Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger - ADVISABLE

Messenger, Shannon  Let the Sky Fall (Let the Sky Fall, #1), 404 pgs.  Simon Pulse, 2013.  $17.99  Content: Language: PG-13 (19 swears); Mature Content: PG-13; Violence: PG-13.  

Audra is a sylph, a person who can control the wind, and she is in charge of being Vane’s guardian.  She has been watching over him for ten years, ever since their parents were lost in a tornado, because he is the last Westerly (west wind sylph).  Vane is supposed to be the answer to a war among the different winds and if Audra can keep him safe and teach him how to control all four directional winds, then he should be the next king in the Gale kingdom.  Audra doesn’t expect to have feelings for Vane and it’s hard to keep her promise as a guardian when she is the only one protecting him.  

This is an interesting series with well-developed main characters. The beginning was a bit slow because of the explanations of the winds and Audra kept flashing back to what happened during the tornado, but not giving the whole story.  But once the world was built it was fast paced and I couldn’t wait to find out what happened to the characters.  The climactic battle was excellent and satisfying, but the future of the characters is left open ended because this is the beginning of a series.  

MS, HS-ADVISABLE.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.