Let the Sky Fall (Sky Fall Series #1)

by Shannon Messenger

Overview

A broken past and a divided future can’t stop the electric connection of two teens in this “fast-paced, fantasy-romance” (VOYA) novel.

Seventeen-year-old Vane Weston has no idea how he survived the category five tornado that killed his parents. And he has no idea if the beautiful, dark-haired girl who’s swept through his dreams every night since the storm is real. But he hopes she is.

Seventeen-year-old Audra is a sylph, an air elemental. She walks on the wind, can translate its alluring songs, and can even coax it into a weapon with a simple string of commands. She’s also a guardian—Vane’s guardian—and has sworn an oath to protect Vane at all costs. Even if it means sacrificing her own life.

When a hasty mistake reveals their location to the enemy who murdered both of their families, Audra’s forced to help Vane remember who he is. He has a power to claim—the secret language of the West Wind, which only he can understand. But unlocking his heritage will also unlock the memory Audra needs him to forget. And as the storm bears down on them, she starts to realize the greatest danger might not be the warriors coming to destroy them—but the forbidden romance that’s grown between them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442450424
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Publication date:	12/03/2013
Series:	Sky Fall Series , #1
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	432
Product dimensions:	5.84(w) x 8.12(h) x 1.14(d)
Lexile:	HL680L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Shannon Messenger graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts where she learned—among other things—that she liked watching movies much better than making them. She’s studied art, screenwriting, and television production, but realized her real passion was writing for kids and teens. She is the author of the middle grade novels Keeper of the Lost Cities and Exile and the young adult novels Let the Sky Fall and Let the Storms Break. She is also one of the founders and organizers of WriteOnCon, a free online Writer’s Conference for kidlit writers held annually in August. She lives in Southern California with her husband and an embarrassing number of cats. Find her online at ShannonMessenger.com.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

VANE

I’m lucky to be alive.

At least, that’s what everybody keeps telling me.

The reporter from the local newspaper even had the nerve to call it a miracle. I was “Vane Weston: The Miracle Child.” Like the police finding me unconscious in a pile of rubble was part of some grand universal plan.

“Family Survives Tornado”—now, that would’ve been a miracle. But trust me, there’s nothing “miraculous” about being orphaned at seven years old.

It’s not that I’m not grateful to be alive. I am. I get that I shouldn’t have survived. But that’s the worst part about being “The Miracle Child.”

The question.

The same inescapable question, plaguing me for the last ten years of my life.

How?

How could I get sucked in by a category-five tornado—nature’s equivalent of a giant blender—get carried over four miles before the massive funnel spit me back out, and only have a few cuts and bruises to show for it? How was that possible, when my parents’ bodies were found almost unrecognizable?

The police don’t know.

Scientists don’t know.

So they all turn to me for the answer.

But I have no freaking idea.

I can’t remember it. That day. My past. Anything.

Well, I can’t remember anything useful.

I remember fear.

I remember wind.

And then . . . a giant, blank space. Like all my memories were knocked out of my head when I hit the ground.

Except one.

One isolated memory—and I’m not even sure if it is a memory, or if it’s some strange hallucination my traumatized brain cooked up.

A face, watching me through the chaos of the storm.

A girl. Dark hair. Darker eyes. A single tear streaks down her cheek. Then a chilly breeze whisks her away.

She’s haunted my dreams ever since.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Charged and romantic—a whirlwind of a love story." —Becca Fitzpatrick, New York Times bestselling author of the Hush, Hush Saga

"Funny, fast-paced, and slyly romantic, Shannon Messenger’s YA debut dazzles."

- Kiersten White, NYT Bestselling author of PARANORMALCY and SUPERNATURALLY

Editorial Reviews

Seventeen-year-old Vane Weston lost his parents in a freak tornado when he was seven. While he loves his adopted parents, who live in California’s scorching Coachella Valley, he can’t shake the feeling that something about that accident doesn’t add up. Enter Audra, the gorgeous and disciplined “sylph” who saved his life and has been haunting his dreams. Audra reveals that Vane is also a sylph, a mystical creature who can control the wind, and that he’s being hunted by Raiden, a ruthless and powerful sylph. Readers learn the secrets of the sylphs, as Vane and Audra experiment with Vane’s emerging abilities and she struggles with her role as his guardian. As Messenger (Keeper of the Lost Cities) alternates between Vane and Audra’s perspectives, the story bogs down in detailed explanations about the sylph world, Vane’s training proceeds with excruciating slowness, and the romance between Vane and Audra is lackluster and predictable. The novel works best when Messenger’s characters are left to explore her vividly imagined world of wind, rather than just talk about it. Ages 13–up. Agent: Laura Rennert, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"Charged and romantic—a whirlwind of a love story." —Becca Fitzpatrick, New York Times bestselling author of the Hush, Hush Saga

"Funny, fast-paced, and slyly romantic, Shannon Messenger’s YA debut dazzles."

- Kiersten White, NYT Bestselling author of PARANORMALCY and SUPERNATURALLY

From the Publisher

Vane Weston is a handsome seventeen-year-old who has never kissed a girl. It is not that he is not interested; it is just that every time he gets close, something—a chill wind, bird poop, a terrible smell . . . something—gets in the way. Then, there is the beautiful stranger who haunts his dreams. Vane is shocked to see her in person at a restaurant, and soon the two are connected in ways that Vane could never have imagined. The stranger, Audra, is a sylph, and so is Vane. In fact, Vane is the last of the Western wind people, and Audra is his guardian. Keeping Vane safe means protecting the key to thwarting the evil power of Raiden. Keeping Vane from "bonding" with a human woman means protecting him for his betrothed, Solana, the former king's heir. But it is Vane and Audra who end up forcing Raiden into retreat, and Vane and Audra who end up bonding. Messenger's first young adult novel may not the most original story, but it has its moments, with even pacing, likeable characters, and a gratifying romance. It is also extremely tame, where just kissing bonds one to another for life. Like Twilight, the book has some gender issues; there are a number of female characters, but none are without ideological problems. Still, fans of the Harry Potter and Twilight series, mythology, and especially high fantasy will enjoy this fast-paced, fantasy-romance piece. Reviewer: Jennifer Miscek

VOYA - Jennifer Miscek

Gr 8 Up—Vane, 17, is haunted by the memory of a beautiful dark-haired girl who appeared during the tornado that killed his parents 10 years earlier. He doesn't realize he's not human until Audra appears and tells him of their shared heritage as Windwalkers, or sylphs, air elementals who can command the wind. Her father died protecting Vane from enemies called Stormers, and she blames herself for calling their attention to his family. She has taken up her father's duties and been specially selected by the Gale Force as Vane's protector. With danger imminent from Stormer warlord Raiden, she has to train Vane to harness his powers as the last of the Westerlies and master the languages of all four winds. And she must also fight her forbidden attraction to Vane, who is betrothed to the sylph princess. Told in the alternating voices of Vane and Audra and set in California's Coachella Valley, this is an interesting reversal of the usual magical girl who doesn't know she's special paranormal trope, and sylphs are a nice change from vampires, werewolves, and fairies. The story is a little slow at first, possibly because of the world-building in the beginning, and only really picks up when the pair battle the Stormers near the end. This first of a series ends with a cliff-hanger. Recommend it to Twilight fans.—Kathleen E. Gruver, Burlington County Library, Westampton, NJ

School Library Journal

A teenage boy discovers his magical heritage and falls in love with his protector. Vane Weston has no memories of his life before a tornado killed his parents, only dreams haunted by a beautiful girl. Audra's been following Vane as his assigned protector from the Gale Force. Although Vane has no memory of it, he is an air elemental, or sylph, just like Audra--in fact, he is the key piece in a war against the stock villain, a power-hungry sylph tyrant who murdered Vane's parents. Doing her duties, Audra accidentally reveals their location--in much the same way that, years ago, she unintentionally alerted enemy soldiers, called Stormers, to Audra's parents' location as they served as guardians for Vane's family. This prior accident ended in numerous casualties. Vane must awaken to his heritage and powers, mastering the languages of the four winds (one for each direction), if they are to stand a chance when the Stormers come for them. Audra has only days to train him, adding temporal tension. Chapters alternate first-person narration between Vane and Audra, with Audra's redemptive arc adding meat to the orphan-hero-discovering-his-magical-heritage storyline. While some early exposition is clunky, once the story settles into a character-driven rhythm, the prose smooths out considerably. The twists at the end are refreshing rather than cheap. Characterization elevates this romance over similar offerings in a crowded genre. (Paranormal romance. 12-17)

Kirkus Reviews