Emaji Nation Book 1: The Sparrow by Denna M. Davis is a book that I will not soon be forgetting about. In fact, I was very pleasantly surprised by just how much I enjoyed this book. The first chapter grabbed my attention instantly. Most books I have read don’t do that, they tend to need some time to build up a reader’s interest. Each chapter seems to leave the reader hanging with just enough anticipation that you might find yourself staying up hours past your intended stopping time to continue the story.
With little explanation as to why young Amanda finds herself walking through a portal at her grandparent’s house and transported to the planet Emaji. This is where she meets Solomon, who helps reunite her with her grandparents. Her grandmother tells her that there is a prophecy naming her the defeater of Zorn and savior of Emaji. With the help of the Emaji leaders, Amanda learns that Emaji was once much like Earth. That is until a nuclear world war forced the survivors into Mount Hanovi where their God (Ema) united them and blessed them with gifts. Peace cannot seem to last and Zorn grew arrogant with his gifts and betrayed the rest of the survivors.
Now, Amanda has to deal with being under attack by an unknown assassin controlled by Zorn. At the same time, she must begin her training. Amanda is only given two days to train and learn about the warrior classes of the Emaji before taking her own Journey of Discovery to receive her personal gift from Ema. At the very end of her Journey she must jump from a cliff to prove her belief in Ema. On top of all this, the prophecy also names the Emaji man she is supposed to marry and she isn’t even seventeen yet.
Denna M. Davis makes Amanda a very relatable character. Amanda shows her fear and her doubts from the moment she steps through the portal at her grandparent’s house and finds herself in Emaji. Unlike many books where a character is the main focus of a prophecy, Amanda does not jump right into her Destiny and instead takes her time deciding if that is what she really wants to do. She internally struggles with the idea of being this destined hero when she could always just go back to the safety of her home. Staying on Emaji means facing danger and possible death for people she just met.
There are so many things I liked about this book that it is hard to pinpoint what I liked best. I loved how relatable and real Amanda is. I also found the story to be gripping and so detailed that the action never slows down for a second. I did not want to stop reading. Being completely honest what I liked least about the book seems almost trivial to me. I did not really enjoy how every citizen of Emaji is described as having their own specific skin color. I understand how this may be a gift from Ema or possibly a result of the radiation from the war but, I just had a hard time picturing it. Frequently, I noticed I would mentally default back to thinking in the skin tones that are naturally found on Earth.
The target readers for this book are fantasy readers starting at mature middle school age and older. There are a few different times that Amanda hints at the fact that she may have been (or came close to being) raped while at a party, so readers would have to be mature enough to handle that concept. Although, nothing of a sexual nature is actually described with detail at any point in the book. I am fully confident in my decision to give this book a complete 4 out of 4 rating. It is extremely well edited to where I only noticed one error in the entire book. Also, I found myself enjoying this book right from the start. Denna M. Davis portrayed a world different from ours wonderfully. I felt like I was actually there at times and was sad when I finished the book. I can not wait to read the second one. I am hooked and I believe anyone who enjoys fantasy will be as well.
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