Ethereal
Ethereal is a young adult fantasy novel written by the Spanish author and psychology student Joana Marcús. The work, which is presented as the first part of the bilogy Strangers, was first published around 2020 on the Wattpad platform. To date, it has more than 20.3 million reads, being one of the most visited titles on the orange web.
On October 24, 2024, it was marketed for the first time in physical format by the publisher Montena, which includes unpublished scenes and content, such as illustrations and other editing details. Since its launch, The book has received very positive reviews from readers., achieving average ratings ranging from 4.76 to 4,8 stars on Goodreads and Amazon.
Synopsis of Ethereal, by Joana Marcús
An unexpected bond
The story features two protagonists who couldn't be more different from each other.: Caleb He is a boy who possesses abilities that, in his eyes, make him a monster. Victoria, on the other hand, is a normal girl, with a routine job and a strange cat. One day, she sees something she shouldn't, which causes him to be assigned to watch her until she forgets what happened.
As you spend time together, Victoria manages to break down some of the walls that surround Caleb, discovering in him a protective and sensitive young man who would give everything for his family. Meanwhile, she finds in this guy's world a place to belong, something she has never had, since her own family nucleus is too toxic for her to orbit in it.
A love that cooks slowly
Despite the context in which the characters fall in love, Their relationship ends up being one of the most organic among the famous works released on Wattpad. At first, Caleb and Victoria are strangers whose fates cross almost reluctantly. He just wants to make sure the girl gets on with her life and lets him do the same, but his insecure boss puts pressure on him.
Roughly, Caleb is a kind of collector. His job is to scare people. who owe money or favors to Sawyer, a shady man who uses him and other young men to keep his business running. The protagonist, like a faithful dog, is trained to follow orders without stopping to think, which has not allowed him to develop his own criteria outside of his work.
When he meets Victoria —who usually drives him crazy with hundreds of questions, and, in general, with the very common activities of his daily life—, begins to understand that there is a whole universe outside of the night and blind obedience. Soon, he understands that he not only wants to take care of her, but also of the people who work with him, who become his brothers.
The importance of the family you choose
As a colorful fact, one of the most addressed topics by Marcus Throughout his work is the family dynamic, and how it influences people's perception, character and social relationships. Ethereal, shows two broken protagonists, each in their own way. Caleb sees Sawyer as the only father he knows, just as Victoria left home as a child.
He has the company of his colleagues, although he only perceives them as allies, and she maintains a good relationship with her cat Bigotitos, despite the fact that there are many things she doesn't know about him. Both main characters seem to be the exact opposite of each other., but as the chapters go by, they realize that they have much more in common than they would have imagined.
Structure and narrative style of the work
In the original publication on Wattpad you can see how the book is divided into an introduction, twenty-four chapters and an epilogue. In the work, The author uses an agile and close style, in the simple pastEach section is narrated from the perspective of a character—almost always Caleb or Victoria—alternating between the events and the thoughts and feelings of the group.
In the introduction, Marcús creates a parallel scene to show the reader the differences between his main characters. While both are dressing in their respective houses, they do things contrary to each other., as when she takes a white shirt and he, a black one. This resource is repeated throughout the book, although in a much more subtle way, until the protagonists' final rapprochement.
Caleb's foster brothers
Neither Caleb nor his friends have a proper name. —at least, as far as they can remember—. That's why Sawyer calls them by a simile of their main ability. For example, the protagonist has great hearing and smell, so his epithet refers to a dog. The same goes for all his companions, who live in anticipation of what Sawyer expects of them.
However, Victoria's introduction into everyone's lives changes the group's relationshipWhat was once just animal loyalty turns into a sincere friendship. In the end, the boy who was unable to feel anything becomes the older brother his classmates need, and the girl without a family becomes part of a whole capable of defeating the boss.
About the author
Joana Marcús Sastre was born on June 30, 2000, in Mallorca, Spain. As a child, she was asked to write a story, and she surprised her entire class with one of the best texts. This led her teachers to direct her towards writing. Afterwards, Marcús continued creating in his notebooks until he was thirteen years old, period in which it was written on the Wattpad platform.
To his surprise, in 2016 he won the Wattys Awards, an award created by the social reading and writing network to commemorate the best story of each year. In this way, Marcús became known both on and off the platform with texts ranging from romance and science fiction until thriller and youth fantasy, displaying great popularity.
Other books by Joana Marcús
Saga Months by your side
- Before december (2021);
- after december (2022);
- Three months (2023);
- the lights of february (2023)
Fire Trilogy
- smoke cities (2022);
- cities of ashes (2022);
- cities of fire (2022)
Biology Songs for her
- the last note (2020);
- the first song (2022)
Trilogy Braemar Legends
- the queen of thorns (2021);
- The king of shadows (2022);
- The girl of the moon (2024)
self-conclusive
- irresistible proposal (2017);
- autumn evenings (2021);
- Summer letters (2023)