Halo [Audiobook, CD, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Alexandra Adornetto (Author, Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 20, 2010 | Series: Halo

Three angels — Gabriel, the warrior; Ivy, the healer; and Bethany, the youngest and most human — are sent by Heaven to bring good to a world falling under the influence of darkness. They work hard to conceal their luminous glow, superhuman powers, and, most dangerous of all, their wings, all the while avoiding all human attachments. Then Bethany meets Xavier Woods, and neither of them is able to resist the attraction between them. Gabriel and Ivy do everything in their power to intervene, but the bond between Xavier and Bethany seems too strong. The angels’ mission is urgent, and dark forces are threatening. Will love ruin Bethany or save her?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up–The first in a trilogy, Halo is the story of the angel Bethany, who has been sent with two other angels posing as her older brother and sister to a small town to encourage the human residents to seek a higher purpose and drive back impending evil. But Bethany is a young angel and finds the lure of high school, earthly friends, and the love of a human boy far more temptation than she ever expected. In spite of her youth (she's 18), Adornetto has written a compelling novel of good and evil that will find an audience among girls who can't get enough of otherworldly characters and situations and heart-wrenching romance. The novel suffers a bit from too much teen angst, but the author shows definite promise.–Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage Public Library, AK α(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Angel Bethany Church and her heavenly siblings Gabriel (yes, that one) and Ivy have been sent to a small town on a vague goodwill mission. Bethany’s territory is high school, where she tries to blend in despite her ethereal glow and blissful naïveté. Soon she is swept up into a chaste romance with impossibly good boy Xavier Woods while being tempted by a potential demon, Jake Thorn. Jake shows his horns by engineering the suicide of Bethany’s classmate, and the forces of heaven and hell predictably clash. But when Bethany’s and Xavier’s lips meet in a kiss of true love, Jake is flung back to hell. The 17-year-old author’s angel mythology is solid, though her self-conscious writing often lapses into cliché, and her plotline follows a path that has been well trod post-Twilight. Still, there never seem to be enough lengthy tomes to satisfy the legions of paranormal-romance fans, and this first title of a planned trilogy fits the bill. For readers who have had enough supernatural star-crossing, recommend A. M. Jenkins’ superior Printz Honor Book, Repossessed (2007) instead. Grades 7-10. --Jennifer Hubert --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio on CD Unabridged; Unabridged edition (September 20, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1441875212
• ISBN-13: 978-1441875211
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (179 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,113,943 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

82 of 89 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars from missprint DOT wordpress DOT com, September 11, 2010

By 

Miss Print (NYC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Halo (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

Dark forces are gathering. Terrorist attacks, murders, strife, poverty. Just look at the news and you can see them everywhere. Three angels are sent to earth to complete good works and counter the darkness. Gabriel, the warrior; Ivy, the healer; and Bethany the least experienced of the three, created a mere seventeen years ago, but also the most connected to the human race.

This is Bethany's first visit to Earth. While her older siblings are able to view their new earthly surroundings and experiences at a remove Bethany is fascinated by all of it and instantly enchanted by the wonders human life has to offer.

Gabriel and Ivy immediately throw themselves into their mission, seeming to know instinctively what good they can do for the small community Venus Cove. Bethany is less certain of her own role in the mission. Instead of finding her own heavenly path, Bethany finds herself drawn to a mortal boy in Halo (2010) by Alexandra Adornetto.*

Halo had a lot of promise. It's been getting a lot of hype. The cover is lovely. The plot is kind of interesting sounding. Adornetto, a veteran author at the tender age of seventeen, has the potential to be a media darling. And angels are the new vampires.

The book also has an intriguing trailer available for your viewing pleasure.

With all of that potential, Halo still managed to fall painfully flat.

Maybe that shouldn't have been such a surprise after seeing the book's epigraphs (excerpts from Romeo and Juliet and from Beyonce's song "Halo").

First and foremost, Halo is massive. The first book in a projected trilogy this one clocks in at just under 500 pages where nothing happens very slowly. Set up is, of course, very important for a story--arguably more so for a fantasy. That said, one hundred pages without getting to the crux of the story is a bit excessive.

Then there is the matter of Bethany, our narrator. Bethany's naivete about life on Earth is amusing in the beginning but as the story progresses it begins to ring false. Everything seems to come easily to the angels: they are preternaturally good looking (to the point that Gabriel causes a near riot when he arrives at the local high school as the new music teacher), they inevitably excel at everything they do, they glow (really). And yet, Bethany can't figure out how to talk to other teenagers when they use slang or reference pop culture? She finds herself tongue-tied and completely obsessed by the first (literally the first, I'm serious) good looking boy she sees. What?

On top of that, everything about Halo felt very contrived.

There are no homely people in Venus Cove, at least if there are they escape Bethany's notice entirely--all of her human friends are beautiful with startlingly blue eyes or titian curls. The angels, unsurprisingly, have wings and Bethany mentions none of them would be wearing tank tops any time soon only to have Ivy walking around in a tank top a few pages later and Gabriel greeting a human neighbor wearing nothing but a towel.

Finally, and most bizarrely since Adornetto is herself still a teenaged girl, I couldn't shake this feeling of condescension each time Bethany started talking about human teenagers. She identifies the cliques at school with their stereotypical modifications to their uniforms (except for the "academic types" who are too timid for such things and carry the official school backpack), she talks about listening to the prayers of teenage girls hoping to date the captain of the rugby team. Bethany keeps worrying about how weak and fragile she is compared to her siblings who are so absorbed in their heavenly mission they never get much of a chance to develop in the story. Every character, it seems, is diluted to the basest elements--especially Bethany whose thoughts are wholly consumed by a mortal boy ten pages into the story.

Halo had many promising elements, but taken together they managed to create an unexceptional book. While interesting and an undoubtedly impressive body of work for a seventeen-year-old author Halo simply did not realize its potential.

*I would tell you more about the plot but my YA Lit professor always said not to give away anything beyond the jacket copy and/or the first twenty pages. I adhered to the latter but, be warned, the plot summary above is for the first hundred pages. Seriously.

Possible Pairings: Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick, Hearts at Stake by Alyxandra Harvey, Swoon by Nina Malkin, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

36 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars not what I expect from an angel, September 15, 2010

By 

Tabitha (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Halo (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

I'm not a huge fan of romance, especially the kind where the girl can't rescue herself and instead has to depend on a boy to do it for her. As a result, this really interfered with my enjoyment of Halo because that's basically what this story is about. So, if you have the same opinion on romance, then this probably isn't the story for you.

Bethany is an angel. Meaning, she's a supernatural being with abilities that humans don't have. She, along with two other angels, was sent by Heaven to improve life in Venus Cove. Gabriel and Ivy immediately set to work and get involved in the communities. Bethany goes to high school, presumably to help others. Except she doesn't. She focuses on behaving like any teenage girl: making friends, doing homework, finding a boyfriend, etc. Which is fine--admirable, actually, because it helps her to better understand the humans she's supposed to be helping.

But this is what I could not get over: I can count on one hand the number of times Bethany helps humans. And, each of those times, she didn't set out to help them. Instead, she just happened to be in the area and reacted to the current situation. Not once did she actively seek out a way to carry out her mission. As a result, Bethany doesn't drive this story. Not what I expect from an angel.

On top of this, she does nothing to save herself, or even protect the ones she loves, when a supernatural evil comes to Venus Cove. Since she's an angel, I expected her to be on the front lines because she has to know that humans don't stand a chance against that kind of power. Instead, she hides behind a human to protect her. Definitely not what I expect from an angel.

The premise of angels coming down to Earth is so unique and intriguing, and I really wanted to like this story. If Bethany had been proactive (rather than reactive), then I think I would have. As it is, though...

As far as audience goes, this story would be appropriate for younger teens as everything, even the romance, is most definitely PG.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Preachy, Plotless, Purple Prose, October 28, 2010

By 

J.J. Macken "Jana" (Sydney) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Halo (Hardcover)

I would like to preface my review by acknowledging the awesome achievement of a 17 year old writing this massive work. Really amazing.

Okay, why I hated Halo:

-The writing. This book is where purple prose comes to die. Seriously EVERYTHING is described and described in then compared to something else in an irritating similie. 'Xavier's eyes are torquoise and almond shaped, like twin pools of clear blue ocean'. That kind of discription is good and enriching to the story when used sparingly. But in Halo everything is described to this extent and it gets to be completely over the top. There is almost an entire page describing Xavier's parent's house, do we NEED to know the exact flooring and shade of wall paint in Xavier's parents house? I think not.

At LEAST 100 pages could have been cut from this 500 page tome just from the overly flowry descriptions. I think more words are expended on describing the exact floppy-nutmeg-lustrous nature of Xavier's hair than there are or actual diaglogue betweent the main characters. Where was the editor? This book is so overwritten the plot takes a complete back seat.

-Speaking of plot... it really starts at about page 350 and even then it isnt all that scintillating. The obsessi-love between Bethany and Xavier is the main focus. I just can't buy that after a handful of short, stilted interactions together, the two of them are openly declaring their undying love for oneanther, Bethany going so far as to renounce heaven if it meant more time with Xavier. Seriously? Angels coming to earth to help mankind is an interesting idea and yet, Gabriel (that's arch-angel Gabriel) and Ivy (the seraphim) do next to nothing to help the tiny costal town of Venus cove. Why two of the top ranking angels in heaven are sent to a sleepy coastal town in America? Australia? Is beyond me. They are completely two-dimensional as characters, their only notable characteristic is their superhuman goodlooks.

What seemed like an original premise devolves into a blatant twilight ripoff, scenes are changed but it follows such a similar trajectory. I had to roll my eyes when Beth and her friends go up to Port Cerce to buy their prom dresses. Why not call it Port Angelis, rename Bethany, Bella and be done with it?

-This book is very preachy, all the angels and all of Xavier's family go to church and say grace and they never ever swear and there will be NO sex before marriage. They are all so damn goody-two-shoes, it's actually kind of annoying. The one guy who refuses to go to church, Jake Thorn (cliched baddie) is evil. So being a devout churh-going christian = good person/protagonist and being a secular, naturally flawed teenager = bad person/or lost and confused person in need of sheparding back onto the right path. (read: back into the church) Another reviewer described Xavier as "nauseatingly perfect" and aint that the truth. He is a devastatingly handsome, hugely popular, respectful and religious, smart and sucessful, borefest. Unlike 95 percent of teenage boys his age he is content to wait until after marriage to have sex and treats Bethany as if she is "a fragile piece of glass". Actually the only downside to Xavier is his over-protective, psuedo-stalker attitude to Bethany. There is one scene where he plays the 'aeroplane game' and shoves a power-bar into Bethany's mouth to force her to eat which made me cringe.

The biggest downside to this book is the boring, slow-moving nature of the plot. So little happens in the first three hundred pages. Bethany goes to school, Ivy does charity work, Gabriel works as the music teacher, Xavier comes on the scene and falls ridiculously head-over-heels for Bethany. That's pretty much it. For three hundred pages. If the love story were captivating enough this would be acceptable but it isnt. I hate to be crude but Xavier is essentially a thirteen-year old girl's wet dream, the perfect, popular athlete who will make you the centre of his world and will never ask any of those disgusting things like sex of you. I bet thirteen year old go crazy for this book, me - i'm too jaded to find a character like Xavier attractive. I would guess that anyone over the age of 16 will feel the same way.

Halo was a massive waste of money and time, apparently it's going to be a trilogy, but I sure won't be buying the sequel. I think working as a publisher in the paranormal YA market is a licence to print money. Post twilight there have been so many crappy parnormal-teenage-romance novels brought out I can hardly believe it.