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12 books to read next
If you loved Fallen angels by Walter Dean Myers
Fallen Angels follows Richie Perry, a seventeen-year-old from Harlem who enlists in the Vietnam War for lack of better options. Readers love its blunt, conversational first-person voice, its close look at how young soldiers are changed by fear and friendship, and its refusal to make war heroic. The pace is brisk, with short chapters and scenes that move quickly from the streets to the front. It is a short, emotionally direct novel about youth, loyalty and loss.
Erich Maria Remarque
Like Fallen Angels, it strips away the glamour of soldiering and shows young men losing their innocence through daily horror. Its narrator is a teenager, and the friendships and grief feel just as raw.
Stephen Crane
Crane follows a young recruit who is unsure whether he will hold his nerve in battle, much as Richie wrestles with fear. It is a concise, vivid portrait of war seen from the ground by someone still growing up.
Joseph Bruchac, Derrick Henry
It tells of young Navajo Marines in the Pacific during the Second World War, pairing a teenage perspective with the wider stakes of combat. Readers who valued Fallen Angels' focus on young soldiers and their home lives will find much to connect with.
S. E. Hinton, Christopher Sergel
Like Richie, its young narrator is judged by where he comes from and must rely on his friends in a hard world. Its loyalty, class tension and grief over lost friends echo the emotional core of Fallen Angels.
William Golding
A group of boys without adults slowly turns on itself, showing how quickly youth can be pushed into brutality. Readers drawn to the way Fallen Angels exposes what war does to boys will find the same unsettling honesty here.
Ruta Sepetys
A teenager is caught up in a brutal historical upheaval and must survive through courage and hard choices. Its focus on a young person facing war's cruelty without sentimentality matches what made Fallen Angels memorable.
Jason Reynolds
Told in short, urgent verse, it follows a teenager over one elevator ride as he confronts a loss tied to gun violence. Its compact, direct style and street-level voice will feel familiar to fans of Fallen Angels.
Laurie Halse Anderson
A high-school student's inner voice carries the story through a painful experience, with short, sharp passages. Readers who appreciated Richie's frank narration will recognise the same honesty about trauma and isolation.
Walter Dean Myers
By the same author, it is told through a teenage defendant's diary-like screenplay and reflections on a crime. Fans of Fallen Angels' sharp, unflinching voice will find Myers' style at its most focused.
Angie Thomas
A sixteen-year-old from an urban neighbourhood navigates violence, loyalty and identity between two worlds. Its contemporary voice and sense of a young Black narrator caught in larger forces will resonate with Fallen Angels readers.
Jewell Parker Rhodes
A twelve-year-old Black boy is shot by police and his ghostly perspective tells his story. Its emotional directness and focus on a young Black life cut short connect closely with the heart of Fallen Angels.
Nic Stone
A Black teenager at a prestigious school confronts racism and a violent incident that forces him to question his beliefs. Its frank teen narration and themes of injustice and self-definition will appeal to Fallen Angels fans.
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