Indigo Awakening (The Hunted, #1) by Jordan Dane

Title: Indigo Awakening (The Hunted, #1)
Author: Jordan Dane
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: December, 18, 2012
Pages: 304, Paperback
Rating: 3 stars

Summary from Goodreads:
Because of what you are, the Believers will hunt you down.

Voices told Lucas Darby to run. Voices no one else can hear. He’s warned his sister not to look for him, but Rayne refuses to let her troubled brother vanish on the streets of LA. In her desperate search, she meets Gabriel Stewart, a runaway with mysterious powers and far too many secrets. Rayne can’t explain her crazy need to trust the strange yet compelling boy—to touch him—to protect him even though he scares her.

A fanatical church secretly hunts psychic kids—gifted “Indigo” teens feared to be the next evolution of mankind—for reasons only “the Believers” know. Now Rayne’s only hope is Gabe, who is haunted by an awakening power—a force darker than either of them imagine—that could doom them all.

Although I am a little surprised that this book was a DNF for some, I am not surprised at the mixed ratings. This book is not without flaws and I think how you take to this book really depends on what bothers you and what you can tolerate.

Background

Evolution has led to a new race of human beings called Indigos that have certain psychic abilities – they can control what others see and feel, communicate telepathically, see the dead, etc. At this point, all of the Indigos are kids and the strongest Indigos are called Crystal Children. A powerful organization known as the Church of Spiritual Freedom thinks these kids are abominations and are hunting them one by one, focusing their greatest efforts on the Crystal Children since they are the greatest threat and mystery. These people are ruthless and merciless and have no qualms about hunting down and killing these children. The set their sights on Lucas Darby and will stop at nothing to see that he is taken.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The plot was predominately a game of cat and mouse. Both the church and Rayne, Lucas ‘sister, want to find Lucas, but for obviously different reasons. The church uses its influence and force to narrow down his location, while, Rayne finds an unlikely ally in another Indigo child Gabe, who has visions of her brother and other Indigos. The book started a little slowly but quickly picked up the pace and was a steady stream of action and adventure until the end.

This story is told from multiple points of view, which I usually enjoy. In the case of Indigo Awakening we get to be the hunters and the hunted. I think this helped add an extra level of suspense to the story, knowing the bad guys’ plan ahead of time. I know this disturbed some readers though, seeing such evil and ignorance aimed at kids. Nevertheless, it kept me on the edge of my seat.

However, Jordan Dane could have done a better job of explaining the extent and limitations of the Indigo abilities, which I still don’t fully understand. Not enough attention was paid to the background story but I imagine some of it was intentional since it seems both the Indigos and the Church aren’t aware of their potential. I also think the description of the Crystal Children, or at least Gabe, was a bit cheesy. Gabe and his dead dog emmitted a blue glow, when using their power, which I  imagine looked something like this:
Also, I know some people struggled with the dialogue; the classic example being when Rayne said “LMAO” and other instances when wording and descriptions were awkward. It felt like Jordan Dane was trying to appeal to a young generation but sadly misjudged how we actually speak and what is “cool”. But I think this was most prominent at the beginning of the novel and lessens as the story progresses so try not to get discouraged too quickly.

And lastly, we do have instances of insta-love, angst, and jealousy among the kids which does tend to dominate the internal dialogue when in one of their POVs but considering the big picture and overall development, I found it tolerable. We also get a play of other emotions – dependency, protectiveness, loneliness, etc. that keep the characters from seeming too shallow or single-minded.

Wrap Up

I enjoyed the overall adventure of Indigo Awakening and that is why I ended up giving it 3 stars. The things I found annoying or that I could do without didn't overwhlem me while I was reading, or distract too much from my overall interest in the story, espcially once you get past the first 100 or so pages. I am always interested in kids with powers (probably due to envy) and the chase and multi POVs reminded me of the James Rollins or Clive Cusssler novels I grew up reading (not that I am comparing the writing).