Angel Song [Paperback]

Sheila Walsh (Author), Kathryn Cushman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 10, 2010

Angels eagerly watch over Ann Fletcher's every move. She just doesn't know it yet.

Ann Fletcher has returned to Charleston to see her younger sister Sarah receive her master's degree. But she soon finds herself riding in the back of an ambulance, watching helplessly as Sarah fights for her life. As they race to the hospital, Sarah talks to someone who is not there...and hums a melody Ann has never heard before.

That unfamiliar, unearthly beautiful melody keeps finding Ann--first in the hospital chapel, then in her dreams, and finally in Sarah's empty house.

Two neighbors have a profound effect on Ann. Ethan McKinney lends her a shoulder to lean on. And as a carpenter, he volunteers to help Ann get the Fletcher family home into shape for selling. His strong presence is a pleasing distraction. Ann's twelve-year-old neighbor, Keith, has Down Syndrome and the guile to believe he can actually see and hear angels. In fact, he insists they are looking out for her in ways she's never imagined.

God begins to reveal himself to Ann--both in her newfound friends and through supernatural events. As she discovers the very real presence of angels around her, will she finally open her heart to receive God's healing love?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Women of Faith speaker Walsh (Beautiful Things Happen When a Woman Trusts God) and novelist Cushman (Leaving Yesterday) have co-authored a yarn about a young woman's unawareness of angels surrounding her every move. Annie Fletcher has returned home to Charleston, S.C., from her busy life as a New York designer to celebrate her younger sister Sarah's graduation when Sarah dies in an auto accident. Distraught and feeling more alone than ever, Annie begins to have dreams and hear music--angelic music--and does her level best to escape it. When her deceased sister's neighbors come calling, Annie gets even more uneasy as 12-year-old Keith, who has Down syndrome, starts talking about seeing angels all around. Troubled and scared, Annie fights memories of a painful childhood even as she battles present-day business adversaries and internally rebels against evidence in her life of invisible angelic protectors. Walsh is known for communicating with real depth in her nonfiction titles; sadly, this fictional offering isn't as riveting. Many of the story's angelic occurrences are more contrived than divine.
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Review

This is an essential purchase for all Christian fiction collections. Walsh has cohosted TV's 700 Club and is well known to evangelical Christians--particularly women, as a result of her speaking appearances at the annual Women of Faith conference. The writing here is even, the characters likable, and the story charming. --Library Journal

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (August 10, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595546855
• ISBN-13: 978-1595546852
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #827,047 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Captivating Story, August 9, 2010

By 

Amber C. Stokes - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Angel Song (Paperback)

With characters so real they almost fly off the pages and with such a moving storyline, Angel Song really drew me in and captured my attention. Ann Fletcher suffers through a horrible tragedy right at the very beginning of the novel, and from then on Ann's life changes forever. She shares a special bond with Keith, a boy with Down Syndrome, and it's what they can both hear that follows Ann throughout the whole book.

Walsh and Cushman do such a wonderful job of bringing Ann to life. From her job and all the dilemmas it created, to her uncertain feelings about her hometown, Ann is someone the reader can sympathize with. Her questions and fears are authentic, and I truly appreciate that. I also appreciate the various secondary characters who add another layer to the story, including a romantic element that I quite enjoyed.

The book was well-written, but I wished that the focus would have been more on God rather than His angels. Based off of the title alone, it's obvious that angels play a big role in the story, which isn't bad at all. I just would have liked it to be a bit clearer on where the power and the comfort really comes from--the Lord.
Overall, though, this book did a great job of affecting my emotions (especially at the end) and warming my heart.

*With thanks to Thomas Nelson Publishing for sending me a free copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.*

~ Also, I must say that I found it interesting that the back cover spells the protagonist's name as "Anne," but throughout the book her name is either "Ann" or "Annie"--not "Anne." Just an observation! ~

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Angel Song, August 18, 2010

By 

Cindy A. Barriga - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Angel Song (Paperback)

ANGEL SONG BY SHEILA WALSH & KATHRYN CUSHMAN IS BEAUTIFUL. IT IS THE STORY OF A WOMAN GOING ABOUT HER LIFE BUT AVOIDING THE MEANING OF IT. SHE HAS NO REAL CONNECTION TO HERSELF AND THIS IS WHERE WE MET UP WITH HER. HER LITTLE SISTER IS ABOUT TO ACCOMPLISH A RATHER LARGE FEAT AND ANNE, OUR CHARACTER, IS ABOUT TO CELEBRATE THIS WITH HER. SADLY AN ACCIDENT OCCURS AND SHE HAS TO DEAL WITH ALL OF IT BUT UNFORTUNATELY IN HER WAY. WHICH IS MORE OF AN AVOIDANCE. SHE DOES, HOWEVER, GET THE HELP OF SOME OF THE AMAZING TOWNS PEOPLE. SOMETHING SHE IS NOT USED TO.

THIS MAKES HER HAVE TO COME OUT OF HER COMFORT ZONE AND HANDLE THESE NEW RELATIONSHIPS. MAKING FOR A BELIEVABLE STORY LINE AND RELATABLE CHARACTERS. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT ANNE NEEDS AT THIS POINT IN HER LIFE, SOME STRONG RELATIONSHIPS THAT HAVE STRONG BELIEFS IN GOD. ALONG THE WAY SHE REALIZES THAT SOME SITUATIONS ARE BEST NOT EXPLORED AND OTHERS THAT MUST BE FURTHER VENTURED. THIS IS A MUST READ.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heartwarming novel, September 5, 2010

By 

Kelly Malloy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Angel Song (Paperback)

You know those books that keep you up late at night anxious to finish reading as tears stream down your face? Angel Song by Sheila Walsh & Kathryn Cushman is one of those books. The novel tells the story of Ann Fletcher, a talented New York interior designer, who returns home to Charleston to see her younger sister Sarah receive her Master's Degree. Once there, Ann finds herself not in the seats of a graduation ceremony, but in the back of an ambulance as Sarah fights for her life. During the ride Sarah appears to talk to someone who is not there, humming a melody Annie has never heard before. That melody continues to haunt Ann throughout the novel until she understands that it is the music of angels who have come to protect her. Reeling from the tragic loss of her sister, Ann does not know how to deal with the love and support that she begins to receive from her sister's friends who all seem to love and accept her immediately even though they hardly know her. Sarah and her friends are Christians, but Ann has a hard time accepting or believing in God. She figured that if Christians still suffered pain and tragic accidents, that was proof God didn't exist because you'd think God would at least help those who worshiped him. When a 12 year old neighbor boy with down syndrome begins drawing pictures of her with angels, she can't help but be curious, and she delves into research about angels on the internet.

To complicate matters even further, Ann is dealing with the stress of her job and a difficult new client who may have romantic intentions toward Ann, while Ann finds herself more and more drawn towards a childhood friend who helps fix up her family home in Charleston to sell.

I really enjoyed this book, and I think you will too!