Full of action, this is a quick read. Good to pair with The Most Dangerous Game ( )

Fourteen-year-old Angel has had a hard life, fending off her mother’s many boyfriends, and forced to raise herself. Scotty, her mother’s latest loser boyfriend kills her and, when Angel finds her body, tries to kill her too. Angel barely manages to escape, but Scotty is a hunter. He knows how to patiently track his prey, and Angel is caught in his cross hairs.

Read more at: http://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.com/ ( )

I met Charlie Price when he came to my school. Unfortunately, I didn't have a copy of Desert Angel so I had him sign a piece of paper instead. Meeting him made the book much more enjoyable and realistic because he related his experiences and inspirations to us. He also talked to us about another of his novels, Lizard People, and he made it sound pretty fascinating.

14 year old Angel found her mother dead and her mother's boyfriend, Scotty, gone. Scotty, a professional hunter and tracker, is now after Angel because she was a witness. Angel runs away through the desert and finds people to help her disappear. Her presence endangers them, but they refuse to let her fight alone.

Desert Angel went at a quick pace and was easy to read. Angel grew up in a harsh environment so when she is on the run, she knows how to take care of herself. She is unafraid to do what needs to be done for survival. I was waiting in suspense the entire time, wondering when Scotty would attack next. Scotty was a character that you could really hate because he was abusive and would stop at nothing to kill Angel. I don't really remember many of the other characters, but there were many people who helped her out. Some were willing and some did it reluctantly. Overall, this was different than what I usually read, but still a good read. ( )

In the first few pages of this book, we meet Angel, whose drug-using mother, involved with a very creepy low-life named Scotty, finds out that he is sexually abusing Angel, has a big fight with him, is killed and buried in the desert in the area around the Salton Sea in southern California. Angel is very bright and has learned much from Scotty in the art of hunting, trailing, and stalking. She comes home and finds their trailer empty with blood splatter, immediately deduces what has happened, follows his tracks to where he buried her mother and realizes she is next. And we are just on page 13!

She manages to get away from him and stumbles into the house of illegals who barely speak any English. They can see she is in serious trouble and do not hesitate to help her even if doing so puts them in harm's way. Angel finally ends up in the home of Rita and Vicente who hide her in their house. But Angel knows how skillful Scotty is and realizes she needs to get him before he gets her.

This was a real page turner! Exciting action throughout the book as Angel slowly learns what it means to be part of a real family and how people are really supposed to treat one another. ( )

Angel’s mum never knows when to leave an abusive relationship, and Angel gets dragged along behind her. She's used to bad, and Scotty, the latest in a string of abusive boyfriends, is nothing compared to some of the others, until the worst happens. Now her mum is dead and Angel is on the run while Scotty hunts her. Angel has learnt the hard way that no-one will help you without an ulterior motive, and that the only person you can rely on is you, but now alone in the desert, with a trained hunter after her, she needs help, but who from, and what will be the risk to them?

From the blurb I anticipated this to be a two character plot, in the form of a game of hide and seek in the heat of the desert, but when I read the book I found myself being introduced to a host of Hispanic and Latino characters, all of whom I felt I knew well (at least the ones that hung around for more than a few pages), and a small village and town is where the majority of the action is set. This is a sharp and fast paced book, getting straight into the action, the author skilfully raises the tension, with brief respites, till we reach the climactic ending that won't disappoint. We get to know Angel very well, as the book progresses, and her character is very well written, all her thoughts and actions believable and understandable. I loved this book, and particularly enjoyed watching as Angels views on life are changed just enough to mean something without being hugely drastic, or soppy. ( )