The Ether

smileyguy246 - The Fiercest of Warriors? Vero Leland always suspected he was different from others his own age, ever since his childhood attempts to fly. But he never could have predicted the truth---or how much his life was about to change. Soon after his twelfth birthday, Vero learns he is a guardian angel and is abruptly transported to the Ether, the spiritual realm that surrounds the earth. Yet before he can be counted among these fierce warriors, Vero must learn to master his growing powers, competing with other angels-in- training and battling demonic creatures known as maltures as well as mythical creatures such as the leviathan. Until his instruction is complete, Vero needs to alternate between the Ether and his regular life. If he survives training and accepts his destiny---a destiny he did not choose---he must leave everything behind, including his family and the life he loves. Meanwhile, an evil is growing---the maltures are rising, and Vero appears to be their target.

December 23, 2013
Screenwriter Molinari debuts with an action-packed but derivative novel that kicks off the Ether series. Vero Leland is a 12-year-old whose youthful fascination with heights and flight presages a startling discovery: he's a guardian angel. He is taken to the Etherâan upper-air worldâfor training, and the narrative alternates between his life in suburban America with his fellow middle-schoolers and his life in the Ether with his angel peers in CANDLE (Cathedral of Angels for Novice Development, Learning, and Edification). The Ether allows for some highly imaginative adventures, but training young students to wield their powers is a familiar trope, and novelists offering an edifying Christian alternative to the fictional worlds of Percy Jackson and other super-powered young heroes have gone to the angelic well a lot (Jonah Stone, the Halflings series). The good-versus-evil dynamic and quick pacing of scenes owe both to movies, given Molinari's experience, and to Christian thrillermeister Frank Peretti. Molinari offers some engaging characters and exciting moments, but falls short in terms of imagination. Ages 9â12. Agents: Jan Miller and Nena Madonia, Dupree Miller & Associates.

March 1, 2014

Gr 4-6-Twelve-year-old Vero, who has always known deep down that he could fly, discovers that he is a guardian angel. He begins his training with others his age in The Ether, a mystical world in which preteen angels face physical trials, harsh landscapes, vividly realized monsters, and challenges to their faith. The author's roots as a television writer show through in the episodic, cinematic scenes. Narrated in the third person, chapters switch locations and time periods, often to the detriment of the overall flow. Character motivations are lacking, aside from the sympathetic Vero. The portrayal of Judiasm, as embodied by a young Jewish girl who explains various Christian ideas (she is regarded as an expert as a result of training for her Bat Mitzvah), seems included primarily to bolster Evangelical beliefs. The underlying themes place this title and its probable sequels with fans of "Left Behind Kids" (Tyndale House).-Rhona Campbell, Georgetown Day School, Washington, DC

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