In the Arms of Stone Angels

In the Arms of Stone Angels by Jordan Dane

Thanks to netgally.com for the early look at the is book.

Available 3/28/11

4/5 stars

Summary:

Brenna has done a terrible thing. She called the police when she found her boyfriend standing over a murdered girl with a bloody knife in his hands. That was two years ago. She hasn’t gotten over it. She is stuck in that fourteen year old mind never moving forward. Her mother took her away shortly after and she never knew what happened to White Bird, his preferred Euchee name. But now her Grandmother has died and they are returning to the small town where it all happened. Brenna and her mother will spend the summer there fixing up her Grandmother’s house to sell. She isn’t happy about being back and it seems that the teens in town aren’t happy about seeing her either. The only welcome that Brenna receives is from the stone angels in the local cemetery, where Brenna spends her nights. Oh and she can see dead people.

My thoughts:

When I read the summary with the book, I wasn’t sure about it. I wrote my own above that I think suites the book better. Really the book is more about Brenna and the town where the murder took place. White Bird is a huge part of it too. The idea that Bre is different is also a part but not necessarily because she can see dead people. That talent doesn’t play a big role in things beyond the fact that it is a symptom of Brenna’s “gift”. I love paranormal but not so much with ghosts. But while there are some ghosts in this book, they aren’t major players. What I love about this book was the world that Jordan Dane created; a small town with a sheriff that thought he was doing the right thing but was really the classic small town sheriff, the really mean girl that ran the local group of kids, the ridiculous prejudice that is out of control, and the girl Brenna who doesn’t put up with any of it. I loved how we got to know White Bird even though he was catatonic. His sweet gentle personality was fascinating. I found myself wishing for more flashbacks so I could spend more time with him. I also loved Joe. Joe is the Euchee healer and Brenna attempts to get his help for White Bird. All of the characters create a dark and brilliant mystery.

There are some unresolved questions in the book that are still plaguing me. They’re just little things but it makes me wonder if there will be a sequel. I wonder a lot about Brenna’s dad. Is he the reason she has this “gift”. And what will she do with this “gift” now? A couple of other things are too spoiler to say but I am hoping for a sequel to resolve them all.

Pick this one up, it’s a great read.

Enjoy the read.