Genre: Contemporary Age Range: MG Star Rating: 4 stars Series: yes - last book in trilogy
*SPOILER ALERT: may contain SPOILERS for NEW BEGINNINGS and SECOND CHANCES*
Synopsis:
At first glance, Aria seems like your average twelve-year-old girl. But there’s much more to her than meets the eye. Aria is a guardian angel, sent here to earn her wings. But to do that she’ll have to help three different girls. . . .
This time, Aria must help Mikayla, whose family is having financial troubles. Her parents are putting pressure on her to be an award-winning dancer. Mikayla wants to help her family, but she’s not sure this is the life she wants. Can Aria help her strike a balance and find true happiness?
Synopsis taken from Goodreads. Add to your shelves here.
Review:
The final book in Victoria Schwab’s first Middle Grade series ties it up well, just as cute and fast to read as the previous books. I read this one even faster than the others.
I like that the three tackle very different problems: NEW BEGINNINGS – feeling crushed by the weight of family tragedy, SECOND CHANCES – bullies, and now this one LAST CHANCES is about self-pressure turning dreams to chores. I could relate so easily to Mikayla’s problem, more than the others, as I’m so prone to putting a lot of pressure on myself (though, thankfully, not to this extreme).
The point of these books, initially, was self-help books for young girls. I think they work so well, if I can see myself in these girls (and think that the solutions would still work, though with some adjustments for age) when it’s not even aimed at me.
Having read the three books back to back in the space of forty-eight hours, it was very fresh in my mind. This meant the final chapter and the quick visits to see the other girls felt like the cheesy closing montage (look everyone’s happy) at the end of a long running TV series.
I liked how Aria’s story wasn’t tied up neatly, that there was still space for her to continue living and having adventures. She spends the book realising how little she knows of life, and trying to experience as much as she can with Mikayla because she’s suddenly aware that she’s coming to the end of her mission. It’s a clever way to make her development twine with Mikayla’s.
Read my reviews of other books by V.E./Victoria Schwab:
Middle Grade:
Everyday Angel (this series):
- NEW BEGINNINGS (#1)
- SECOND CHANCES (#2)
City of Ghosts:
- CITY OF GHOSTS (#1)
- TUNNEL OF BONES (#2)
- BRIDGE OF SOULS (#3)
Young Adult:
The Archived:
- THE ARCHIVED (#1)
- THE UNBOUND (#2)
Standalones:
Adult:
Shades of Magic:
- A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC (#1)
- A GATHERING OF SHADOWS (#2)
- A CONJURING OF LIGHT (#3)
- THE SHADES OF MAGIC COMICS
Villains:
Standalones:
Sifa Elizabeth Reads 