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ANGEL [Kindle Edition]

Mary E. Kingsley
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (106 customer reviews)

Digital List Price: $3.99 What's this?
Print List Price: $13.99
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Book Description

Thirteen year old Angel Bishop is fed up with all the unanswered questions about her life, like why did her daddy run off when she was just a baby? And why has her Aunt Patsy, the only family member she feels she can talk to, been locked up in a place for crazy people all these years? It seems to Angel like her family fell apart right after she was born, which makes her wonder what her coming along had to do with it.

Growing up with her mother, Ruth, who is often distant and preoccupied, and her bible thumping grandmother, Naomi, Angel is certain there's more to the story than she's been told. When her father, Calvin, telephones out of the blue one evening and says he's coming home for Thanksgiving, Angel thinks her dream of having a normal family is finally going to come true. Instead, she finds herself at the center of a dangerous scenario, threatened by secrets far beyond her understanding.
Set in a small Appalachian town in the early 1970's, Angel is the compelling story of an innocent girl as the unwitting link between the two generations of her family's dark and unresolved past.


Editorial Reviews

Review

"A winsome debut....Kingsley's eloquent prose breathes life into Angel's trials and tribulations."   Kirkus Reviews

"Mary Kingsley's ANGEL is a witty and well-written tale about a feisty young woman's coming-of-age in East Tennessee in the 1970's...Intrigued by the plot and admiring the prose, I read this book all in one sitting, unable to put it down."

-Lisa Alther, Bestselling author of Kinflicks, Blood Feud and Washed in the Blood 

Product Details

  • File Size: 373 KB
  • Print Length: 310 pages
  • Publisher: Little Falls Press (November 14, 2011)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B0067RFD6G
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray: Enabled
  • Lending: Enabled
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #72,763 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
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Customer Reviews

Great storyline, kept me wanting to read more and not put the book down. Keri A Bosar  |  16 reviewers made a similar statement
Kingsley captivates you with her writing style and character development. Happy to Read  |  17 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
83 of 84 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Coming-of-Age Novel November 16, 2011
By Illyria
Format:Kindle Edition
Angel Bishop is 13, orange-haired (it is NOT red, thank you very much), and in many respects a fairly typical adolescent girl. She's a little more thoughtful and a little less obsessed with boys than most, but she's still dealing with all the inner turmoil of those years between innocence and the beginnings of maturity.

For Angel that turmoil is particularly acute because she's never known her daddy. She knows his name, has a picture of him, gets cards and presents from him, and she and her mama even live with her daddy's mother, Naomi; but nobody will really talk about him. The most she can get out of her mama or Naomi is that he's too busy working to come home, and everyone else in town clams up the minute Angel starts asking questions. The only person who seems to have any answers is her Aunt Patsy, but Patsy's been locked up in a mental home for years and what she says doesn't always make a lot of sense.
Then one day Angel's daddy calls to say he'll be home for Thanksgiving, and Angel's desire to have a proper family takes her on a journey that's disturbing, liberating, and nothing like what she always hoped for.

ANGEL is, in a word, lovely. Kingsley has a direct, honest style that works well to convey feeling without bathos or melodrama, and Angel is a captivating heroine. She is brave and even foolhardy at times, but beneath it all is her wholly believable desire to have the kind of family she thinks of as "normal." Kingsley has captured the hot-and-cold nature of adolescence beautifully, and keeps her protagonist always perfectly balanced between a longing for the safety of childhood and a largely unconscious drive for the self-determination of adulthood.

Although nothing at all like it in style or story, ANGEL nonetheless reminded me strongly of "The Catcher in the Rye" in its appeal. It could probably be argued that all coming-of-age novels share the theme that growing up never means what we expect it to, but what's rare is a first-person narrator who's truly insightful without being a prodigy - someone who reminds us just how confusing and painful that time was if we're looking back on it, while also reassuring those closer to Angel in age that feeling like an oddball is, in fact, what's truly normal.

Kingsley's pacing is perfect as her engaging heroine digs deeper into the family's past, and the novel moves quickly without feeling rushed. The dialogue rings true, the characters are varied, interesting, and always utterly relatable (I don't know if it's because both my parents are from the South, but I felt like I grew up with these people), and Kingsley does a deft job of doling out the secrets to keep you turning pages. It's an engrossing, enriching read. Highly recommended.
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35 of 36 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging and Delightful December 23, 2011
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I intended to read Angel over the course of a few weeks like I often do with works of fiction. But the Prologue drew me in, and I read the entire book in one day. Kingsley's heroine rings true as a small-town southern girl, and unlike many teen heroines, she is neither vapid nor mature beyond her years. The storyline is realistic and engaging, and Kingsley's easy writing style and pace kept me eagerly turning the pages without being tempted to skim past the details. I eagerly await her next novel! I would recommend this book for anyone interested in small-town southern culture, family dynamics, or excellent novels. If for no other reason, read Angel to learn that redheads really have orange hair!
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41 of 44 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Interesting premise, Not so compelling execution July 19, 2012
By Rebecca
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
*Spoiler Alert*

Let me start by saying that I really do appreciate the author's efforts. Obviously, I found the premise of the book to be very interesting. If I hadn't I would never have downloaded it to my Kindle. With that being said, I find myself struggling to know what to say.

Against my better judgment I finished this book. I hate not finishing stories, even when I don't find them compelling. I find myself hoping that they will improve or teach me something valuable. Because I finished it, I will give it two stars instead of one.

Never engaging and very predictable, I found myself wanting so much more. I wanted to become immersed in the storyline. I wanted to find myself connecting on a personal level with each character. I wanted to have the desire to keep reading into the wee hours of the morning just to see what was coming and what had happened in the past. Unfortunately, none of those things ever really came to fruition for me.

In addition, there were elements that I absolutely hated. Though not overly graphic, the story includes a near assault by friends, crass references to anatomy and sexuality, descriptions from an illustrated book about sex, a hypocritical-homosexual Baptist minister, a mistreated victim and a child molester.

I am under no delusions that everyone lives happy, perfect lives. I understand, more than most , that bad things happen. I have read books that cover such heavy subjects and I have been moved deeply. However, I don't feel the writing did justice to the circumstances. For example, Angel remains friends with the two young men that nearly assaulted her--even inviting them (and their families) to a party in her home. In reality, that would never happen!

The resolution found in the final 5 paragraphs, as it should be, was the best part of this book. I only wish I had enjoyed the story as much as the conclusion.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved Angel...
I truly enjoyed reading this book and the ending was so powerful. I loved the time period references and the well-developed characters. Read more
Published 2 days ago by CindyA
3.0 out of 5 stars Good read, but a little disappointed by the ending
I don't think it deserves more than three. It's okay. It grabbed my attention the whole time, but when I finished it I was disappointed a little honestly.
Published 4 days ago by AsemMahmod
1.0 out of 5 stars boring and disappointing
This book was really boring, and very drawn out to finally get to a pointless ending! Don't waste your time reading this.
Published 9 days ago by sfrancis
5.0 out of 5 stars so real!
This was in many ways like reading about my mom...the way they lived, how they talked. I was mesmerized from page one.
Published 10 days ago by Sherpar
5.0 out of 5 stars Read it
I became engaged with the characters and was anxious to find out the outcome. It is definitely an enjoyable read.
Published 10 days ago by JTHandyman
5.0 out of 5 stars Great story line
Wonderfully written and entertaining. If you are looking for a good read, give this a try. Probably not one the guys would enjoy.
Published 10 days ago by M. Blank
4.0 out of 5 stars well written
I enjoyed this book, kind of nostalgic for me since it was during the time period when I was in middle school also.
Published 16 days ago by Kim W
5.0 out of 5 stars Angel Angles
Angel is an apparently semi autobiographical or biographical account of either the authors life or someone she knows well. Read more
Published 16 days ago by Dale Deane
4.0 out of 5 stars Angel
The author did a good job writing the story from the point of view of a 13year old girl. Although it isn't my usual type of book, I enjoyed the telling of the story.
Published 18 days ago by Shirleyjantrobus
3.0 out of 5 stars Good Read
Well written. There are a few typos, but not as many as I've seen in other books. Story is about a young girl discovering things about her family and herself. Read more
Published 24 days ago by Farrah Wintrow
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More About the Author

Mary E. Kingsley was born and raised in northeastern Tennessee, surrounded by the hills of southern Appalachia. She now lives in Washington DC with her husband, two cats and a dog. When not writing she enjoys spending time with friends and family, yoga, gardening, occasional painting, paper making, and photography. Her novel, Angle, was released in 2011. Her first novella, All the Pieces, was published on Amazon Kindle in May 2013.

Mary's blog can be found at www.maryekingsley.com/blog.

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