Halo by Alexandra Adornetto is a very brave book that delves into the unique world of angels and their relationship with humanity. Mainly a story about falling in love. Halo has three angels: Gabriel, Ivy, and Bethany who have been sent from Heaven to save a small town from an impending doom. Throughout the novel, these angels experience what it’s like to be human and the complexity that comes along. 

In Halo, the youngest, Bethany is very attuned to human life and emotion. After living as a human for quite some time, she falls in love with a local boy, Xavier. Knowing that their love is utterly forbidden, they defy the Higher Powers above, in hopes of having the privilege to stay together.

The beginning of Halo was a bit boring with a sprinkle of humor on the side. It mostly described the living complexities of being human and keeping up with taking diligent care of the body. The first one-hundred-fifty pages also described some of the town’s inhabitants and Bethany’s high school life. The only thing that kept me going is the hilarity that ensues whenever they have to take care of their body and the confusion with humans’ relationships with objects.

The middle was also a bit dragged out, only speaking of Bethany and Xavier’s relationship, and how they defied—basically God—to fight for their love. The love that this novel was based on was very unrealistic and a bit idealistic. The fact that a teenage boy can commit so easily is very difficult to believe. 

However, progressing to the ending is where the novel really stands out, for the ending is very well written and action-packed that the book became such a page turner. In the ending we are introduced to the war between angels and demons. The only unclear part was the last two pages prior the epilogue.

The characters were also very strong and exciting to read. Unfortunately, the length of the book hindered to the fact that I liked them so much, making some of them quite irritating. What drives me through a book is usually the male protagonist (in this case, Xavier), however as the book progressed, my interest in Xavier declined and I was bored with him by the end. However, throughout all of the characters, Bethany Church is who bothered me the most. Her insecurity and façade of inferiority is so infuriating. The fact that she’s a majestic angel does not match up with the idea of her being demure and insecure.

The plot was a bit lacking, with Adornetto’s descriptive words only filling the page. Some of it was pointless and dragged the novel out a bit. However the writing was very profound, descriptive, eloquent and insightful, making Adornetto seem to be a very experienced writer. 

The concept of the novel was also original and brave for including biblical aspects and Christian or religious theory, that somehow doesn’t attract a lot of readers. However the biblical aspects fit in well, making the novel great for critical thinking.

Lastly, the cover was mundane and a bit too cartoon-ish. It seems to be very anime-like which is disappointing.

Grading Scale:
Beginning: 10/15 67%
Middle: 13/20 65%
Ending: 23/25 92%
Plot: 7/10 70%
Characters: 8/10 80%
Cover: 3/5 60%
Writing: 10/10 100%
Originality: 4.5/5 90%

OVERALL: 79% C