Book Jacket:
The choices I had made led to the moment when fate took over. I would learn a lesson I wasn’t prepared for. And Death would be my willing teacher.
Five years ago Abbey Chandler cheated Death. She survived a horrific car accident, but her lucky break came at the expense of her mother’s life and changed everything. After she crossed paths with Death – by taking the hand of an ethereal boy made of clouds and sky – she would never be normal again.
Now she’s the target of Death’s Ravens and an innocent boy’s life is on the line. When Nate Holden – Abbey’s secret crush – starts to climb Alaska’s Denali, the Angel of Death is with him because of her.
Abbey finds out the hard way that Death never forgets
You can read an excerpt here (you just have to scroll down).
Review:
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. There were parts I found jarring, and parts I didn’t quite click with, but in the end I absolutely loved where this story went, and what it had to say about grief, death, and love.
Abbey is an interesting girl. In the beginning I was both compelled and repelled by her – she’s a mix of sass and brat, of spine and whine. I was a bit turned off by how at times she would drown in her own angst, and yet all the while I could see the seed of a character that I really liked. Abbey’s snark is really what kept me going, and I’m so glad that it did because the way her emotional story unfolds is downright wonderful – how she matures over the course of this story absolutely makes this book. So while Abbey may start out a bit grating, I was completely in love with her by the end.
I won’t deny that this book has a rocky beginning – but trust me, the love story that emerges is worth the wait. The start of it, however, all but made me groan – an outsider girl with an unrequited crush on the Golden Boy (Nate) is hardly trailblazing – and Abbey’s fantasizing about Nate was a little self indulgent for my taste, but once Death entered the picture I was intrigued. And then this story suddenly became something I was not expecting, and wow did it get good. The ways in which this story evolves Abbey’s understanding of love – how she comes to realize that love is both selfish and selfless, and the difference between infatuation and real love – has a level of emotional complexity that is fraught and moving and wonderful. I can’t put my finger on exactly when I fell in love with this story, the moment where it came on like gangbusters and became so compelling that I couldn’t help but stay up until 2 AM to finish – but did it ever. And the ending, oh I loved it. This story just makes all those tired stories of YA insta-love seem downright trite.
I have to admit I was rather underwhelmed by the narrative split between Nate and Abbey. Nate’s trek up Denali made for a mildly interesting action runner, but Nate as a character was rather boringly bland. He felt a bit like a filler, to be honest. Abbey overpowers Nate in just about every way, and I found myself impatient to get back to her whenever the story turned to Nate. By the end, once I saw how it all played out, I could understand why Dane made that choice and why it was necessary even, but overall I found it rather jarring – still, the compelling way it all comes together was more than worth the wait.
Death and grief are also very powerful themes in this book, and Dane really delivers on an emotional level. This story gets into the messy tangle that grief can make of a person’s life, how it can fracture a person’s ability to love and relate. The pain that permeates Abbey’s life – the guilt she bears, and the gulf grief has created between Abbey and her father – and her journey to finally face it, it’s just beautiful storytelling. You can always count on Jordan Dane to pack a punch.
So I started out dubious, as this story took a while to find its footing and lure me in, but by the time I finished On A Dark Wing I was a believer. This is undeniably a compelling and unique story – made all the more impressive by the glut of angel YA on the market these days – and on the whole I very much enjoyed it. I still have to call Jordan Dane’s first YA, In The Arms of Stone Angels, the better book, but On A Dark Wing certainly proves that Dane is a keeper – and I just love her style.
Byrt Grade: A-
As Levar Burton used to say – you don’t have to take my word for it…
On a Dark Wing was not at all what I expected. It was much better. The mystery, romance, and suspense surrounding the whole story was perfectly blended together to keep you glued to this book. When I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it.
I enjoyed the ideas behind this book, but for whatever reason, I never really connected with the characters or became immersed in the story. However, I can say that it dug deep into what people feel about death, from the perspective of the person dying and the family left behind.
This book might confuse you a bit here and there. It might make you say “Huh?”, but it is definitely unique and interesting to read. It was an original story and I enjoyed it.
I am so impressed with your insights to my book. I layer my books with the multi-faceted emotional journeys of the characters. From start to finish, they are changed. (Yes, the real Nate had to be a foil for Abbey’s journey to learn what real love is. If I wrote him with the depth of Tanner, I’d have put Abbey in a precarious spot emotionally.)
An analytical review like yours, where you don’t just give a summary of the book and say yes or no, you dug deep into how the book made you feel. I could tell that you really “got it.” Just amazing.
You’re the kind of reader I love. Thanks so much for being on my tour. Happy new year!!
Jordan Dane
Enjoyed your review. I too read an eARC of this on and really enjoyed the change of pace it provided.
Thank you, Jordan! And I love reading your books – can’t wait for the next one!
I think some of the jarring elements are the most interesting choices that Dane made.
Abbey’s not entirely likeable, but I don’t think she should be. She’s believably closed off and lashing out of her brokenness and guilt. In this head space, I’m not surprised that Abbey’s crush on Nate fills all her emotional attention and skews her judgement. It’s beautifully moving to see Abbey’s inner life open up to admit more possibilities, and for her to start to think about and understand how she feels.
Even though he is a narrator, Nate’s not a character in his own right at all; he’s there to be a love object, from all sides — as a son, a brother, a friend, and a crush – and shows how much of love and loyalty comes not from what people do or say but from what they mean to us – what we put into the meaning of the relationship. I loved how the connections drawn between Abbey’s feelings and those of Nate’s family dignified Abbey’s feelings without falling into the fullfilled-crush-is-the-ultimate-best-kind-of-love-ever mentality of recent YA. At the same time, it let Dane draw a clear contrast between objectified, need-fulfilling love and more mature love. It’s amazing she was able to do both of those things at once!
A teenaged dark angel of death could have been simple, standard romance fantasy wish fulfillment, but instead Dane makes him convincingly alien to humanity. On a Dark Wing has some of the best dialogue with an angel of that I’ve ever read, full of the dissonances and misinterpretations that should occur when two beings with such different perspectives and needs try to communicate. More standard angels-and-demons fare is even less satisfying now. – its too easy. Bravo Jordan Dane!