The Kari AnnAlysis

Published: March 30, 2009

This book is completely different from most I read. I normally read about the filthy rich and all the drama that money can buy. But this takes you to the other end.

Dirty Little Angels is set in the slums of New Orleans. It is told by Hailey, a teenager living in a very dysfunctional family. Her father has been out of a job for 6 months and spends all of his time at the pool hall. Her mother used to be a nurse, but after her miscarriage, she can’t get back into the swing of things. Her brother, Cyrus, is 19 and kind of a trouble maker. He steals, he beats … maybe kind of isn’t the right word. The book follows Hailey as she tries to find out if she really believes in God. To help her with the God part is Moses, a career criminal who takes playing God into his own hands.

I got this book in PDF form from the author, Chris Tusa. Since I sit at a computer for 8 hours a day at work, I printed it out and put it in a binder. I really felt like I was reading some homework for school. It kind of made it fun, took me back a couple of years.

I enjoyed this book. I liked that it was told from Hailey’s perspective. This is the second book in a row I’ve read that was told from the kid’s point of view. I feel like I get to learn so much more about the characters when you learn about it from a kid/teen. This book was VERY descriptive. Every person you met and every scene you were in, you knew everything about. I really liked this, because I always try to put myself in the scene and this book made it easy.

The guys in this book kind of reminded me of the Boondock Saints, trying to make those who sinned pay.

The book was a pretty quick read. It is only 170 pages (in PDF). I started it Friday night before bed and finished it Sunday night before bed. I don’t think it should’ve been any longer. I liked that it got to the point, and there weren’t wasted chapters. I have read a lot of books in the past year that were 300+ pages and I would have cut it down to 150.

I liked seeing how drama is dealt with in a life that I don’t know about. This family takes problems in their own hands, and doesn’t really worry about the consequences.

I am going to give Tusa’s debut book 4 bookmarks. Although it was heavier than I am used to, I thought it was written well and kept me interested.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 11:09 am and is filed under Book Review, Books. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.