Religious fiction isn’t my genre of choice. I have found that anything that falls into that classification tends to be little more than a conversion attempt in 300 pages or less. Not exactly my idea of fun, entertaining reading. So, when I started reading ‘Dirty Little Angels,’ it was with with a monkey on my back.
Set in present-day New Orleans, the book centers around a sixteen year old girl named Hailey. Hailey is just like the majority of modern teenagers. Dealing with issues far above her maturity level. Things like adulterous parents, criminal siblings, sex, drugs, and friends. In facing the trials and choices she encounters, Hailey begins to wonder if her pleas to God for help are falling on deaf ears.
I actually ended up getting into the book really fast (despite some initial awkward wording), and overall it was really quite good. There were some pacing issues, and it could have been a little bit longer. (The ending was great, but felt a little rushed.) And I fell in love with Hailey. She is a very relatable character, and I found myself wishing I could be there to advise her through her troubles.
There was a really good, thought provoking couple of lines near the end of the book:
“Maybe God didn't save us after all. Maybe we had to
save ourselves,and each other, first.”
And those lines accurately summed up what I got out of the book. It isn’t a sanctimonious statement of what faith is. It is a question of how we apply that faith.
I have to give this book a very respectable 3 ½ stars. It is an entertaining, thought provoking read that really transcends genre with it’s message.
Great review, and nice to know not all Christian fiction is preachy. I am a Christian but shy away from Christian fiction.
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