He’s mocked for his name and nerdy interests at Chapel Hill High School in Portland, Oregon, and doesn’t speak enough Farsi to communicate with his Iranian relatives either. Iranian on his mother’s side and white American on his father’s side, Darius never quite fits in. When Darius’ grandfather becomes terminally ill, Darius, along with his parents and younger sister, travels to Iran for the first time in his life. 12 & up)ĭarius Kellner suffers from depression, bullying by high school jocks, and a father who seems to always be disappointed in him. Smart, well-crafted and sophisticated without a doubt, this belongs on the top of the stack of the current crop of angel books. A mysterious book gives Haven strange instructions to follow, but why? How do angels become involved in the story? Who might be in danger? She falls for him, but can Haven trust Lucian, Aurelia’s assistant? The author draws her characters distinctly, making readers care about Dante even though he remains offstage for most of the book.

Agresti builds suspicion deftly and slowly, keeping readers turning pages as her story grows. Eventually she’ll find out that Aurelia intends to steal souls, including Haven’s. She works directly for ultra-glamorous Aurelia Brown, owner of the hotel, and Haven quickly discerns that something isn’t right. With her best friend, Dante, and Lance, the third intern, Haven moves into the hotel on her 16th birthday. Out of the blue, Haven learns that she has won an internship at Chicago’s hottest new hotel, where she’ll go to live. Though lengthy, the plot wastes no space. It may be a debut, but from the first paragraph readers will feel they are in the hands of a confident, professional writer. A shy, geeky girl finds herself fighting actual devils in this classy first installment in a new angel series.

Illuminate by Aimee Agresti