Secrecy is the element that is the foundation of a story that revolves around a sweet angel. Well, not exactly. In the book Angel Creek Sally Rippin takes the stereotypical angel, and transforms it into an entirely different creature.

A girl who is about to start high school and comes from an Italian family, named Angelica or better known as Jelly, is forced to move to a new house away from her best friend all the way on the other side of the city. Jelly and her cousins explore the creek behind the new house and discover something truly out of this world. In order to keep their discovery a secret, lies must be told and rules must be broken. Jelly constantly has to choose between taking care of her angel or her family. Jelly’s almost constant self battles and strange occurrences within her household moves the plot right along.

Sally Rippin’s way of being able to make complex connections between characters and events such as finding an angel on Christmas Eve, and being able to incorporate some aspects of Italian culture into a 140 page book, makes this quick read a must read.