Undercover Angels: Malachi's Battle
Elliot Dylan, 2009, year
CreateSpace
340 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781448672813
Summary
Malachi Stevens is your average teenage boy with a not so average problem. His best friend, Van, is being controlled by a demon. Malachi has his own problem with an angel, Patrick, telling him he needs to study his Bible more to help save Van.
But, maybe with some help from Patience and Rosaline, and divine intervention, he just might be able to save his friend, and learn a little something about himself along the way.
Finally, Christian fiction that combines the excitement of action novels with Biblical character building lessons woven into the story. Great for readers from middle schoolers through adults. (From the book.)
Author Bio
• Birth—N/A
• Where—state of Kansas, USA
• Currently—lives in Kansas
Elliot is an novelist for Christian Youth. Elliot loves books and has always enjoyed writing. She feels a daily walk with God is important and wants to weave Bible studies into her books to encourage youth to read their Bibles and study God's Word daily.
Elliot is a college graduate with a digital imaging degree. She has two younger sisters who inspire her to write for youth.
When she's not writing her novels, she has a hobby creating art for her online comic-strip, "Subject to Change: College Woes," featuring spin-offs of her long-time friends who have gone off to Union and Southern Colleges, (without her!).
She also designs art for t-shirts and other products, featuring the crazy antics of the Subject to Change gang. (From the author's webpage.)
Book Reviews
The following reviews can be found on ElliotDylan.com:
I thought this novel was inspiring and thought-provoking. Undercover Angels put a desire in my heart to read more about what God calls us to do as Christians. Reading the author's thoughts about the armor of God gave me a new perspective on what kind of power God can have in our lives. This unique book shed a new light on my perspective of the spiritual realm. I was so impressed with the way the author describes the warfare between evil and good. Not only did this book open my mind to new ideas and opinions, but it also encour
Kayla Frishman
I believe this author is filling a much-needed niche that hasn't been filled—that of Christian teen action-adventure. It's not one of those typical teen Christian fiction romance novels. In fact it's not about romance at all. It's about a teen boy who finds out he has a guardian angel and becomes a champion for God. His friend is making poor decisions and he and his guardian angel help his friend out of the troubles he has gotten into. There is a girl who is the go-to person for answering Biblical questions, which help him to earn the armor of God.
Nannette Thacker
Discussion Questions
1. Discuss how Malachi has changed throughout the book, starting with how he was at the start and how he has become by the end.
2. Malachi and Van have had a pretty long relationship that has changed over time. Have you ever had a childhood friend change the way they treated you? In Malachi's situation with Van how would you have handled the change in the relationship?
3. Malachi was disbelieving at first about the whole Undercover Angel thing. How would you have reacted? What do you think God's qualifications might be for you to become a UA?
4. The first piece of armor Malachi received after the sword was the Shield of Faith. If you were a UA what piece of armor do you think you would get next based off of the different characteristics associated with each piece?
5. Malachi hates pastors because of what happened to his father. Is it right to hate a group of people because of a bad experience with one? Why or why not?
6. Rosaline has some pretty annoying brothers who are constantly getting in her way but she soon learns it’s just because they love her. If you have any siblings, how can you be nicer to them today and show them you care?
7. Malachi learned a lot about angels. Who are angels and what is their purpose?
8. Quite a few times Malachi lost his focus on God and his faith that He is stronger than Satan. How could Malachi have prevented this? Do you think God was mad at him for the times he messed up, why or why not?
9. During his time as a UA Malachi had to do a lot of studying of God's Word in order to grow in his strength as a UA. Why do you think this was important? Should we also as warriors for God strive to read the Bible too?
10. Malachi learned what the Bible says about hell. Did your perception of hell change based on the Bible lessons in the book?
11. At summer camp Patience retold the story of Jonah and the whale. How could you retell other stories from the Bible that might get people interested so they'd want to read the original?
12. Though he faltered a few times, Malachi never gave up on Van. If put in the same situation would you be able to do the same, why or why not?
(Questions provided courtesy of the author.)