Finished Devine Intervention by Martha Brockenbrough. I received a copy from the publisher at BEA.
Heidi has an imaginary friend named Jerome. This wouldn’t be unusual except for two things: she’s 16 and he’s actually her guardian angel. Jerome ditched the Guardian Angel Handbook and so he doesn’t know that you’re actually really, REALLY not supposed to talk to the people you’re watching over.
There’s actually a lot more to this story than that, but I’m not mean enough to wreck it for you.
I know what you’re thinking. There are approximately three billion stories about angels (guardians or not) and teenage girls and do we really need ANOTHER ONE? And the answer is yes, provided this is the “other one” you’re talking about.
This is completely unlike those other angel books (some of which I love, some of which not so much) and is completely hilarious and clever and unique and honestly a little bit heartbreaking.
Every year at BEA, I make impulse grabs and every year, an impulse grab ends up being the best of what I snag. Two years ago, for example, it was The Mockingbirds. I haven’t read most of my BEA haul yet because a lot of them come out later in the year (look for a huge glut of BEA-related reviews in August and September) but it’s a safe bet that this will be one of my favorite books from BEA, if not my absolute favorite.
It’s one of those books that’s all about the human experience, which means that it’s sweet and sad and more than a little ridiculous in parts. And, obviously, not to be missed.
This is one of those books that I’ll be recommending to friends and strangers alike. So hurry up and read it so we can talk about it.
Highly, highly recommended.
