Angel

by Phil Cummings

If you've got a member of the family who's certainly no angel, Phil Cumming's funny and engaging first novel is for you.Shane isn't dreaming and, whatever the doctor and his parents think, he's not going crazy. His brother David is back - and, like any older brother, he's a bit of a pain.But Shane can't wait to talk to him and to have the family together for what almost turns out to be one last time!

92 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Phil Cummings had his first book published by Omnibus/Penguin in 1989 and has
since written over sixty books for children.

Reviews

[Luna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel bad rating this book so low. It's not all that bad- Phil Cummings is definitely able to work his way around a paragraph, and as far as these sorts of books go, it may very well make the death of a family member easier on a child. But it's just so heavy handed in some parts, and other parts just made me scoff and go, 'yeah, right'. None of this is to do with the whole angel thing, by the way. Cummings very carefully left out anything to do with religion, or heaven, or Christianity as a whole- and that would have been very easy to drop in. My issue here is mostly to do with the whole therapy thing.

When Shane mentions David, his deceased brother, visited him as an angel, his parents freak the fuck out, drop everything, and immediately drive to his therapist. Never mind talking to him first, taking a careful approach- no, mum in slippers and dad half shaven pack him up, freak the kid out and take him to the therapist. This was just way to over the top for me. Poor Shane will now suffer in silence and delusions as he tries to cope with his brother's death in the only way he finds comfort in. Way to go, parents!

[Ian Boyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun story as long as you aren't looking for anything too highbrow. It is a quick read and addresses the loss of a child in a positive, inoffensive, and lightly humorous way.