≡ [PDF] Heavenly Jennifer Laurens 9781933963846 Books

Heavenly Jennifer Laurens 9781933963846 Books

Download As PDF : Heavenly Jennifer Laurens 9781933963846 Books

Heavenly Jennifer Laurens 9781933963846 Books

Zoe is in high school, and lives a pretty stressful life. Her little sister, Abria, has Autism, and her younger brother smokes pot. She feels like she has the weight of the world on her shoulders, and has been forced to become like a second mother to Abria. She loves to go out and party on the weekends and get drunk, which usually results in her hooking up with a number of different guys. Then she meets Matthias, an attractive and charming young man who she first encounters at the park when Abria has run off and he finds her. Then, she encounters him again when Abria goes missing in a parking lot a few days later. Soon, she discovers that he is Abria’s guardian angel, and he appears whenever Abria is in some sort of trouble. This would be a good thing, and it is, except that Zoe is falling in love with him . . .

What a great story! It was so interesting and different, and I really loved reading it. The characters were fantastic and I especially enjoyed the character of Abria and the fact that the author was able to portray a character with Autism so accurately and positively. This book was certainly out of my reading comfort zone with the whole angel aspect, because I tend to gravitate more towards realism in my reading, but she did such a great job shaping the character Matthias, that most of the time, he seemed like a regular guy – which is probably why Zoe fell for him. This was a great story that of course featured romance, but focused mostly on family, and the struggles they go through together, which I really liked. The family and their problems were very realistic and heartbreaking.

I really enjoyed this story for a different kind of read. It was beautiful, sad, and fun, all at once.


Tags : Heavenly [Jennifer Laurens] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. I met someone who changed everything. Matthias. My autistic sister's guardian angel. Honest. Inspiring. Funny. Hot. And immortal. That was the problem. What could I do? I did what any other girl would do-I fell in love with him. Zoë's sister darts in front of cars. Her brother's a pothead. Her parents are so overwhelmed; they don't see Zoë lost in her broken life. Zoë escapes the only way she knows how: partying. Matthias,Jennifer Laurens,Heavenly,Grove Creek Publishing,1933963840,Brothers and sisters,Teenage girls,Children's 12-Up - Fiction - Romance,Fiction Romance Contemporary,Romance - Contemporary

Heavenly Jennifer Laurens 9781933963846 Books Reviews

I have very mixed feelings about this book, but one thing is for sure. It definitely kept me wanting to know how it would end.

I've read reviews on this book that call it too preachy and say it should be labeled as 'Christian' fiction. I disagree. For one thing you cannot have a book about angels without some mention of heaven or God, and in those areas the author did not oversell. I thought there was just the right amount of spirituality you'd expect from a Paranormal book about angels. Yes the book touches on the dangers of drinking, sex and drugs among teens. I don't believe that only those within the Christian faith find these things to be an issue with our youth. I did not find the message to be overly religious, and with all the sex and immorality shown to teens on TV, more books about right, wrong and morality should be written, and not just in the Christian fiction genre.

That said, I found this book to be enjoyable for the most part. The biggest influence on my four star rating was the strong voice of the author. Her imagery and descriptions were downright poetic at times and I enjoyed her narrative. If not for the strength of the writing I might have given this book 3 stars instead of 4 for a few reasons.

For one, I felt the book dragged for the most part. For the first 75% of the book, the same things happen over and over Zoe hangs out with her friend and gets drunk and looks for guys to hook up with, her autistic sister does something that puts her in danger and her guardian angel, Matthias, shows up, Zoe has deep, meaningful conversations with Matthias about life and death, and then some inevitable family drama with Zoe's family pops up. Lather, rinse, repeat. Over and over again. After awhile these scenes became less impactful and hindered the flow because of their redundancy.

Most of the good stuff that happens, occurs after 85%, and by then the book is pretty much over and we rush to the finish. I really wish more of those elements had been present in the first part of the book, as it would have really picked up the pace.

One other thing that bothered me about this book was that the main character, Zoe never faces any real consequences for her actions. In fact, none of the characters do. This book touches on some heavy subjects drugs, alcohol, sex, suicide, depression, promiscuity....I just felt that the author's approach was too light and fluffy, almost as if she were writing what she THOUGHT teens are going through as opposed to writing from experience. If you're going to deal with gritty subjects, then you can't be afraid to 'go there' and I feel like the author got close without actually going as deep as she could have. When Zoe and her brother are busted for drinking (her) and smoking pot (him), neither of them face any real repercussions. In fact, as horrified as their parents are, their weak responses horrified me. They pretty much let their kids run wild as if the problems didn't exist. It just didn't go deep enough for me and things wrapped up just a little too conveniently for Zoe in the end. I also found her self-righteousness annoying. Her constant judging of her brother for smoking pot and her friends for their behaviors grated on my nerves, when in every other chapter she was whining about needing a drink or a guy to hook up with. Even in the end when she has her 'get right' moment, she still continues to make excuses for her behavior as being a coping mechanism or 'for social reasons'. I just didn't feel like her turnaround was genuine.

Other than those things, I found the book interesting. The secondary characters were the most interesting to me, especially the sweet angel Matthias and Zoe's friend Chase. Abria, Zoe's autistic sister, was a cutie as well and I found the lessons Zoe learned from watching the little girl heartwarming.

The ending was the best part of the book, and left room for a sequel, which I plan to read. My hope is that the second story will be as pacy and interesting as the last 15% of this first book. I think it could be a much better story if it were.
I was expecting something better based on the reviews. I will say there are parts of the book I did like. I thought Zoe's family situation was very real. The depiction of "teen culture" also seemed realistic to me. Zoe was an interesting character and I could feel for her struggles. However, she does turn out to be a bit holier than thou towards the end. Also, there were a lot of questions I had about the whole "guardian angel" thing that were never answered. I kept thinking "why isn't Zoe asking Matthais this?" For instance, he tells her that only people who are "ready" can see spirits. What is the turning point for Zoe? She really isn't a spiritual or believing person at the beginning of the book. Why can't people like her Pastor or Father see guardians? And the girl at Zoe's school who has a guardian can't see him. Also, it seems a bit silly that they can't be where evil dwells. Seems like that would be the best place to have a guardian. Also, who decides who gets a guardian and who doesn't?

I could easily see why Zoe loved Matthais. What is less clear is why he falls in love with her. Zoe clearly realizes she is a flawed, sinful person even saying so to Matthais. If a heavenly being said he was in love with me, I would ask "why?" Also, he appears with her in the car before her accident but doesn't warn her or anything. Isn't that sort of the POINT of being a guardian? He saves Abria from jumping off window ledges, he couldn't tell Zoe to look out for a car?

The part that MOST irritated me was the ending, and that is why I am giving this book only 3 stars. Zoe is happy to be in heaven (or the in between or whatever) with a guy and just leave her family behind? The family that she was just starting to mend her relationships with? I suppose some people might find it romanitc, I found it disgusting and shallow. And very Twilight-esque. I know there is a sequel where she isn't dead, but I do not find books where the girl gives her entire life just to be with a guy romantic. That said, I am mildly curious about the rest of the series. If it were free on , I would read it.
Zoe is in high school, and lives a pretty stressful life. Her little sister, Abria, has Autism, and her younger brother smokes pot. She feels like she has the weight of the world on her shoulders, and has been forced to become like a second mother to Abria. She loves to go out and party on the weekends and get drunk, which usually results in her hooking up with a number of different guys. Then she meets Matthias, an attractive and charming young man who she first encounters at the park when Abria has run off and he finds her. Then, she encounters him again when Abria goes missing in a parking lot a few days later. Soon, she discovers that he is Abria’s guardian angel, and he appears whenever Abria is in some sort of trouble. This would be a good thing, and it is, except that Zoe is falling in love with him . . .

What a great story! It was so interesting and different, and I really loved reading it. The characters were fantastic and I especially enjoyed the character of Abria and the fact that the author was able to portray a character with Autism so accurately and positively. This book was certainly out of my reading comfort zone with the whole angel aspect, because I tend to gravitate more towards realism in my reading, but she did such a great job shaping the character Matthias, that most of the time, he seemed like a regular guy – which is probably why Zoe fell for him. This was a great story that of course featured romance, but focused mostly on family, and the struggles they go through together, which I really liked. The family and their problems were very realistic and heartbreaking.

I really enjoyed this story for a different kind of read. It was beautiful, sad, and fun, all at once.