Sometimes, it's for the best to put some belief in angels

• Published October 18, 2009

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I'm not the biggest fan of stories with angels in them - I think the territory was sufficiently covered with "It's A Wonderful Life" - but I do tend to like Bainbridge Island writer Suzanne Selfors' quirky style, so I settled down with her latest book earlier this month.

“Coffeehouse Angel” is a young adult novel with fantasy elements. It is set in Nordby, a fictional town modeled on Poulsbo.

As a sophomore at Nordby High, Katrina feels like she’s an unremarkable student who isn’t particularly cute and certainly isn’t popular, although she does have two close chums.

Katrina doesn’t have time for a lot of friends or extracurricular activities because she spends so much time working at Anna’s Old World Scandinavian Coffeehouse, her grandma’s coffee shop.

Anna is the only family Katrina has because her parents were killed in a car wreck when she was just a little girl. But her grandma is loving and as loyal as a summer day is long.

Besides Katrina, Anna’s only other employee is Irmgaard, a woman who has taken a vow of silence and seems to be living in a state of self-abnegation, although she can whip up a wonderful soup for others.

Unfortunately, Anna’s steadfastness has less positive consequences, too. Her coffee shop seems to have been frozen in time, relying on Styrofoam cups and antiquated equipment and offering an old-fashioned menu. Since a new coffee shop, Java Heaven, has moved in right next door and started offering organic coffee, smoothies, and iced espresso, Anna has lost most of her business to the competition.

Katrina sees her grandma struggling with mounting bills, and feels a sense of responsibility now that her grandma is getting older. But what can she do?

Then one cold winter morning when she’s taking out the garbage, she finds a kilt-wearing vagrant asleep by the Dumpster. Taking pity on him, she leaves a day-old pastry and a cup of coffee by his side. When he wakes, the fellow introduces himself as Malcolm and declares that he is honor-bound to reward Katrina’s selflessness: He will fulfill her deepest desire for true happiness.

Katrina doesn’t believe him. But when he gives her a “special” coffee bean and it falls into other hands and that person seems to get the good fortune that Katrina had only pretended to wish for, she begins to wonder if maybe there is something to his claim.

Malcolm gives her a second bean and a second wish, but this time Katrina’s cat swallows the bean — and again there are surprising results.

Although the story seems to lose steam toward the middle, Selfors throws in some plot twists that pick the pace back up. It’s important to note that for every ounce of magic, there is a pound of can-do spirit.

The teen characters are believably drawn, and Malcolm, as an immortal, is amusing to watch as he learns about human vagaries and cuisine.

All in all, “Coffeehouse Angel” is sweet-tempered fun.

The Bookmonger is Barbara Lloyd McMichael, who writes this weekly column focusing on the books, authors and publishers of the Pacific Northwest. Contact her at bkmonger@nwlink.com.