The Trapping
Anthony Vela

Review by Denise Kresge

The Trapping is a Young Adult novel about Gabe, a college-aged artist, struggling to get out of a co-dependent relationship with his mother, who is severely and chronically depressed. His resentment of his mother morphs into a combination of relief and jealousy when she finally begins to receive treatment. Gabe then meets and falls in love with Sara, a high school junior. Sara, it turns out, is an angel, who is being stalked by a fallen angel known only as "the tall man."

Ostensibly a love story, it is also a story about getting out of the psychological traps in life. The writing is a bit awkward at times and the dialogue often stiff and unrealistic. There are few religious overtones to Vela's conception of angels or the overall story; the purpose of Sara and the tall man is never fully defined, though it seems to be a battle over Gabe.

The depiction of the oft-times unhealthy relationship between Gabe and his mother is the most fully developed aspect of the story. And the result is that the most unsatisfying part of the end is the resolution of that co-dependency. Gabe does not grow strong enough to break free of the relationship; instead he is set free by his mother's death, which may have been arranged by either Sara or the tall man.

Overall, an interesting concept that needed to fleshed out more fully.

Xlibris Corporation , 2004: ISBN 1413423507