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On the Side of the Angels
Book by Randle, Kristen D
322 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 10, 2025
This was a surprisingly good novel. I was a little hesitant that it was an LDS novel. I admittingly skipped over the church scene. the author didn't push the LDS narrative either, and i really appreciated that. this was a story about second chances. A boy who grew up in a hard life and did what he could to survive but also made the big decision to change his life. In doing so, he found some things he was missing. I loved the fact that the parents, though hesitant at first, accepted him with open arms. even when they found out what he had done to survive, they gave him the benefit of the doubt and supported him through it. I loved how the author weaved in the emotion behind the words. She even named it at times. I loved that she could show growth within the character and the mistakes he made and realized them. Cody had many values that I admire in a person. hope for himself even if it wavered a bit there. overall, great book. i would read it again.
September 15, 2011
This is one of my favorite coming of age stories. Kristen knows who to write about teens and the pain and drama they feel each day. She creates an amazing character in Cody. He is so complex! Isn't it every girls dream to find that gorgeous bad boy and have him want to change and be better and love us at the same time. This book is amazing! I have read it over and over as I have with my other Randle novels. She is a talented writer not many know about, but everyone should read. This book is for older teens. There is some violence and boyfriend girlfriend, kissing. 16 and up. There is LDS characters but this novel could be read by anyone, it is not centered around the religion but around Cody.
September 2, 2010
From the works I have read, and the reviews of the others, I see Randle’s plots have a clear, perhaps overly repetitive pattern. A troubled or damaged outsider older teenager is befriended a more conventional, vaguely Mormon teen, who is somewhat naïve, but posses an inner strength fostered by his or her strong family background. The pair are of the opposite sex, so there is romantic tension. The Mormon teenager hopes to help or improve the insider, gets more than he or she bargained for, and may even be seriously hurt, but still generally was right to make an effort.
On the Side of the Angels was Randle’s last book for the Mormon market, and perhaps she wrote it with the national market in mind, as the Church is never specifically mentioned, although clearly most of the major characters except the central troubled teen, Cody, are LDS. There is a lovely scene of Cody attending a Sacrament Meeting for the first time, disorientated but touched by a remarkable talk on the atonement.
Okay, the plot. Cody is a tough teenager from the streets of New York. His mother is drug addict who emotionally and physically abused him all his life. Cody has managed to survive his home and the corrosive neighborhood, but at the price of emotional scars and a horrendous school record. Despite his disadvantages he is almost unbelievably charismatic, handsome, and intelligent. He finally escapes the city and travels to the home of his uncle out west. His mother had long before cut off all connections with this (Mormon) brother, who was not even aware of his nephew’s existence. Cody, aware of his own intelligence and potential, realizes the uncle’s family could provide a base for a new start, and wins the family’s approval for him to stay. Elise, a friendly and popular girl who had been enjoying a pleasant, uneventful high school existence, is recruited to act as Cody’s tutor. Elise is intrigued by the prickly but mysterious young man, and tries to teach him conventional academic and social forms. The pair become romantically involved (Elise also has to teach Cody her moral standards), Cody finds a calling in artistic photography, and begins to feel at home in his new home and community. He is also dogged, however, by a psychopathic rival, a prejudiced school councilor, and—most of all—the self-doubt and self-loathing installed by his mother. It all builds to an exciting climax.
Cody is a fascinating character, and after a slow start, the plot becomes gripping, chugging all the way through its 322 pages, a substantially sized book for the YA market. Randle does not emphasize the Mormon element at all, and is not didactic, but she clearly is interested and sympathetic with the plight of troubled teens.
The novel’s main problems are tied to its strengths. Cody’s strength of character is appealing, but it is very hard to believe this character could have evolved in as troubled a background as was presented. Also, Randle over-romanticizes the handsome bad boy. Almost every female character falls in love with Cody in one way or another, and dream of helping him. It seemed a bit too much like a female dream world occasionally. Also, it all ended up a bit too cleanly. Cody comes too far in the temporal bounds of a single novel to be fully believable. Still, really, it is a great read.
On the Side of the Angels was Randle’s last book for the Mormon market, and perhaps she wrote it with the national market in mind, as the Church is never specifically mentioned, although clearly most of the major characters except the central troubled teen, Cody, are LDS. There is a lovely scene of Cody attending a Sacrament Meeting for the first time, disorientated but touched by a remarkable talk on the atonement.
Okay, the plot. Cody is a tough teenager from the streets of New York. His mother is drug addict who emotionally and physically abused him all his life. Cody has managed to survive his home and the corrosive neighborhood, but at the price of emotional scars and a horrendous school record. Despite his disadvantages he is almost unbelievably charismatic, handsome, and intelligent. He finally escapes the city and travels to the home of his uncle out west. His mother had long before cut off all connections with this (Mormon) brother, who was not even aware of his nephew’s existence. Cody, aware of his own intelligence and potential, realizes the uncle’s family could provide a base for a new start, and wins the family’s approval for him to stay. Elise, a friendly and popular girl who had been enjoying a pleasant, uneventful high school existence, is recruited to act as Cody’s tutor. Elise is intrigued by the prickly but mysterious young man, and tries to teach him conventional academic and social forms. The pair become romantically involved (Elise also has to teach Cody her moral standards), Cody finds a calling in artistic photography, and begins to feel at home in his new home and community. He is also dogged, however, by a psychopathic rival, a prejudiced school councilor, and—most of all—the self-doubt and self-loathing installed by his mother. It all builds to an exciting climax.
Cody is a fascinating character, and after a slow start, the plot becomes gripping, chugging all the way through its 322 pages, a substantially sized book for the YA market. Randle does not emphasize the Mormon element at all, and is not didactic, but she clearly is interested and sympathetic with the plight of troubled teens.
The novel’s main problems are tied to its strengths. Cody’s strength of character is appealing, but it is very hard to believe this character could have evolved in as troubled a background as was presented. Also, Randle over-romanticizes the handsome bad boy. Almost every female character falls in love with Cody in one way or another, and dream of helping him. It seemed a bit too much like a female dream world occasionally. Also, it all ended up a bit too cleanly. Cody comes too far in the temporal bounds of a single novel to be fully believable. Still, really, it is a great read.
November 4, 2008
I read this book solely because the author wrote one of my all time favorite books THE ONLY ALIEN ON THE PLANET. FOr being one of her first books, I thought it was very well done. The story is good. The religious aspect of it is not too pushy. And the characters are realistic.
The story is about a boy (Cody) who leaves his home in New York and moves west to meet an Uncle he has never known in hopes of improving his life and getting out of the bad situation life has givven him.
Well written, and easy to get through. I would reccommend this book to anyone looking for an uplifting, but fun story to read.
The story is about a boy (Cody) who leaves his home in New York and moves west to meet an Uncle he has never known in hopes of improving his life and getting out of the bad situation life has givven him.
Well written, and easy to get through. I would reccommend this book to anyone looking for an uplifting, but fun story to read.
August 18, 2012
I bought this book at Goodwill and was a little hesitant to read it without any prior knowledge about the content. But I was pleasantly surprised! I really enjoyed this book! It's about a teenager who overcomes a broken family and upbringing and manages to secure a better future for himself. There are a few points of "nah, that's not going to really happen in life" but hey, what book doesn't have that?! Overall, this was a great book. Clean, no language, and the few references to sexual contact were dealt with very appropriately (ie: young man not knowing the boundaries, but being set straight by the young woman :)
January 8, 2009
I really loved this book. She uses her familiar plot structure of a 'dark horse' boy, who is super intelligent but needs a, super intelligent, girl to tutor him and help him in school and socially and of course there is a romance between the two. In this story the viewpoint is from the boy not the girl and I found that interesting.
April 20, 2008
This book is another challenge to get your hands on (you can borrow mine). But my mother read it to our family as a bunch of youth, and I've re-read it since. It is a wonderful heart-felt story of a boy with no hope learning to enjoy life after a long journey. Love it.
August 6, 2008
I'm not a big fan of muc of the so-called Mormon fiction, though I enjoy certain authors. I have not seen or read anything else by this author (Randle), but this book was a cut above the rest of LDS fictiondom.
July 22, 2008
My Home Teacher and second dad gave this book to me when I turned 18. I remember really enjoying it then. I guess I should read it again to see if I still enjoy it.
October 15, 2012
I love her books. They are easy to read and always have a good story. I really liked this one, but I did want more at the end...
August 12, 2015
I was amazed at Cody's courage to change his life. His past is heart-breaking, and you just want to shake people who can be so cruel. I really enjoyed reading this story.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews