Emerge: The Awakening

Allie Carmichael has always believed life is simple.

You’re born.
You live.
You die.

She has no cause to believe that equation works differently for her, but there has to be a reason the world treats her like a pariah.

When an unexpected move to Kelleys Island brings Aidan McBrien crashing into her life, Allie is thrown by his reaction. He doesn’t shrink from her touch. He doesn’t stutter or make a quick exit. He smiles and welcomes her into his circle of friends, who aren’t exactly comfortable with Allie, but they seem to get her in a way most people don’t.

Finally, Allie has a real shot at normal and rides that high right up to her sixteenth birthday when she wakes in agony—an experience Aidan insists they have all faced. She struggles in ignorance, uncertain of what is real and what isn’t. When she emerges, Allie is different. She has always been different, but even among her extraordinary friends, she and Aidan are special.

As Allie struggles to maintain her tenuous grasp on the power that threatens to overwhelm her, she worries she will lose herself in this strange new world. A dangerous world where she will have to fight tooth and nail to defend the power and freedom that is her birthright.

…only Allie hates to fight.

I received this book for free from Review Copy in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Emerge is a fairly standard young adult novel that hits all the boxes on the YA checklist.  Thankfully it does so competently and with a plot that is interesting.  You have Allie, the girl who is different but even she doesn’t know how different.  Read, hidden special powers.  The guy she meets that accepts her for who she is, and turns out to be special to.  A secrete destiny waiting to be discovered.

Formulaic however does not equal bad.  Allie is a completely likable character and has an emotional depth which is refreshing to see.  Her relationship with Aiden is believable and well done. In a genre where relationships are all to often one dimensional or unbelievable, I was happy to see Craven knew how to avoid these pitfalls. The backstory is also well done.  There was a lot thought put into the backstory of the world and while yes, there is a lot of it, it does help make the story feel more than main characters reacting.

My only real complaint is that the scenes in the book jump too much.  It goes from dialogue to dialogue and often skips the connection in between that ties scenes together.  Often I found myself wondering if I missed something.  While I like the backstory in the book, perhaps it would have been better to substitute some of the pages used for that and put in more between sets of dialogue, to keep the book from feeling rushed.

Overall, this is a fine book. If you like YA books then this will probably work for you. It won’t knock your socks off, but it won’t bore you either.

Review by Travis Starnes

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