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Fly
Sophie Cohen is finally alone with longtime crush Everett Sinclair when, instead of whispering sweet nothings, he begins sputtering incoherencies that leave her reeling. He’s an undercover agent for the Paranormal Research Task Force and Anti-Warfare League (PORTAL) assigned to protect her from the ruthless Lucian Divaldo, a dark force who has been striving to assassinate her since infancy due to a prophecy naming Sophie a Seer, Heeder, and Sayer who will help PORTAL overcome him. In other words, Divaldo is out to destroy Sophie before she destroys him.
Shocked and struggling to make sense of her upended world, Sophie doesn’t know what to believe. What are the powers of a Seer, Heeder, or Sayer? Nobody seems to know. And how could the prophecy possibly name her PORTAL's savior? She’s read countless books about knights in shining armor, but warriors are generally buff males, not clumsy, socially-awkward, seventeen-year-old book worms.
As Sophie discovers the countless ways her life ties back to PORTAL, her eyes are opened to the spiritual realms surrounding her and the wonderful and horrible creatures there, leading her to a choice: To have faith in herself and this world of supernatural realms and beings in the hope of ascending to greatness, or to forsake her supposed destiny at the risk of losing everything she loves.
FLY: A PORTAL CHRONICLES NOVEL is a young adult novel that takes readers on an adventure exploring the bonds of family, faith, and love through two points of view: Sophie, an insecure, typical teenager who finds she is truly not so typical, and Everett, the nineteen-year-old PORTAL agent who struggles with many secrets, including his forbidden love for Sophie and his ability to see into her dreams.
Shocked and struggling to make sense of her upended world, Sophie doesn’t know what to believe. What are the powers of a Seer, Heeder, or Sayer? Nobody seems to know. And how could the prophecy possibly name her PORTAL's savior? She’s read countless books about knights in shining armor, but warriors are generally buff males, not clumsy, socially-awkward, seventeen-year-old book worms.
As Sophie discovers the countless ways her life ties back to PORTAL, her eyes are opened to the spiritual realms surrounding her and the wonderful and horrible creatures there, leading her to a choice: To have faith in herself and this world of supernatural realms and beings in the hope of ascending to greatness, or to forsake her supposed destiny at the risk of losing everything she loves.
FLY: A PORTAL CHRONICLES NOVEL is a young adult novel that takes readers on an adventure exploring the bonds of family, faith, and love through two points of view: Sophie, an insecure, typical teenager who finds she is truly not so typical, and Everett, the nineteen-year-old PORTAL agent who struggles with many secrets, including his forbidden love for Sophie and his ability to see into her dreams.
- GenresFantasyYoung AdultEbooks
404 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 14, 2012
2 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
About the author
Melissa Aden
1 book5 followersMelissa Aden has harbored a passion for writing and storytelling from her earliest memories. With an Armenian father who came to America to pursue his dreams and a mother who is a patron of theater, film, and the arts, Melissa was raised in a creative environment and taught that if she worked hard to reach her dreams and sought God for direction, the possibilities for her future were limitless.
From writing and illustrating stories for her family through childhood to becoming the youngest reporter to write for her local newspaper in high school, she went on to secure a Journalism degree and worked in marketing, event planning, graphic design, and freelance writing before daring to pursue a career as a novelist.
Melissa felt long lost in a world of corporate ladders and schemes when God redirected her path with an amazing dream on June 7, 2008. God began revealing Melissa’s future to her, as well as a story that would change her life forever. Sparked by this divine inspiration, she began writing what would become the first Young Adult novel of “The PORTAL Chronicles" series.
Melissa lives in Omaha, Nebraska, with her precocious toddler, Lina Grace. She enjoys reading, watercolor painting, coloring, and visiting museums and the zoo with Lina, as well as noshing on blueberry scones and mint tea and participating in women's ministry at her church. You can catch her musings and book updates from her blog at http://melissaaden.wordpress.com.
Her debut novel, FLY: A PORTAL CHRONICLES NOVEL, was released May 2012 with other novels in the series soon to follow. http://amzn.to/Ks2FqA
From writing and illustrating stories for her family through childhood to becoming the youngest reporter to write for her local newspaper in high school, she went on to secure a Journalism degree and worked in marketing, event planning, graphic design, and freelance writing before daring to pursue a career as a novelist.
Melissa felt long lost in a world of corporate ladders and schemes when God redirected her path with an amazing dream on June 7, 2008. God began revealing Melissa’s future to her, as well as a story that would change her life forever. Sparked by this divine inspiration, she began writing what would become the first Young Adult novel of “The PORTAL Chronicles" series.
Melissa lives in Omaha, Nebraska, with her precocious toddler, Lina Grace. She enjoys reading, watercolor painting, coloring, and visiting museums and the zoo with Lina, as well as noshing on blueberry scones and mint tea and participating in women's ministry at her church. You can catch her musings and book updates from her blog at http://melissaaden.wordpress.com.
Her debut novel, FLY: A PORTAL CHRONICLES NOVEL, was released May 2012 with other novels in the series soon to follow. http://amzn.to/Ks2FqA
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 11, 2013
When I saw how highly graded this book was and read some nice reviews I thought it might be something right along my alley. But then, almost at the very beginning I started eye-rolling heavily.
And it kept happening more often through the book. So, the main character is Sophie, a girl who is smart and strong but she ends up making mistakes at every turn. Though the author painted her as a forgiving and caring person, she keeps making senseless decisions. Some chapters were portrayed though her eyes, while others were displayed through the main male character's viewpoint. This was executed well, although I didn't find the story very cohesive.
The book provided a couple of fun moments
"Immediately recognizing the voice, I turned to find Everett glaring at his tray. "Hi!" I beamed. "Oh! Hi Sophie." His eyes twinkled. Stupid, horid butterflies. Die! Die! Die!"
But then was riddled with the same type of sentence over and over:
"It was all I could do not to pinch myself."
"It was all I could do not to vomit again."
"It was all I could do not to grab his hand ot put my arm through his."
"It was all I could do not to whisk her out of the restaurant right then and there."
Really? Was it really all you could do? And these are just a few random examples of the cause of my general frustration. The overally storry does not pick up until quite late in the book. And so this type of thing happens ALL THE TIME:
"If there was one thing I'd learned from my early education in comic books, it was that the superhero never really got the girl. Like so many of those stories, Sophie and I were forever stuck in our roles, revolving but never quite meeting in the middle."
Seriously? To keep us waiting for so long for a peak in the romance only to have it just slip out of view in the onslaught of corny morals. About Fear, ofcourse:
"Fear not, fir that is onlx what Fear wants. To intimidate you. To shake you. To distract you. Anything to prevent you from achieving your destiny." "That's Fear?" I asked, flabbergasted. It was freeing to finally identify the giant, to size him up. "Time and again, you've allowed him to scare you away, each time forfeiting a little more territory of your soul. But it's time to overcome this giant, Sophie. It's time to walk in your destiny and take back what's rightfully yours. Overcome him or he'll overcome you. Until you do, you'll never truly spread your wings and fly."
"A deep rumbling began, as if the earth's mantle was shifting under our feet, and then an explosion of power pulsed through me, sending the red lava power surging into the hordes from the tips of my fingers, my eye sockets, and mouth, and straight up into the air from the top of my head."
"With a feral, tormented cry, Everett lifted his sword and brought it down on the giant's neck. Fear howled in agony, growing ever smaller as Everett brought the sword down again and again, yelling, "You will not claim my family. You will not claim those I love. You will no longer control me. I will live - freely and fully and loving to the fullest, fearing not what might happen to me or how I might get hurt in the process. You will haunt us no longer for we are overcomers and have overcome you! I will not fear.! And with the final death blow, "I WILL CHOOSE TO LOVE! ""
I felt burdened by all of it at the very end, like it was just too much of everything and everything was supposed to be so heartwarming and good beats evil and she knew who she was supposed to be all along and it just made me gag. And in the end it was hard to read and finish this book. And I finished a lot worse. I don't know, the general idea was not half bad but again I was dissapointed. At first with how much the heroine failed at each step and then at how much of the story was a silly buildup.
To sum it up:
But in the end I made it through ok so I guess that counts for something, but all the bad rep comes from the fact that it could've been so much more but left me sort of grieving for the possibilities.
And it kept happening more often through the book. So, the main character is Sophie, a girl who is smart and strong but she ends up making mistakes at every turn. Though the author painted her as a forgiving and caring person, she keeps making senseless decisions. Some chapters were portrayed though her eyes, while others were displayed through the main male character's viewpoint. This was executed well, although I didn't find the story very cohesive.
The book provided a couple of fun moments
"Immediately recognizing the voice, I turned to find Everett glaring at his tray. "Hi!" I beamed. "Oh! Hi Sophie." His eyes twinkled. Stupid, horid butterflies. Die! Die! Die!"
But then was riddled with the same type of sentence over and over:
"It was all I could do not to pinch myself."
"It was all I could do not to vomit again."
"It was all I could do not to grab his hand ot put my arm through his."
"It was all I could do not to whisk her out of the restaurant right then and there."
Really? Was it really all you could do? And these are just a few random examples of the cause of my general frustration. The overally storry does not pick up until quite late in the book. And so this type of thing happens ALL THE TIME:
"If there was one thing I'd learned from my early education in comic books, it was that the superhero never really got the girl. Like so many of those stories, Sophie and I were forever stuck in our roles, revolving but never quite meeting in the middle."
Seriously? To keep us waiting for so long for a peak in the romance only to have it just slip out of view in the onslaught of corny morals. About Fear, ofcourse:
"Fear not, fir that is onlx what Fear wants. To intimidate you. To shake you. To distract you. Anything to prevent you from achieving your destiny." "That's Fear?" I asked, flabbergasted. It was freeing to finally identify the giant, to size him up. "Time and again, you've allowed him to scare you away, each time forfeiting a little more territory of your soul. But it's time to overcome this giant, Sophie. It's time to walk in your destiny and take back what's rightfully yours. Overcome him or he'll overcome you. Until you do, you'll never truly spread your wings and fly."
"A deep rumbling began, as if the earth's mantle was shifting under our feet, and then an explosion of power pulsed through me, sending the red lava power surging into the hordes from the tips of my fingers, my eye sockets, and mouth, and straight up into the air from the top of my head."
"With a feral, tormented cry, Everett lifted his sword and brought it down on the giant's neck. Fear howled in agony, growing ever smaller as Everett brought the sword down again and again, yelling, "You will not claim my family. You will not claim those I love. You will no longer control me. I will live - freely and fully and loving to the fullest, fearing not what might happen to me or how I might get hurt in the process. You will haunt us no longer for we are overcomers and have overcome you! I will not fear.! And with the final death blow, "I WILL CHOOSE TO LOVE! ""
I felt burdened by all of it at the very end, like it was just too much of everything and everything was supposed to be so heartwarming and good beats evil and she knew who she was supposed to be all along and it just made me gag. And in the end it was hard to read and finish this book. And I finished a lot worse. I don't know, the general idea was not half bad but again I was dissapointed. At first with how much the heroine failed at each step and then at how much of the story was a silly buildup.
To sum it up:
But in the end I made it through ok so I guess that counts for something, but all the bad rep comes from the fact that it could've been so much more but left me sort of grieving for the possibilities.
August 26, 2013
True Rating: 1.5 Stars.
Now, let's start with: I have nothing against reading books with a religious undertone. I have no problem reading a book where an author tries to assert her religious preference, or even religious insights, so it is not because I am some crazy heretic that I did not enjoy this book.
Sophie
Ah, the culprit as to why I really didn't like this book.
Aden tried to set Sophie up as a girl wise beyond her years. I'm not sure what made her decide to do this because Sophie was as immature as they can possibly come.
I hated this character. I hated reading about her. I found it hard to turn the pages because of the stupid things Sophie insisted on doing.
Everett's description of Sophie did not add up to her character development at all. This is a major pet peeve for me. I think Everett was delusional because the things he saw in Sophie did not exist. If the things that Everett supposedly saw was the way we, as readers, were supposed to view Sophie, then why was she such an idiotic, immature, morally and emotionally disturbed character?
I did not relate to her. I found it hard to sympathize with her, and I found that in the end, I just couldn't support her.
It's one thing to be unaware of the extent to your beauty, but it entirely another thing to be incredibly, unattractively insecure. Guess which category miss Sophie fit into.
Everett
Most of the time, when the book switched into Everett's perspective, I couldn't tell until his gender was brought into focus, or it was obvious things he was doing were not things Sophie would be doing. This means that Everett and Sophie read as the same person. I could not differentiate between the two. That being said, it annoyed me that there were two character points of view at all.
Aside from that, I really held no appeal for Everett. He was a know-it-all, stalking, bossy character. I also found that he really didn't have a solid personality. He was often acting in erratic ways for how I would have imagined him to, just so things Aden wanted happening in her plot, would happen.
Plot
So basically, this was like a bible study session gone awry. It held to the story of God, Lucifer, and Earth, but for reasons unbeknownst to me, Aden tried using different names. Was this to emphasize that this book was fiction? Or was it meant to be a clever way to hide the religious undertones? Because if that was the case, it didn't work.
Because of the glaringly obviousness of the religious undertones in this book, I found it hard to swallow that Sophie wouldn't know anything about "Dio" and "Lucien." This made me think that the majority of people did not believe in him, or even know about religion at all, unless they were in PORTAL. So, yeah, I don't know what to think about that, really, other than some clarification in the world building needed some serious work.
So, for the sake of knowing what happens if you denounce God, Sophie goes through nightmares, depression, and bouts of suicidal tendencies. She also shuns her friends, her family, and then blames everyone but herself for her predicament. She is prideful, refusing to ask for help from the being she knows would help her if she just asked. For some reason, she takes her sweet time getting to the obvious solution. She's aware of what is going on, who the key players are, and still, for the sake of adding to Sophie's stupidity, it takes her a whole solid month to figure it out. So much for smart. But hey, we needed to see what it would be like if she decided to be evil.
And then, when she finally letsGodDio into her heart, everything is perfect for her. This also means that she can judge others for being prideful as if she doesn't suffer from the same trait.
My favourite scene in this book (I'm being sarcastic) was when Sophie freaks out about Hagen (who she supposedly didn't care about, and didn't cry when she decided to break up with him) macking on another girl. She goes into a jealous rage--try and tell me it wasn't jealousy--and decides she must confront him at the expense of physically hurting her "friends". She actually knees Everett in the balls! Where does she get off treating people like that?
Romance
Cheesy. Absolutely cheesy. Unfathomable, and very very forced. It didn't feel natural, I felt absolutely no chemistry or even any connection between Everett and Sophie.
Overall
Anyway, aside from Sophie being a complete disaster, I found that I just wasn't impressed with the delivery of this book. There were some interesting ideas, and even some wise insights, but for the most part I just wasn't feeling it. So I doubt I will be looking for the next book in this series.
Now, let's start with: I have nothing against reading books with a religious undertone. I have no problem reading a book where an author tries to assert her religious preference, or even religious insights, so it is not because I am some crazy heretic that I did not enjoy this book.
Sophie
Ah, the culprit as to why I really didn't like this book.
Aden tried to set Sophie up as a girl wise beyond her years. I'm not sure what made her decide to do this because Sophie was as immature as they can possibly come.
I hated this character. I hated reading about her. I found it hard to turn the pages because of the stupid things Sophie insisted on doing.
Everett's description of Sophie did not add up to her character development at all. This is a major pet peeve for me. I think Everett was delusional because the things he saw in Sophie did not exist. If the things that Everett supposedly saw was the way we, as readers, were supposed to view Sophie, then why was she such an idiotic, immature, morally and emotionally disturbed character?
I did not relate to her. I found it hard to sympathize with her, and I found that in the end, I just couldn't support her.
It's one thing to be unaware of the extent to your beauty, but it entirely another thing to be incredibly, unattractively insecure. Guess which category miss Sophie fit into.
Everett
Most of the time, when the book switched into Everett's perspective, I couldn't tell until his gender was brought into focus, or it was obvious things he was doing were not things Sophie would be doing. This means that Everett and Sophie read as the same person. I could not differentiate between the two. That being said, it annoyed me that there were two character points of view at all.
Aside from that, I really held no appeal for Everett. He was a know-it-all, stalking, bossy character. I also found that he really didn't have a solid personality. He was often acting in erratic ways for how I would have imagined him to, just so things Aden wanted happening in her plot, would happen.
Plot
So basically, this was like a bible study session gone awry. It held to the story of God, Lucifer, and Earth, but for reasons unbeknownst to me, Aden tried using different names. Was this to emphasize that this book was fiction? Or was it meant to be a clever way to hide the religious undertones? Because if that was the case, it didn't work.
Because of the glaringly obviousness of the religious undertones in this book, I found it hard to swallow that Sophie wouldn't know anything about "Dio" and "Lucien." This made me think that the majority of people did not believe in him, or even know about religion at all, unless they were in PORTAL. So, yeah, I don't know what to think about that, really, other than some clarification in the world building needed some serious work.
So, for the sake of knowing what happens if you denounce God, Sophie goes through nightmares, depression, and bouts of suicidal tendencies. She also shuns her friends, her family, and then blames everyone but herself for her predicament. She is prideful, refusing to ask for help from the being she knows would help her if she just asked. For some reason, she takes her sweet time getting to the obvious solution. She's aware of what is going on, who the key players are, and still, for the sake of adding to Sophie's stupidity, it takes her a whole solid month to figure it out. So much for smart. But hey, we needed to see what it would be like if she decided to be evil.
And then, when she finally lets
My favourite scene in this book (I'm being sarcastic) was when Sophie freaks out about Hagen (who she supposedly didn't care about, and didn't cry when she decided to break up with him) macking on another girl. She goes into a jealous rage--try and tell me it wasn't jealousy--and decides she must confront him at the expense of physically hurting her "friends". She actually knees Everett in the balls! Where does she get off treating people like that?
Romance
Cheesy. Absolutely cheesy. Unfathomable, and very very forced. It didn't feel natural, I felt absolutely no chemistry or even any connection between Everett and Sophie.
Overall
Anyway, aside from Sophie being a complete disaster, I found that I just wasn't impressed with the delivery of this book. There were some interesting ideas, and even some wise insights, but for the most part I just wasn't feeling it. So I doubt I will be looking for the next book in this series.
June 28, 2013
Characters were okay, but the whole plot just seemed so wishy-washy. This book really should have been advertised as a Christian-type book. It's one of those kind of books that the main character goes through the whole "whoa-is-me" drama when she has pretty much everything. Then it goes on the predicted "I'm over my depression, so I'm going to save the world" ending. Just a little boring, in my opinion. The only reason I finished the book is because I was already so far into before I figured out why I didn't like it, that I just had to muddle through it so I could count it as read. That and I was totally hoping that it wouldn't end so predictable.
February 3, 2013
If a book doesn't grab my attention in the first couple chapters, I stop reading it. Melissa did an EXCELLENT job drawing me into the story within the first couple pages. The only reason I set the book down is because I had to take care of my baby, otherwise I was reading it any chance I got. I love the undertones of truth Melissa has incorporated into the story, as well as how she describes Dio in chapter 34- beautiful. I wish book #2 was out NOW! :)
If you're looking for a captivating, romantic, suspenseful, Truth-filled book FLY is for you!
If you're looking for a captivating, romantic, suspenseful, Truth-filled book FLY is for you!
January 11, 2013
This book is amazing. Ive read a handful of books including the hunger games series and this book tops it all. I couldnt put it down once i started to read it. I was trying to find every chance to finish reading the book.
February 16, 2013
This book is a must-read! You will be inspired as well as entertained from the very first chapter. You come away from reading this book feeling freedom and love you hadn't felt or fully realized before reading it.
January 11, 2013
This book is awesome! This story is laid out perfectly. It makes me want to keep reading! I can't put it down!
January 21, 2013
A loved this book! It was amazing.
March 25, 2013
This book was okay, but it didn't really keep me that interested. Honestly, I felt it was very preachy.
February 1, 2013
This book was great I couldn't put it down!!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews