The Awakening – Melissa A Craven

The Awakening (Emerge #1)

Summary from Goodreads:

2015 Dante Rossetti Awards Finalist
2015 International Book Awards Finalist
2015 USA Best Book Award Finalist

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. 

MY REVIEW OF THE AWAKENING

I enjoyed this YA fantasy tale!

Young Allie moves with her family from place to place around the world for reasons unknown to her. Finally she settles in Kelleys island, only to discover that the reason her family have been on the run, and that nobody ever really feels comfortable with her, is because she isn’t exactly normal. She is developing powers that she doesn’t know how to handle. Together with a group of new friends, she must discover who she really is, and what she is capable of.

I think The Awakening will really appeal to the younger readers, it has normal kids developing powers and realising that they are not exactly as normal as they thought they were, it has a trademark YA love triangle and an exciting plot. Exactly the recipe YA fans love!

I tend to get extremely annoyed at love triangles, this one wasn’t too bad. There is something about needy young love that drives me crazy, but this wasn’t done like that. It was more respectful and much less “I will die without you”, although her bantering with Aiden got extremely frustrating at times, overall I liked it. Definitely leaves the potential for a lot more depth to the saga in following books.  I enjoyed all the characters. However, I don’t think I liked Aiden as much as I’m sure everyone else does. I didn’t see him as the “dream boat” I think he was meant to be. I didn’t like how he was really pushy towards Allie when she was telling him to back off. I understand that all the characters are so young, and there is something so appealing to readers when young people are pushed into circumstances way beyond their emotional maturity level. But the ‘relationship’ didn’t particularly work for me, however it was still enjoyable none the less.

I enjoyed the developing powers that all the different characters had, some more established than others. I liked the action scenes and fighting scenes. I also really enjoyed all the history that the older characters had. It really enriched the story.

The writing was fantastic! Easy to read and it flowed really well.

I thought the ending was really well done, leaving it wide open for the next book!

Would I recommend The Awakening?

Yes, to avid YA fans. Although I didn’t “love” it, I really liked it! I would absolutely be interested to read the next one to see how the story progresses! Overall a solid 3.5 Stars!

Many thanks to the author via YA Bound Blog Tours for a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

(3.5 / 5)

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Melissa A. Craven (the “A” stands for Ann—in case you were wondering) was born near Atlanta, Georgia, but moved to Cleveland, Ohio at the age of seventeen. She still thinks of Cleveland as home, so it was only natural for Emerge to take place there.
Today, she is back in Atlanta—for some reason she can’t seem to stay away from the ungodly heat that makes her long for things like “lake effect snow” and wind that will knock you flat.
Melissa decided a long time ago that the “life checklist” everyone else was clutching so tightly in their fists, just wasn’t for her. She does everything backwards because she is weird like that, but then, she is an artist and artists are notoriously “unique” and “quirky.”
She is an avid student of art and design, and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of West Georgia in 2009. She worked as an interior designer for several years, but she’s always thought she might like to be a writer when she grows up.
In her spare time, if she has any, she enjoys shopping for derelict furniture she refinishes to exercise the interior design part of her brain.

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