Mel Beeby – Agent Angel

Written By: Pramadha Mohana, VIII B, Delhi Public School, Nacharam
*****
Once upon a time, Melanie Beeby lived on a gorgeous blue- green planet called Earth. She didn’t stay long, of-course. Thirteen years and twenty-two hours max. But it often felt a whole lot longer. Of course, that was because there were all these normal human anxieties- spiders, dentists, and exams….plus, there were those typical teen twitches- feeling lonely, bad hair days, even…well, you get the picture.

But that’s all ancient history. These days you’ll find her living happily on the other side of those famous pearly gates. I know, Unbelievable, isn’t it? It was on Mel’s thirteenth birthday that she hit a truck and died, which is about the one scenario that never occurred to her, or even any of us, for that matter.

I believe that we all can relate to this book, as teens. We are all often petrified of things that don’t really matter in life and things that we all should really worry about do not seem to matter in our life. This book gives you the very same message. First, Mel Beeby is portrayed as a typical New York teen, whose friends seem to fill up her life. And then, BOOM! One day she finds herself in heaven, enrolling at Angel Academy!

“I was so amazed when I got to heaven and found I’d won a scholarship to the Angel Academy. I used to think of death as the ultimate tragedy. But the fact is, dying totally improved my life…naturally, I was upset to leave my family. But I realized that dying isn’t the end of the world. Coming here actually made my life get better and better.” Says Mel at one point of the series. Eventually, Melanie finds her soul mate Lola, and, of-course her best friend Reuben.

The theme is obviously amazing, but what really adds flavor to the story are these little knick-knacks everywhere, which help in upholding the interest of the reader. One of which being that Angel Trainees as part of study, go on missions, beaming through earth’s history and pep sad humans with celestial vibes.

But all angels are not pretty and good, there are some who sell their souls to the PODS. (that’s what Melanie and her mates call the Powers Of Darkness) I mean, that when there’s a phony heaven in front of you, don’t forget that there’s also a scary hell dimension on the other side, waiting to turn you into the most miserable cosmic lowlife!

With so many enemies, so many missions, (plus homework) this story is bound to be chaotic. But, believe me, it’s worth it to see how Melanie juggles everything together and yet manages to have fun! All in All, Annie Dalton is at her craziest best, which make MEL BEEBY – AGENT ANGEL one of the best cosmic reads ever!

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More on this series of books, on the wiki page here.