THE DAY THE ANGELS FELL

November 27, 2017 · by Lorne Anderson · in Books · Leave a comment ·Edit

Sometimes you start a book and don’t finish it, for various reasons. You might run out of time (especially of it is a library book); you might lose interest in the topic; or you might lose the book. Hey, it happens!cover116130-medium

None of those three apply to Shawn Smucker’s debut novel, The Day The Angels Fell, because after a false start, I did indeed finish the book. On first read though it didn’t grab me, but after putting it down for a week I found that it worked better for me the second time.

Even that second time, I had difficulty believing a lot of it. That is always the issue with a supernatural tale – how far can you go before the reader rebels against what is being presented?

On the whole I enjoyed the story, and maybe I am being too critical – this book is aimed at young adult and teen readers. Maybe they will just enjoy the read and not ask the hard questions. The basics of the story did intrigue me, with its roots in Eden and a classic struggle between good and evil. As is frequently the case, evil looks more appealing.

It is natural to want to defeat death, to find the Tree of Life, especially when you are a twelve-year-old boy who has just lost his mother. At that age you don’t have the maturity to realize that trying to bring someone back from the dead may not be the smartest thing to do.

I liked the issues Smucker raises in this novel, although I did feel he owed a lot to C.S. Lewis’ The Magician’s Nephew. There too you have a boy, a mother and a Tree of Life.

Given that I am not the target audience, I guess it boils down to whether I would give The Day The Angels Fell to a teenager to read. On reflection, I think I would – as long as they aren’t as critical in their reading as I am.

The Day the Angels Fell is probably not a book I would've picked up, but I am glad I did.

Shawn Smucker has a lyrical prose that filled me with a sense of melancholy throughout the book.

I would be interested in a spin-off sequel of Abra's journal.

This book wasn't for me... I just didn't enjoyed it.
Is a story told by an old man who lost her mother when he was a kid.
And is all I can say about it.

This is a tough book for me to rate. On the one hand, I appreciated the double allegory of working through grief, and of the fight of good and evil over the Tree of Life. It was a story that felt rich and heavy in a good way; deep; important.

On the other hand, there is a stylistic your-mileage-may-vary aspect of the storytelling that prevented me from getting into the story

This book was an emotional roller coaster for me in a good way! You need to read this.

It was interesting, but not engaging or particularly surprising. I found myself finishing the book because I felt obligated to, not because I felt invested in the characters (whose names I can't even seem to remember right now). It's not that what happened wasn't different or intriguing, but I find it difficult to get into a book if I can't connect with any of the characters. For the length that the book is, I suppose there was a decent amount of character information, but none of the people (or angels) really even stood out to me. Plain and simple. Nothing inherently wrong with either, but The Day the Angels Fell wasn't really what I expected, or wanted, it to be.

Thanks Netgalley and Revell for the opportunity to read The Day the Angels Fell!

The summer he was twelve, Samuel Chambers had an amazing experience. It all started when his mother died when a lightning strike hit the tree she was standing in. When he learns of a way to grow a tree of life an possibly bring his mother back from the dead, he decides to do it, regardless of the consequences.

The Day the Angels Fell is a fascinating imagining of what happened to the Tree of Life from the Bible's Garden of Eden. The author spins a tale of an angel and his fallen counterpart as they fight over possession of the tree through the ages. And for this particular summer, its growth lands in the hands of young Samuel, immediately following his mother's death.

I loved the myths and Christian themes involved in this story. First, there is the Biblical context of the Tree and the angels. Then the author invents some mythology for the sake of the story - that story about the angels battling over the tree for ages. (Or does he? It could be a real myth I haven't heard of.) After that there are other mythological creatures and more Biblical symbolism. It is all very fascinating.

The author does a very good job characterizing and developing Samuel. He has very real questions and struggles. Wouldn't you do anything to save the person you love most in the world, especially as a preteen struggling to develop your own morals? It was all very real. I also appreciated that the frame for this story is an elderly Samuel reliving these events in his memory. It shows further his development. It also makes me really curious as to what happened to his friend and neighbor after their experience over the summer. I guess I'll have to wait for another book for that.

I really enjoyed this book. It had a lot of depth and addresses one of the fundamental fears of humanity: fear. I recommend it to Christians and non-Christians alike who enjoy a good adventure and are not afraid to dive deeply into the themes and symbolism.

I received a complementary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

The Day the Angels Fell, written by Shawn Smucker, is the (sometimes spooky) story of a twelve-year-old boy named Sam and the summer his mother died. His mother’s death leads him on a quest to find the Tree of Life. Sam believes if he can find and grow the tree, he can use the fruit to bring back his mother. As the story progresses, he begins to learn more about life, love, and death.

The Day the Angels Fell opens with an elderly Sam preparing for the funeral of his childhood best friend, Abra. The storyline shifts between the Sam of the present, and his reminiscence of the summer of his mom’s accident. As he prepares for Abra’s funeral, he thinks back on those weeks that he and she spent on their quest to discover the Tree of Life, and what it means to truly accept death.

While Sam is the main character of The Day the Angels Fell, I truly loved Abra. She was a wonderful friend to Sam. Even when she didn’t believe in his quest for the Tree, she helped him anyway, because she knew it was a way he was coping with the death of his mother. Abra was also a voice of reason for Sam. Throughout the story, she continued to remind him that he shouldn’t bring his mother back, even if he found a way; it wasn’t right. She was rational, but still supportive and comforting. By the end of the book, I was so sad for Sam that Abra had passed away, even though she had lived a long life.

This is very much a story of learning to accept death. As the novel progresses, Sam clearly transitions through the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Many times during his journey to find the Tree of Life, Sam is told “Death is a gift”. As time passes, Sam begins to understand that death, like life, is, in fact, a gift. It is the only way for us to move from this world and into the next. There are some Christian undertones in the story (obviously, the Tree of Life), but it is not an overwhelmingly religious book. I feel as though you could enjoy this book even if you aren’t religious at all!

The Day the Angels Fell is a wonderful, beautiful, heartbreaking story about life, death, and acceptance. I did not expect to finish this book with a warm feeling of comfort, but that is exactly what happened. This book opens the readers mind and reminds them that it’s okay to grieve, and it’s okay to be okay.

I highly recommend this book, especially to anyone who is coping with the death of a loved one. It may bring you tears, but it will comfort you, also.

And while Horror Week is held throughout the world, I came up with a book that perfectly fits in the description of this event. Since I usually do not plan what will I read in which period of the year, sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised when things like this happen. Otherwise, I do not really give too much attention to Halloween. I do not cut the pumpkin, I don't wear scary costumes, watch horror movies or read the books of the same genre. At least not only because of this holiday. That is why I was surprised when, in a very unplanned manner, this week, in my hands, I found a very interesting book, primarily intended for young people, but with a dark note that suits Horror Week. And so, I'm involved! Horror Week, here I come!

Once again, thanks to NetGalley and the Revell publishing house, thanks to which I got to read this book; Shawn Smucker's book „The Day the Angels Fell“, that tells us a story about twelve-year-old Samuel and his friend Abra, but also about the summer storm that has changed their lives.

Everything begins one afternoon while Samuel is waiting for his mother to drive him home from his baseball practice. The rain made the boy skip to the nearby store, where he witnessed an event that would get a full meaning later in the story. An unknown person writes a sentence on the table, a sentence that will mark Samuel's summer: "Find the Tree of Life!"

On their way home, Samuel found an abandoned cat, and his mother allowed him to take her home. The same evening a strong summer storm came to their small town called Deen, causing tragedy that will mark the boy's summer. When Icarus, Samuel's cat, climbs a tall oak tree in their yard, Samuel's mother decides to climb the tree and move the cat from the rain. But, in that moment the thunder hits a tree, and Samuel's mother doesn't survive the accident.

So, even though this seems to be just a sad story about the family tragedy, the plot is much more complex. Some strange people enter Samuel's life; first Mr. Jinn, a neighbor whom they have never seen before, and then Mr. Tennin, his father's new assistant on the farm, and with them an incredible opportunity to find the Tree of Life and thus bring Samuel's mother back to life. Yet, to the end it remains unclear who of them is on the side of the Good, and who is on the side of the Evil?!

This story actually begins with the biblical story of the Paradise Garden, the first people, the Tree of Knowledge, and the beginning of Darkness. Samuel and Abra become the backbone of this story about the Battle of Good and Evil and the center of the legend older than time. It is up to them to decide how to act in this game, how to use the tools they got into their hands, and ultimately, how to make the right decision. Is it worth to gamble with the benefits offered by the Darkness, so that the Light could return into this world?! Or, will this Light be equally strong if it returns in the wrong way!?

There is an eternal question before these children; is death actually an end or just a transition to a more beautiful and better world? And although the characters are just innocent children, or just because of that, their role in the events is crucial. They are subjected to a trial on whose outcome will depend, not only their lives, but also the lives of many generations after them.

You are still wondering what is so dark and mean in this story to place it on the reading list of the Horror Week? In order to find out, you'll have to dive into this book, the story of life and death, light and darkness, a story full of mythological beings living alongside ordinary people, angels, and being out of the darkness called Amarok; a story that in a simple, fresh and new way brings us some deep thoughts about great, always-current and intriguing themes.

This is Samuel's story, his past and his present. He is now an old man but when he was 12 his mother was killed in an awful accident. He tries to deal with his grief which leads him on a quest to find the tree of life. He is questioning life and death and his quest offers as many questions as it does answers.

Grief is always a tough subject and the author wrote it well. It is neat reading the experience from both times in Samuel's life. Everything takes on a new perspective when age and living a long life has come into play.

Copy given by NetGalley and the publisher for a fair and honest review.

Oohhh, this is such a good read!!

There is so much to talk about but finding the right wording is proving to be difficult for me.

This is a Young Adult book, and this 46 year-old woman loved it! I'm still a young adult, right?! (hello?) I'll take that silence as your agreement. Most adults have dealt with death, fear and/or loss, so we can relate to these things. It might be more of a fantasy time book for some young people that only have their imagination to go on.

Remember when they used to talk about the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other? That is kind of how the good and evil is portrayed in The Day the Angels Fell, except the angels aren't the little guys on Samuel's shoulder but the actual people in the story. It was pretty easy to figure out who was good and who was evil, and seeing how each of the characters responded to them was captivating. The darkness and creatures defined evil so well. The Tree of Life might have been a gift at one time, but the way Mr. Smucker has described death being a gift makes so much sense.

A lot of books these days seem to bounce around, and this one is no different. You will bounce back and forth between the past and the present, but it made the story that much better to me. I liked the way they were woven together. I really liked the relationship between Caleb and old man Samuel. (That's all I'll say about that.)

This book is a page turner that deals with grief, death, loss, good and evil, and it will not disappoint!!

I received this book from Revell via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved this book! The love between the son and his mother was beautiful and the writing was amazing!

Unique, supernatural, and a twist on a tale we have all heard!

The summer that Sam was twelve years old changed him forever. His mother was killed in a terrible accident that left him without knowing how to grieve and a father who didn’t know how to either. But then the strangers showed up. First was Mr. Jinn, a neighbor who he had never seen, comes to his house to discuss what happened and if Sam would do anything to bring her back. Then Mr. Tennin shows up asking Sam’s dad about work and suddenly is living with them. Mr. Tennin tells a very interesting story about the tree of life that dates back to the Garden of Eden and the two cherubim who were put in place to guard the tree. The tree of life has the power to bring someone back to life, but the power should not be used as death is a gift. Sam becomes consumed with bringing his mother back no matter what it cost.

This book was definitely unlike anything I have ever read before. It centers around Sam and is inability to grieve for his mother’s death and how he feels responsible for it. His father is no help to him and he begins to cut himself off from his only friend. This book may be difficult for people who have lost someone close to them to understand that death is a gift to leaving this world and the pain that comes with it. Those that are left still have the pain and it is hard to see through what it will become.

The story bounces between present day elderly Sam and twelve year old Sam. We see that he develops several habits based on the events of this summer; habits that aren’t good to keep. Ultimately, the supernatural story within this book is what really keeps it moving. Bringing the story of the Garden of Eden and intertwining it with present day is a fresh way to look at this aspect. Be sure to grab a copy of this one!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

This book was okay. I kept waiting for it to grab me because of the reviews but I did not find this very creepy as some others did. The ending did guarantee I'll be on the lookout for the sequel when its released!

The "ancient struggle" plot is a fascinating if done well. I put this one in the medium range. Points for originality with angles and the tree of life. It's kind of weird, though. There was a strong sense of unreality that detracted from an otherwise compelling plot.

If you are a fan of supernatural fiction then you will be pleased to know that there is a new voice in the field. Shawn Smucker makes his debut with The Day The Angels Fell. Supernatural fiction is really not my thing but I enjoyed the story and felt like it was a quick read.

The story is told from the perspective of Samuel Chambers. He's an old man about to attend the funeral of his last friend. Due to age and circumstance he is reflecting over the events that surrounded the death of his mother. It was a summer that would change the course of his life and those around him.

As I said before it is a work of supernatural fiction so expect that in the writing. I thought Mr. Smucker did a good job of working those elements into the story without making it weird. The overall theme is that death is a gift. That may sound strange at first but after reading the novel I appreciate that phrase.

If you can check your theology at the door and just read this title as a work of fiction I think you will enjoy it. The writing is good and the characters are engaging. Once you start the story I think you'll be hard pressed to put it down.

I received a copy of this book to facilitate my review.

This is a new author for me, but I think I will look for more from him. His book is a good example of story telling that gives the story of Samuel and his quest to bring back his mother and a search to decide what the best decision is. Samuel's life changes at twelve and he just wants things back the way they were. He takes whatever advice he can to try and turn back time and soon finds himself with more that expected.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher, the review is my own.

The first thing I noticed was the very interesting way of portraying light versus dark all through the story. And while I enjoyed reading it I could never fully imerse myself in it.

The time of the story was off to me. I think I would've enjoyed it a lot more if we had had the 'past' portion of it first, this way I could've understand more the reason behind our character's actions. This is the main reason it took me so long to finish the book.

While the story was very good it was the execution that kept putting me off.

I absolutely LOVED this book, with it's unusual and intricate story.

It's seen from the perspective of Sam Chambers, who is only 12 when his mother is killed when lightning strikes the old oak tree on their land. It starts as he looks back as an elderly man, but most of the story is told by his 12-year-old self, and it begins rather eerily as the storm builds and he comes across three women who seem to have strange powers, and leave a mysterious message on an antique table in the shop in which he has taken shelter.

By the way, the descriptive writing in this book is tremendous. Try this:

"...the next lightning missile struck, and this time I not only heard the crash but felt the sizzle in the air, the electric pulse spreading outward. The air woke up, like a viper sensing a small mouse dropped into its cage.
The rain turned into a constant sheet of water, and I felt like I was trying to breathe underwater. The air was lost, taken over by the downpour. There was no space between drops anymore. Everything, including me, was soaked in seconds."

After the death of his mum in the same storm, Sam determines to try to find the Tree of Life, to bring her back (this is by no means as bizarre within the context of the story as it sounds here) and he sets off to try to find the three women, who he thinks can help him in his quest.

As the story progresses, two men come into Sam's life. They are both eager for him to find the Tree, but one wants to protect it, and the other to destroy it. And for a very long time through the book, I was unsure as to which of these represented the 'right' path.

This is a completely compelling read. Very well written with plenty of tension and a strong supernatural element throughout. Yet the characters are well rooted in reality and the two children, Sam and his friend Abra, are easy to empathise with and they and the story's setting are very believable. It's a book which certainly makes you think about supernatural elements of faith, and what is 'unseen'. Although this is a complete story, there is a nice hint at the end of possible future tales.

I highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys fantasy or supernatural stories. It would suit anyone from mid-teens onwards who likes something a bit quirky.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Who says don't judge a book by its cover? The cover of Shawn Smucker's debut novel is absolutely stunning with a magnificently-told story to match. I must admit that cover art often entices me to crack open a book, and I was certainly glad I dedicated some time to reading this one.

Reading much more than A Page Before Bedtime, I was immediately drawn in to this engaging book. In it, Smucker introduces the fictional story in present time where a much older protagonist, Sam, is remembering the fateful summer when, as a young boy, his mother died in a freak accident. Riddled with grief and guilt as well as a longing to bring her back, the author takes the reader on a psychological roller coaster that involves part reality and part fantasy. The story vacillates between the past and present times.
In this novel, Smucker tackles some hefty questions surrounding the theme of death. When someone dies, are they truly gone forever? Is death a destination or part of a journey? And most thought provoking for me, is death necessarily a bad thing? I also liked the secondary theme of happenstance and how one small event can trigger a domino effect of many more seemingly unpleasant happenings.

Sam, as a young boy, along with his best friend (Abra), come of age in a relatively short period of time due to a very tragic event. There's a battle of good versus evil with Christian and religious overtones. As a reader, you will find yourself anticipating the end to find out if good will indeed conquer all.

With Smucker's beautifully-written prose and well-developed characters, this novel takes the reader on an emotional journey that evokes excitement and introspection. You'll be thinking about this read long after you close the book. The author certainly has the talent for pulling his audience in and painting vivid pictures that make the fictional story seem all too real.

Recommendation: This fast-paced book can easily be devoured in a day or two. While there are some violent scenes that can be interpreted as scary, there is also a moral dilemma presented that make this story suitable and educational for young adults to seniors. Pick up your copy today, or better yet visit my blog: apagebeforebedtime(dot)com to enter to win a free copy!