Angels Unlimited (1) - Winging It: World Book Day Edition [Paperback]

I first read these books when I was around ten and at the age of eighteen, they remain one of my favourite series of all time. It's true what they say about the books you read as a kid becoming part of your identity. I reckon I'll be reading these to my children in twenty years' time.

In the debut of the series, Winging It, we are introduced to the protagonist, Mel Beeby, a sassy thirteen-year-old, dubbed an "airhead with attitude" by her disparaging teacher Miss Rowntree. There is no dithering about with introductions, though; Mel tells us straight off that she has been booted out of Earth and into Heaven by a careless joyrider. Despite the fact she, and most of the rest of the cast, are dead, this issue is confronted without being morbid. Girls will love Mel's descriptions of Heaven - gorgeous angel boys and credit cards that never run out of money - and will feel the books are a little slice of paradise without ever really losing contact with the ground. Mel and her friends, despite being angels, are down to earth and incredibly realistic, each imbued with a unique voice of their own. They go to school, they sit exams, they worry about all the quotidian problems plaguing us mere mortals - with the added bonus of being able to time-travel!

In later books the time-travelling aspect becomes the central focus of the plot from which everything else emanates, transporting readers to different points in history (and the future), exposing them to thought-provoking moral and philosophical issues that they would otherwise not have been so (intimately) aware of. Dalton manages to do this without bogging her language down with convoluted theories, always skillfully avoiding sounding preachy or patronising. Even though these are technically kids' books, there is a subcutaneous and tacit depth that doesn't need to be spelled out, ribboning through the entire series. Dalton does not shy away from the nitty-gritty of humanity; neither does she set an example by employing Mary-Sue stock characters. Mel Beeby is a great role model; she has flaws, same as everyone else, even though she is an angel. She is constantly learning about herself and those around her. I think in an era where many female protagonists are one-dimensional paradigms of beauty and virtue, Mel is an important character to get to know, purely because she is unapologetically real. In the end she proves her teacher's epithet entirely wrong.

At 127 pages (and at such a low price), Winging It is the perfect, gentle introduction to a fantastic series that will stay with you for a very long time, possibly until you yourself are in Heaven! The language is sophisticated, effervescent and entirely appropriate without ever verging into condescension or over-simplicity. It will seamlessly introduce younger children to a wider vocabulary without bombarding them until they are practically cross-eyed! At the same time, older teenagers will empathise with the issues raised through Mel's succinct and vivacious narrative. If you are searching for a role model for your kids (or even for you!), try Mel Beeby. I promise you won't regret it.

Mel Beeby is an ordinary girl until she gets knocked over the day after her birthday by a speeding car and finds herself in a school she doesn't believe she should be at.
This series of books follows Mel's life as she grows accustomed to life as an angel alongside her two best friends, Lola, who's from the future, and Reuben, who was never actually alive.
Mel and her friends join a history time-travel group, and they go on secret missions, to protect the world from the evil PODS.
This is an extremely good book, as are all of the books in this series. Read if you like fantasy!!

Angels Unlimited: Winging it by Anne Dalton is a book about a girl called Mel Beeby who dies and finds herself as an angel. Mel has to learn all of the angel things.
This book is great for girls of all ages.