gay and scottish, finds a fallen angel in a world where angels keep falling from the sky without anyone knowing why. But this angel, unlike others, is alive.
I really really like angel books and this was really cute while also dealing with heavy subjects like loss, grief and guilt. The LI is a bi girl with a chronic illness and her arc was handled rather well (although I would love to read ownvoices reviews about it)
I definitely need more books in this universe! It was a super fast read that left me wanting more.
I really really like angel books and this was really cute while also dealing with heavy subjects like loss, grief and guilt. The LI is a bi girl with a chronic illness and her arc was handled rather well (although I would love to read ownvoices reviews about it)
I definitely need more books in this universe! It was a super fast read that left me wanting more.
October 7, 2019
There are freaking angels in this book but there are useless. I mean why bother put some magical creature if it is for doing nothing with them. You have an angel present for the whole book and she do nothing, there is no point or goal to her character. I don't get it, and I love angel mythologie, so much more could have been done here.
Read
April 5, 2019a really lovely story about angels and grief! i love the cover and i think the beautiful colors represent the feel of the story well 😊😊
representation: the main character is a mixed race (sri lankan/white) lesbian. her love interest is a bi girl with cystic fibrosis. the author is a lesbian
representation: the main character is a mixed race (sri lankan/white) lesbian. her love interest is a bi girl with cystic fibrosis. the author is a lesbian
June 29, 2019
2019 Pride month read #3
I had so many questions and none of them were answered.
I had so many questions and none of them were answered.
May 21, 2018
3.5 rounded up!
Out of the Blue is a pretty underrated dystopian-like, stand-alone novel! It follows the narrative of Jaya, a biracial girl who recently lost her mother and is dealing with the aftermath, as well as the sudden appearance of “Beings,” - or angels - that have started falling out of the sky. Although this book was on the short side, it was still a beautifully-written story about love and loss, trust and hope. The character relationships were wonderfully explored, although I wish there was a bit more, if only because we only get to see them for a short time. Nonetheless, I would recommend this story for YA contemporary readers who are here for tremendous character growth and loving relationships!
The book begins with Jaya’s family, consisting of her father and younger sister, moving to Edinburgh for the summer, where her Being-fanatic father is hoping to catch one of these Beings. Nothing is known about them, except for the fact that they have beautiful wings and have been falling from the sky. Is this a work of a god, or something more ominous? Although this book brings into religious concepts and speculations, as well as cults, the plot never gets preach-y. The appearance of the Beings isn’t so much a major part of the plot, but rather the impetus for Jaya’s character growth and newfound relationships. Currently, she has a strained relationship with her father and younger sister. Ever since the death of her mother, her father has been not very fatherly and the appearance of the Beings has driven him to the point of obsession. While her sister jumps on that train as well, Jaya’s mind wanders towards the more human side of Beings. They show emotions - why aren’t they treated as such?
When Jaya finds one of these Beings, she sets out to hide it from the rest of the fanatics in her life and heal its broken wing. Along for the ride are two new friends, Callum and Allie (twins I believe), who also champion the rights of these mysterious Beings. One little point of the story I have to point out is that Beings are referred to as “It” by the public, with “masculine” and “feminine” used as descriptions. Jaya puts genders on them in order to humanize them. However, I do think using the pronouns they/their/theirs would have benefited more in this scenario. As another reviewer on Goodreads pointed out, you don’t even know if these Beings use the same gender binary as done in the Westernized world. In my opinion, Jaya was doing a disservice to these Beings by assigning these binary genders. ANYWAY.
There’s a very slow to develop, but lovely romance that develops between Jaya and Allie (I seriously thought it was going to be with the Being but nah - like I said, their appearance was more of an impetus for specific plot purposes rather than the main event). Jaya is half Sri-Lankan, half-white, while Allie has cystic fibrosis - a disability that is explored in the pages of the book. I thought these aspects were written with care, although I can’t say 100% as to their representation. I do love the underlying message of Allie’s adventurous spirit though - her CF is only a part of her, but she is not defined by it. In between their burgeoning romance is Jaya’s stray feelings to her old flame, Leah, who recently disappeared. Also should point out - Jaya is lesbian while Allie is bisexual. Yay!
While Allie and Jaya take care of the Being they find, Jaya also finds herself coming to terms with her mother’s death and the relationship dynamics of her family. Allie struggles between the fun-filled life she wants to live and the limitations set upon by her worrisome mother and brother, for fear of her health. There’s a lot explored in this story, but rest assured that the resolution is quite beautiful and well worth the read.
The only non-answer is the whole subplot with the Beings. Like I said, don’t come in thinking they’re that big of a deal. The book is more focused on Jaya’s character arc and her personal discoveries. The Beings are mysterious from the first page to last, but I think that just adds to the charm of the story. While Out of the Blue covers a dystopian-like atmosphere where supposed “angels” are falling out of the sky, the main developments of Jaya’s story focuses on her introspection and relationships. I really enjoyed following her narrative as she found the place she wanted to be in, and hope other readers do too.
Content/Trigger Warnings:
Thank you Macmillan for the review copy!
Out of the Blue is a pretty underrated dystopian-like, stand-alone novel! It follows the narrative of Jaya, a biracial girl who recently lost her mother and is dealing with the aftermath, as well as the sudden appearance of “Beings,” - or angels - that have started falling out of the sky. Although this book was on the short side, it was still a beautifully-written story about love and loss, trust and hope. The character relationships were wonderfully explored, although I wish there was a bit more, if only because we only get to see them for a short time. Nonetheless, I would recommend this story for YA contemporary readers who are here for tremendous character growth and loving relationships!
The book begins with Jaya’s family, consisting of her father and younger sister, moving to Edinburgh for the summer, where her Being-fanatic father is hoping to catch one of these Beings. Nothing is known about them, except for the fact that they have beautiful wings and have been falling from the sky. Is this a work of a god, or something more ominous? Although this book brings into religious concepts and speculations, as well as cults, the plot never gets preach-y. The appearance of the Beings isn’t so much a major part of the plot, but rather the impetus for Jaya’s character growth and newfound relationships. Currently, she has a strained relationship with her father and younger sister. Ever since the death of her mother, her father has been not very fatherly and the appearance of the Beings has driven him to the point of obsession. While her sister jumps on that train as well, Jaya’s mind wanders towards the more human side of Beings. They show emotions - why aren’t they treated as such?
“He really thinks he can do this.
He actually thinks he’s going to catch an angel.”
When Jaya finds one of these Beings, she sets out to hide it from the rest of the fanatics in her life and heal its broken wing. Along for the ride are two new friends, Callum and Allie (twins I believe), who also champion the rights of these mysterious Beings. One little point of the story I have to point out is that Beings are referred to as “It” by the public, with “masculine” and “feminine” used as descriptions. Jaya puts genders on them in order to humanize them. However, I do think using the pronouns they/their/theirs would have benefited more in this scenario. As another reviewer on Goodreads pointed out, you don’t even know if these Beings use the same gender binary as done in the Westernized world. In my opinion, Jaya was doing a disservice to these Beings by assigning these binary genders. ANYWAY.
There’s a very slow to develop, but lovely romance that develops between Jaya and Allie (I seriously thought it was going to be with the Being but nah - like I said, their appearance was more of an impetus for specific plot purposes rather than the main event). Jaya is half Sri-Lankan, half-white, while Allie has cystic fibrosis - a disability that is explored in the pages of the book. I thought these aspects were written with care, although I can’t say 100% as to their representation. I do love the underlying message of Allie’s adventurous spirit though - her CF is only a part of her, but she is not defined by it. In between their burgeoning romance is Jaya’s stray feelings to her old flame, Leah, who recently disappeared. Also should point out - Jaya is lesbian while Allie is bisexual. Yay!
“Loss is mathematical: a third less washing, a third fewer dishes, a third fewer footsteps thundering down the stars. Subtract music blaring through the walls. Subtract eyeliner smudges on the towels. Add silence. Add more silence.
I’ve done those sums. The results are always greater than you think they’ll be.”
While Allie and Jaya take care of the Being they find, Jaya also finds herself coming to terms with her mother’s death and the relationship dynamics of her family. Allie struggles between the fun-filled life she wants to live and the limitations set upon by her worrisome mother and brother, for fear of her health. There’s a lot explored in this story, but rest assured that the resolution is quite beautiful and well worth the read.
The only non-answer is the whole subplot with the Beings. Like I said, don’t come in thinking they’re that big of a deal. The book is more focused on Jaya’s character arc and her personal discoveries. The Beings are mysterious from the first page to last, but I think that just adds to the charm of the story. While Out of the Blue covers a dystopian-like atmosphere where supposed “angels” are falling out of the sky, the main developments of Jaya’s story focuses on her introspection and relationships. I really enjoyed following her narrative as she found the place she wanted to be in, and hope other readers do too.
Content/Trigger Warnings:
suicide, cults, addiction
Thank you Macmillan for the review copy!
March 21, 2018
I received this book from the publishers via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
So there is so much to love about this book! I love the concept. I so want to know more about it all but actually feel that what we get is perfect. But will this is obviously a book about angels falling from the sky, this is also a book about relationships - family and romantic. I loved all elements of them.
So first. So much inclusion omg. Bi-racial characters (and I like that it’s not a focus - I love those books too, but I definitely also want to see main characters that are in all books), lesbian and bi characters, disabled characters. Yesssssss. In a contemporary/fantasy. Yes! Really enjoyed how well that was all done, and I hope others agree with me.
Then we have Jaya, and her family. Still reeling from her mother’s death, and disconnected from her dad and sister, I really empathised with her. And her with Allie and also Leah? 😍💙😍💙😍💙😍 I also loved her compassion for the Angels, especially Teacake. That relationship was lovely.
I also want to mention the relationship between Allie and Calum. Her little pet names, his worry and over protectiveness. Just all of it. Love.
And there’s a spoilery thing about Teacake that they do that I loved, and I sort of wish I could flail about it without being spoilery lol. But anyway, I really enjoyed that.
I did want a little more between Sophie and her family, especially her sister, as that seems a little forced. Having said that, it’s a relatively wide age gap, so I do sort of get it. But I think that there was room to expand a little there. And I want to know what happens next!! Not in a sequel way, but just in terms of everything in their lives 😂😂😂
So yes. I really enjoyed this. And I hope you do too. I give it a strong 4.5 stars.
So there is so much to love about this book! I love the concept. I so want to know more about it all but actually feel that what we get is perfect. But will this is obviously a book about angels falling from the sky, this is also a book about relationships - family and romantic. I loved all elements of them.
So first. So much inclusion omg. Bi-racial characters (and I like that it’s not a focus - I love those books too, but I definitely also want to see main characters that are in all books), lesbian and bi characters, disabled characters. Yesssssss. In a contemporary/fantasy. Yes! Really enjoyed how well that was all done, and I hope others agree with me.
Then we have Jaya, and her family. Still reeling from her mother’s death, and disconnected from her dad and sister, I really empathised with her. And her with Allie and also Leah? 😍💙😍💙😍💙😍 I also loved her compassion for the Angels, especially Teacake. That relationship was lovely.
I also want to mention the relationship between Allie and Calum. Her little pet names, his worry and over protectiveness. Just all of it. Love.
And there’s a spoilery thing about Teacake that they do that I loved, and I sort of wish I could flail about it without being spoilery lol. But anyway, I really enjoyed that.
I did want a little more between Sophie and her family, especially her sister, as that seems a little forced. Having said that, it’s a relatively wide age gap, so I do sort of get it. But I think that there was room to expand a little there. And I want to know what happens next!! Not in a sequel way, but just in terms of everything in their lives 😂😂😂
So yes. I really enjoyed this. And I hope you do too. I give it a strong 4.5 stars.
May 30, 2018
I really enjoyed this book! It's about these "Beings" (angels) falling from the sky and crashing to Earth. Everyone that comes down dies instantly from the crash. Jaya's dad is obsessed with finding a Being and so is a lot of the rest of the world. They want to ask it questions, experiment on them, sell them to the highest bidder, whatever. Jaya is totally against this and thinks they should be treated like people and not exploited. Next thing you know, a Being comes crashing down right in front of Jaya and she is the only one around to see it and this one doesn't die! Jaya decides that the best thing to do is to try and hide the being and care for it while it recovers. Hiding this from the world is tricky. She enlisted a few friends to help. There is also a Female/Female romance in this and the Love Interest has Cystic Fibrosis. I definitely recommend reading this one.
June 28, 2019
2.75/5
- tw suicide mention and descriptions
- this idea is so neat and with a gay mc and love interest with cystic fibrosis too it could’ve been so great
- It was ehhh
- while there’s some discussions of grief it doesn’t really delve beyond surface level (imo)
- It surprisingly doesn’t go too much into religion either .. lots of cults .. but no true discussions about heaven or other celestial bodies of which the angels came from
- tw suicide mention and descriptions
- this idea is so neat and with a gay mc and love interest with cystic fibrosis too it could’ve been so great
- It was ehhh
- while there’s some discussions of grief it doesn’t really delve beyond surface level (imo)
- It surprisingly doesn’t go too much into religion either .. lots of cults .. but no true discussions about heaven or other celestial bodies of which the angels came from
September 23, 2020
This was EXCEPTIONALLY cute!!!! It was a little slow in the beginning, but it picked up pretty well and I LOVED Teacake!!!! And the surprise queer rep was GREAT!!!!
March 22, 2018
Review originally posted on The Bibliophile Chronicles.
I recently did a 24 hour readathon and this was one of the books I was hoping to get to. After reading just a few pages I was absolutely hooked and I’m pretty sure I barely even breathed as I devoured this beautiful and original book.
This is such an important book and it deals with so many issues. It deals with grief in a really fascinating way as Jaya and her family attempt to recover from her mother’s death. It also deals with friendship, sexuality, race, family relationships and lots more in between. I felt that Out of the Blue was fantastically written, with real and realistic characters. I loved our main character Jaya, there’s so much character development as she finds this angel, meets Allie and her brother Calum, and attempts to understand her place in the world.
One of the things that really made this book for me was the setting. Growing up and living not too far from Edinburgh made this book a must read for me. I loved seeing the familiar setting and the portrayal of the crazy festival season. I thought Sophie Cameron did a wonderful job of bringing Edinburgh to life, as well as making it believable that angels could crash land in the city. When I read the synopsis I wasn’t sure that falling angels would be believable but Cameron’s world-building is superb and powerful.
Out of the Blue is one of those books that stays with you even after you’ve finished reading it. Vivid, beautiful and imaginative, this is definitely one of my favourite books of 2018.
I recently did a 24 hour readathon and this was one of the books I was hoping to get to. After reading just a few pages I was absolutely hooked and I’m pretty sure I barely even breathed as I devoured this beautiful and original book.
This is such an important book and it deals with so many issues. It deals with grief in a really fascinating way as Jaya and her family attempt to recover from her mother’s death. It also deals with friendship, sexuality, race, family relationships and lots more in between. I felt that Out of the Blue was fantastically written, with real and realistic characters. I loved our main character Jaya, there’s so much character development as she finds this angel, meets Allie and her brother Calum, and attempts to understand her place in the world.
One of the things that really made this book for me was the setting. Growing up and living not too far from Edinburgh made this book a must read for me. I loved seeing the familiar setting and the portrayal of the crazy festival season. I thought Sophie Cameron did a wonderful job of bringing Edinburgh to life, as well as making it believable that angels could crash land in the city. When I read the synopsis I wasn’t sure that falling angels would be believable but Cameron’s world-building is superb and powerful.
Out of the Blue is one of those books that stays with you even after you’ve finished reading it. Vivid, beautiful and imaginative, this is definitely one of my favourite books of 2018.
October 27, 2017
What if you are not alone in your hardest moment? What if there is someone to share it with you? What if the crash comes but this time there's someone to catch you?
You don't know me and probably will not be able to comprehend what that means but I was being late for a music festival in the middle of the summer in one of the sunniest cities in Europe so I can finish reading this bloody book (for the first time). And there are very few books capable of making me almost miss Foo Fighters' live a good 1000 km away from my home.
What happened you ask?
Well, literally every character in this book is so well written you will want to hug them at some point of the book. I mean, I even wanted to hug that plum-color-dressed side character and tell her all will be fine and there's nothing to worry about. Not to mention Jaya with her quiet exploration of her own mourning, Rani with her fixation over angels so she can find something to cling to when everything else seems to be falling apart, their father who seems to be too tired of questioning life, death, and God on every step so he can prove his family he's worth it so they know not all is lost. And there are Alli and Calum with their own fight with life and love-and-hate relationship only siblings have.
OUT OF THE BLUE is a book about loss and healing and you deserve it in your life.
There's this one particular paragraph about loss that I can't get out of my head and the Universe is my witness when I say I hope I made it justice translating it.
If you're into numbers and not that much into words: OUT OF THE BLUE has a disabled bi MC and POC lesbian MC falling in love during times of falling angels. Since I do not want to spoil, I will tell nothing more.
Now that's out of the way, we can proceed to why OUT OF THE BLUE is such a great book besides being cutely gay and almost too sugary(they do, indeed, consume like their own weight in sweets).
The book is a perfect "show, not tell" example and even every effin' chapter ends with a cliff-hanger! I hated it! AND I LOVED IT!
OUT OF THE BLUE is a really nice example of showing a story from many sides and exploring the motivation that leads to characters' (wrong)doings. Because, well, everyone is right from their point of view and wrong from others' points of view.
Sophie Cameron unfolds such a beautiful story in these 200 pages that I already want to read a sequel or at least to own a physical copy of the book. I cannot wait for the book to be officially out so you can all love it as much as I already do.
There are few books that made my 2017 a good reading year - Down Among the Sticks and Bones; Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe; Everything Leads to You; and OUT OF THE BLUE.
You don't know me and probably will not be able to comprehend what that means but I was being late for a music festival in the middle of the summer in one of the sunniest cities in Europe so I can finish reading this bloody book (for the first time). And there are very few books capable of making me almost miss Foo Fighters' live a good 1000 km away from my home.
What happened you ask?
Well, literally every character in this book is so well written you will want to hug them at some point of the book. I mean, I even wanted to hug that plum-color-dressed side character and tell her all will be fine and there's nothing to worry about. Not to mention Jaya with her quiet exploration of her own mourning, Rani with her fixation over angels so she can find something to cling to when everything else seems to be falling apart, their father who seems to be too tired of questioning life, death, and God on every step so he can prove his family he's worth it so they know not all is lost. And there are Alli and Calum with their own fight with life and love-and-hate relationship only siblings have.
OUT OF THE BLUE is a book about loss and healing and you deserve it in your life.
There's this one particular paragraph about loss that I can't get out of my head and the Universe is my witness when I say I hope I made it justice translating it.
If you're into numbers and not that much into words: OUT OF THE BLUE has a disabled bi MC and POC lesbian MC falling in love during times of falling angels. Since I do not want to spoil, I will tell nothing more.
Now that's out of the way, we can proceed to why OUT OF THE BLUE is such a great book besides being cutely gay and almost too sugary(they do, indeed, consume like their own weight in sweets).
The book is a perfect "show, not tell" example and even every effin' chapter ends with a cliff-hanger! I hated it! AND I LOVED IT!
OUT OF THE BLUE is a really nice example of showing a story from many sides and exploring the motivation that leads to characters' (wrong)doings. Because, well, everyone is right from their point of view and wrong from others' points of view.
Sophie Cameron unfolds such a beautiful story in these 200 pages that I already want to read a sequel or at least to own a physical copy of the book. I cannot wait for the book to be officially out so you can all love it as much as I already do.
There are few books that made my 2017 a good reading year - Down Among the Sticks and Bones; Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe; Everything Leads to You; and OUT OF THE BLUE.
July 29, 2018
This is the sort of book I wish I'd had when I was a teenager.
It's beautiful and sad and so lovingly written. The characters are real and their pain is real and their reactions and decisions and choices are so heartbreakingly real and you root for them because you know they're trying so hard to live in a world that's broken them over and over again.
Jaya is a wonderful MC. She's mourning her mother, dealing with her distant father and little sister, and the sudden disappearance of her on-again, off-again sort-of girlfriend all while mysterious, angelic Beings are falling from the sky. Jaya is comfortable with her sexuality--which is wonderful, really, and far too uncommon to read about. As a questioning teen I would have LOVED to read about Jaya, about how her sexuality isn't at the center of her problems, how, really, it's the LEAST of her problems. She struggles with guilt, and anger, and confusion and her world has changed in so many irrevocable ways. Her relationship with her father and younger sister are both poignant and frustrating and difficult and I loved how her family was written. I loved how lived-in the characters felt, how they seemed real and not just constructed.
The romance is understated and sweet. Allie, the love interest, is tough and smart and kind and stubborn and I loved her so much. She is disabled and her disability is discussed by the characters at length. While I am not disabled in the same way and thus feel unequipped to comment on whether Allie's relationship to her disability is positively or negatively represented, I do suffer from chronic illness and I totally get the unfairness of it and I appreciated seeing a character like Allie in a book like this.
The plot is quiet and gentle and thoughtful. Although ostensibly focused on the Beings, the plot is really about how guilt and grief change you, how the world can end and yet you're still left to keep going, how to live with the person you've become. I wish I'd had this book as a teen...it's focus on healing and change, on forgiveness and standing up for what's right and doing what you can to help those who need it, even if it feels like nothing at all is masterfully and lovingly done. A really wonderful story and one I'm so glad exists
It's beautiful and sad and so lovingly written. The characters are real and their pain is real and their reactions and decisions and choices are so heartbreakingly real and you root for them because you know they're trying so hard to live in a world that's broken them over and over again.
Jaya is a wonderful MC. She's mourning her mother, dealing with her distant father and little sister, and the sudden disappearance of her on-again, off-again sort-of girlfriend all while mysterious, angelic Beings are falling from the sky. Jaya is comfortable with her sexuality--which is wonderful, really, and far too uncommon to read about. As a questioning teen I would have LOVED to read about Jaya, about how her sexuality isn't at the center of her problems, how, really, it's the LEAST of her problems. She struggles with guilt, and anger, and confusion and her world has changed in so many irrevocable ways. Her relationship with her father and younger sister are both poignant and frustrating and difficult and I loved how her family was written. I loved how lived-in the characters felt, how they seemed real and not just constructed.
The romance is understated and sweet. Allie, the love interest, is tough and smart and kind and stubborn and I loved her so much. She is disabled and her disability is discussed by the characters at length. While I am not disabled in the same way and thus feel unequipped to comment on whether Allie's relationship to her disability is positively or negatively represented, I do suffer from chronic illness and I totally get the unfairness of it and I appreciated seeing a character like Allie in a book like this.
The plot is quiet and gentle and thoughtful. Although ostensibly focused on the Beings, the plot is really about how guilt and grief change you, how the world can end and yet you're still left to keep going, how to live with the person you've become. I wish I'd had this book as a teen...it's focus on healing and change, on forgiveness and standing up for what's right and doing what you can to help those who need it, even if it feels like nothing at all is masterfully and lovingly done. A really wonderful story and one I'm so glad exists
March 27, 2018
March 27, 2018
Full book review is up on Word Revel.
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January 27, 2018
Initial thoughts: I would definitely recommend this book to teens who need to see themselves in fiction — if they're biracial/Sri Lankan, gay or have a terminal illness, then this book should be in their hands. These characters seize life as best as they can and that matters so much in YA fiction.
In terms of plot and depth, however, I think this is a huge case of Out of the Blue wasn't really for me. I expected more complexity in characterisation, a deeper look at their relationships, a more engaging plot or at least more lyricism to amp up the otherworldliness of the angels falling from the sky. With a main character aged 17 years old, I definitely didn't expect a story so straightforward.
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Note: I received an advanced reading copy from a local distributor in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Full book review is up on Word Revel.
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January 27, 2018
Initial thoughts: I would definitely recommend this book to teens who need to see themselves in fiction — if they're biracial/Sri Lankan, gay or have a terminal illness, then this book should be in their hands. These characters seize life as best as they can and that matters so much in YA fiction.
In terms of plot and depth, however, I think this is a huge case of Out of the Blue wasn't really for me. I expected more complexity in characterisation, a deeper look at their relationships, a more engaging plot or at least more lyricism to amp up the otherworldliness of the angels falling from the sky. With a main character aged 17 years old, I definitely didn't expect a story so straightforward.
_________
Note: I received an advanced reading copy from a local distributor in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
May 6, 2018
A YA novel set in Edinburgh? Yes please! Edinburgh is one of my absolute favourite places. I've visited a few of times and recently took myself there on a solo holiday. I was grateful to Out of the Blue for taking me back.
Continue reading this review over on Pretty Books.
Thank you to the publisher for providing this book for review!
Continue reading this review over on Pretty Books.
Thank you to the publisher for providing this book for review!
March 19, 2018
Disclaimer: I received this free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
When angels start to fall from the sky, at astonishing speeds and landing with such brutality, Jaya Mackenzie struggles to understand whether it connects to her mother – who died 10 days before the first angel fell. They call these angels Beings, and Jaya’s father suddenly becomes obsessed, trying to figure out where the next one will drop. Her father uproots her and her sister to Edinburgh, intent on catching the first alive Being. Things start to spiral for her family, and her best friend is missing, but in a twist of fate an angel falls at her feet. But, most importantly, it’s alive.
I thought that Out of the Blue was a delightful book with such a nice atmosphere. I loved the Edinburgh setting, especially because it is something that you rarely see in YA. Usually UKYA is based in or around London so it was a breath of fresh air reading a UKYA book set in Edinburgh. Out of the Blue was a unique and inventive read and it was, frankly, a refreshing take on angels. Teacup was delightful, fun, and kind and a joy to read about. She also had rose gold feathers, so, what’s not to like?
Out of the Blue is also about grief and it discusses this in a very quiet and subtle way and I appreciated that. Jaya focuses all her attention on the angel in order to distract her from her grief, but I like how she eventually confronts it and starts to heal.
When I first heard about Out of the Blue, all I was hearing about was ‘fallen angels’ and ‘f/f’ romance so it was easy to jump to the conclusion that there were sapphic angels! There isn’t, but the relationship between Allie (who is disabled and bisexual), and Jaya (who is Sri Lankan and a lesbian) was lovely and heartwarming. And it is a huge part of the book so no need to worry about that.
Out of the Blue isn’t really a book about angels, they are just used as a backdrop to the individual character arcs, which I didn’t really mind too much. But, I am a little disappointed that we never got to see where these Beings were from, or why they were falling. But, other than that, it was a nice and enjoyable read and I would highly recommend to people looking for a nice f/f romance with the added paranormal element.
When angels start to fall from the sky, at astonishing speeds and landing with such brutality, Jaya Mackenzie struggles to understand whether it connects to her mother – who died 10 days before the first angel fell. They call these angels Beings, and Jaya’s father suddenly becomes obsessed, trying to figure out where the next one will drop. Her father uproots her and her sister to Edinburgh, intent on catching the first alive Being. Things start to spiral for her family, and her best friend is missing, but in a twist of fate an angel falls at her feet. But, most importantly, it’s alive.
I thought that Out of the Blue was a delightful book with such a nice atmosphere. I loved the Edinburgh setting, especially because it is something that you rarely see in YA. Usually UKYA is based in or around London so it was a breath of fresh air reading a UKYA book set in Edinburgh. Out of the Blue was a unique and inventive read and it was, frankly, a refreshing take on angels. Teacup was delightful, fun, and kind and a joy to read about. She also had rose gold feathers, so, what’s not to like?
Out of the Blue is also about grief and it discusses this in a very quiet and subtle way and I appreciated that. Jaya focuses all her attention on the angel in order to distract her from her grief, but I like how she eventually confronts it and starts to heal.
When I first heard about Out of the Blue, all I was hearing about was ‘fallen angels’ and ‘f/f’ romance so it was easy to jump to the conclusion that there were sapphic angels! There isn’t, but the relationship between Allie (who is disabled and bisexual), and Jaya (who is Sri Lankan and a lesbian) was lovely and heartwarming. And it is a huge part of the book so no need to worry about that.
Out of the Blue isn’t really a book about angels, they are just used as a backdrop to the individual character arcs, which I didn’t really mind too much. But, I am a little disappointed that we never got to see where these Beings were from, or why they were falling. But, other than that, it was a nice and enjoyable read and I would highly recommend to people looking for a nice f/f romance with the added paranormal element.
June 27, 2018
This started out kind of slow, but it was interesting so I held on. And I'm so glad I did. Though it didn't really go where I thought it would. I thought Teacake would be like Castiel from Supernatural, knew about humans and their ways, how to speak English, etc. But she was just a frightened creature who was in a scary new world. I wish we could have learned more about the Beings and why they were falling. I also really liked Jaya and Allie, of freaking course.
October 9, 2018
In her debut novel, Sophie Cameron whisks us off to Edinburgh (YAY Scottish setting!), in a world where `Beings` have began to fall from the sky. The concept and worldbuilding was amazing, and I loved it. I also thought that Jaya was a great main character as she reacts in a very relatable way to finding the first live being, and attempting to hide it from her dad, who has made a hobby out of searching for one in a bid to cope with Jaya`s mum`s death. Both learning more about how Jaya`s mum died, along with Jaya exploring her grief in the present, and the plot of protecting the Being alongside her new friends Allie and Callum kept me completely hooked. Allie and Callum were great supporting characters; they had their own issues they have to address throughout the novel, and a bickering, fun sibling relationship which made me laugh. With an ending that both made me smile and shed a tear, this is a superb contemporary/magical realism hybrid that`s left me excited for whatever Sophie releases next. 4.5/5
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