The Bible talks about the fallen angels, led my Lucifer, who, though once an arch angel, became the Devil when his jealousy of God got in the way. Our ideas about the fallen angels come more from John Milton's 'Paradise Lost.' While a work of fiction, it's considered to be accurately based in the scriptures and, in my opinion, is a probable description of what may have happened in the beginning. (Thank you Dr. Hurley for making me read it!)
In Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush Hush, fallen angel, Patch, attempts to become human. He didn't follow after Lucifer. Rather, he "fell" for love. It gives new meaning to the phrase "falling in love!" Ah yes, love, the strange, crazy things it makes us do!
And then there's Nora Grey. She's not interested in a relationship when she has grades to focus on. But there's something about Patch that sucks her in. The problem is she can't decide if she can trust him. Something about him isn't quite right. But let's admit the obvious, there's something about a dangerous side that intrigues even the strongest of us.
After reading some reviews on this book, I've discovered some people find the fact that Nora is attracted to Patch's dangerous side ridiculous. They think having her follow after him after he's thrown her a snide remark or treated her like trash is ludicrous and degrading to any strong young woman. What young girl in her right mind would do such a thing? Um... Have you been in a local high school lately? Do you know any teen girls? Yeah, enough said.
How many movies have you seen where the monster is hiding in the closet and the heroine still reaches for the door nob? How many times have you personally known something might not have been on the up and up, but you still stepped through the door or answered the call or chosen something dangerous? It's part of our fallen nature to be curious about what we can't control, to test the boundaries of safety, and to be attracted to danger. I wish it weren't the case.
But on the up side, just as in all of us, we have to fight our fallen nature, so does Patch. He has to decide if the mission he began is the one he wants to finish. Sure it would include personal gain, but sometimes there are times when we need to set aside our own personal gain and come to the aid of others.
Does Patch do this? You'll have to read the book to find out.
Honestly, though - that most teen girls don't have the common sense to acknowledge a guy isn't worth their time when he treats them like trash nowadays is kind of concerning for me. I'm a teen girl, and I don't like getting a bad rap. It irritates me when there's a female character who is supposed to be a role model but instead lets a guy walk all over her, then convinces herself that she's in 'love' with him. Then this book becomes popular, and little girls think it's cool to have guys control you and say degrading things. In conclusion, I blame Twilight.
ReplyDelete"Do you know any teen girls? Enough said." Whoa, you totally got me there! Your rationale is truly unparalleled. If that's your reasoning behind Nora's character and many more that'll come hereafter, I sincerely hope YOU don't talk to any teens about this.
ReplyDeleteWhile we are often tempted to walk along on the edge when we are given a chance, we still learn to tread cautiously and recognize when to keep away after trial and error. Nora didn't have just one incident when she followed Patch around; she had several. And this included almost falling off of a wayward roller coaster ride with him and even inviting him into her house, even though their "relationship" was based on little more than sexual tension. In the end, she jumped for a person she barely knew, and Patch gave up his wings for some hot, braindead girl. Because that's the dream, right?