Always Angel - Kimberly Whittam

 

Angel is struggling at school: her temper gets the better of her and she either lashes out or storms out; however, all she really wants is to be good.  So when she accidentally gets involved in a school bake-off competition, this be the help she needs to turn things around before it's too late.

I read Kimberly's first novel, Quiet Storm, back in 2023, and gobbled it up in a morning, with my heart reaching out to Storm (you can read my review here) and so it was on another Saturday morning, that I sat down to read Always Angel.  This may be a shorter middle grade book at 230 pages, but by goodness does it pack a punch!  

It quickly becomes apparent that Angel has so much more on her plate than just finding school difficult: she has been a young carer for her mother who has bipolar disorder and is currently in foster care whilst her mum gets help.  Angel has so much swirling through her brain that she doesn't know where to begin explaining what she is feeling.  She feels so lonely, confused and out of the loop that she resorts to lashing out when she feels overwhelmed - and, I have to say, that I had so much sympathy for her.  She stumbles into the baking competition following a detention and quickly discovers that she has a talent, and this becomes an anchor for her: the prize of an afternoon tea is something she is desperate to win so she can take her mum.

Through the book, we discover that it isn't just Angel who is hiding part of herself, and as she gets to know her classmates, she begins to understand that others are harbouring things abut themselves that they find difficult too.  There are certainly ups and downs for Angel, and she is no stranger to detentions and her head of year, but with time, she begins to find her feet.  But is it enough?  

Like Quiet Storm, Always Angel is a book full of emotion and empathy.  Readers will quickly feel like they are right beside Angel, wishing that things would go right for her (on so many occasions, I just wanted to reach into the book and help her).  There will definitely be readers who see themselves in the characters, whether that be as a young carer, as somebody in trouble at school who doesn't quite know how to make the right choices, as somebody in care, or as somebody struggling to make friends.  It's important that they see themselves and understand that it's ok to talk and to reach out for help.

Out now, Always Angel is a book that will leave a lump in your throat and a warm glow in your heart.  Like Storm, Angel is somebody who will stay with me.