Dark Angel

Reader reviewed by libraraine

Jeff's life has been perfect for the past 5 years, but he's received some shocking news that will turn everything upside down for his entire
family. Jeff's older brother is coming home from jail early, and he was incarcerated for stabbing a boy. Now Jeff has to tell his girlfriend the truth, hide that truth from everyone else, and try to get along with his family while Troy attempts to reassimilate into normal life. Unfortunately, the secret gets out and life becomes very hard for Jeff, and he continues to suspect his brother is really rehabilitated, as much as Troy claims prison has changed him.

This is a frustrating book, though extremely well done. It was difficult to make it to the end, as Klass keeps everyone in suspense of what the final outcome will be, though readers completely agree with Jeff in suspecting Troy throughout the book. The character development is superb and the different relationships portrayed in the book are well-drawn. The drama is actually metered out very well (I just got frustrated) and readers will breathe a sigh of relief when everything's
over. This pairs very well with Shadow of a Doubt (Rottman).

Reader reviewed by Grace

Jeff's older brother is coming home from prison after five years. When he was a teenager, Troy had killed another teen, and was supposed to serve a life sentence, but got out on a technacality. Jeff is bitter and resentful toward Troy when he comes home, not believing his parents' assurances that Troy has changed for the better. He knows that Troy is manipulative and can get his parents to believe what he wants them too. When people find out about Troy, Jeff's almost-perfect life begins to fall apart. His girlfriend, Beth isn't allowed to talk to him and starts hanging out with the "Golden Boy", Tom Fraser. Jeff becomes more and more jealous of Fraser and gets into a fight with him. Troy comes to save Jeff, but after the fight, Fraser disappears. Right away, Jeff suspects that Troy had something to do with it, and as he gets closer to his brother, he's certain. He just needs to prove it.

Dark Angel is a suspenseful "who-dunnit" story, but it's not so much as a "mystery" story. I couldn't wait to find out if Troy was guilty or not. At first, I fell for Troy's good-guy act, but towards the end of the book you can see he's never changed and is always going to be evil by nature. The subplot with Jeff's bio teacher, Mr. Tsuyuki, adds to Jeff's confused feeling over good vs. evil. This a good book for any teen.