The Ether

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Lately strange happenings begin to plague the everyday suburban life of 12-year-old Vero Leland. To the surprise of his classmates and himself, while running track and field, Vero effortlessly clears two hurdles in one leap. He sees hideous frightening creatures that no one else can see. But it's when he views his imprint after making a snow angel that he can no longer deny he's different. Because after sweeping his limbs across the fresh snow, there in the snowy depression lays the impression of two massive wings so beautiful Michelangelo could have fashioned them himself!

Only when a stranger takes him to the "Ether," does Vero finally understand whom he is. The Ether is the spiritual realm that surrounds the earth. It is there that Vero learns he is, indeed, a budding guardian angel--the fiercest of all warriors.

Under the tutelage of the mighty archangels, Vero, along with several other young angels, begins his training. He must learn to use his new wings, flying and battling mythological Biblical creatures from the leviathan to golems--all while maintaining his regular down on Earth. 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, and Vero appears to be the target.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

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 Ether-an upper-air world-for 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 9-12. Agents: Jan Miller and Nena Madonia, Dupree Miller & Associates. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

School Library Journal Review

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 (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

Vero Leland wants to fly, and not just that, he feels like he should fly, like it's a natural state for him. An adopted child of a nurse and an analyst, Vero at 12 is smarter, stronger, faster, and better than most of the kids he goes to school with, and it shows. He understands college-level writing assignments and can leap multiple hurdles in a single bound. Truly, Vero is different. But it's only when he's trapped by evil creatures that he realizes how different: he is destined to become a guardian angel. He can escape into the mystical Ether to learn how to fly and defend his future charges, along with other fledgling angels, and more adventure is surely on its way. His family and friends are mostly unaware, but Vero believes in his future and has faith. This book has definite Christian and spiritual themes, though they are carefully measured and not totally overpowering. It may not appeal to all adventure and fantasy readers, but despite the potentially heavy-handed good-versus-evil plot, it's an easygoing read.--Comfort, Stacey Copyright 2010 Booklist

Horn Book Review

Twelve-year-old Vero Leland has never been a normal boy, but the discovery that he is a guardian-angel-in-training only makes him feel more like an outcast. He must begin angel school while trying to balance his one earthly life. Molinari injects a hero quest into a fresh setting in this fast-paced but sometimes didactic tale, book one in a series. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.