Child of the Kaites retells the Exodus account in a fantasy world. In Beth Wangler’s story, two Champions work together to free their people, the Maraians, from slavery to the Izyphor. They must face down false rumors about their people, an Izyphorn sultan who refuses to let them go free, and spiritual beings who fight against them. Angels and demons, respectively called kaites and aivenkaites, feature in many of the book’s conflicts. Despite a somewhat confusing backstory, the Champions, Raiballeon and Saviayr, show well-realized characterization, and the overall narrative flies like a thematic arrow toward the real-life account of how God freed his people from Egypt, and then later from the even stronger slavery to sin.

Best for: Fans of young-adult fiction.

Discern: Spiritual battles that could cause some confusion, such as when the demons/aivenkaites are confronted and controlled by use of their names, and when the hero bargains with Aivenah/Satan toward the book’s end.