Emerson Page and Where the Light Leads - by Christa Avampato (Paperback)

About the Book

Emerson is a Starlighter. She is ready to leave home in New York City and find the treasure her mother died trying to find-a book written by the muses of Greek mythology that holds the secret to limitless human creativity.

Book Synopsis

On her fifteenth birthday, Emerson Page finds herself amid chaos in Times Square on New Year's Eve.

Like her deceased mother, a renowned anthropologist, Emerson is a Starlighter-she has a strong internal light that she can call into her hands and use as a tool. Now, trained to use her gift, she is ready to leave her home in New York City and find the treasure her mother died trying to find-a book written by the muses of Greek mythology that holds the secret to limitless human creativity.

Emerson's grandmother, who went missing when her mother was a child, re-emerges with the information about the book's location. The book of the Muses is in the land of the faeries below Dublin, Ireland that's rooted in Celtic mythology and operates nothing like her own world. Emerson discovers she's not the only one who knows about the book's whereabouts. One of her family's closest friends betrays her and sets out to find and take the book for himself. Now they're locked in a race to reach it first.

With her two closest friends and her service dog, Friday, who helps her manage her PTSD caused by the tragic loss of her mother seven years earlier, Emerson falls through levels of the underworld below Dublin. They face physical, mental, and emotional struggles on their journey that push every limit they have. They encounter magical beings from Celtic mythology and convince them to help them reach the faeries in the hopes of persuading them to give Emerson the book.

Review Quotes

"Stories that manage to spark our imagination while inviting us to be better individuals are rare. Between the pages of Emerson's journey, we discover something about what it means to be human - and something true about ourselves." Dr. John Bucher, Executive Director of the Joseph Campbell Foundation, Founder of Telling a Better Story, and author of six books including the best-selling Storytelling for Virtual Reality

"Emerson Page and Where the Light Leads" is a mythic quest exploring grief, creativity, and what it means to step into one's power. Christa Avampato's ability to weave themes of inner exploration, imagination, and loss into an epic adventure is second to none." Torri Yates-Orr, Emmy-Nominated history and mythology communicator, writer, host, and creator of the "On This Day in History" series

"...A triumphant story of a magical and heroic teenage girl's perseverance rooted in universal lessons of the life cycle: the growing pains of love, loss, grief, and renewal." Russell Ricard, author of The Truth About Goodbye

"This is - in many ways - an immersive and powerful ride through Emerson's journey into young adulthood and the importance of finding one's power. Readers, young and old, will not be able to put this down." Felicia Sabartinelli, award-winning essayist, poet, public speaker, and creator of Ferocious

"A thoroughly enchanting ride..." Matt Joseph Misetich, Senior Executive and Partner at Pipeline Media Group

"With a healthy dose of adventure, mystery, and magic, Emerson Page and Where the Light Leads captivates you from the first page to the last." Pikasho Deka, Pittsburg Post-Gazette, and NBC, ABC, and Fox affiliates, Reader's Favorite

"...Avampato transports readers to an alternate reality. Featuring an unseen world teeming with folkloric beings, hard bargains, and strange rules, Emerson Page and Where the Light Leads is every fantasy lover's dream book." Shrabastee Chakraborty, The Chrysalis BREW Project, Reader's Favorite

"Christa Avampato's beautiful storytelling builds a magical world where human creativity has a tangible quality, and controlling it is the difference between life and death." Essien Asian, OnlineBookClub.org, Reader's Favorite

A fantastical tale which draws the reader into an imaginative world of starlighters and faeries. A young girl discovering her powers as a starlighter and using them against evil and for good. A beautifully crafted story with wonderful descriptions that allow the reader to become part of the story. Altogether thoroughly entertaining and literally spellbinding. LoveReading

This is an interesting fantastical tale that combines an academia style vibe (think Indiana Jones' hunts for lost artefacts) with magical creatures. Central to it all is 15-year-old Emerson, the key component to finding the book. Alongside a hunt that takes them into a mythical world, coming-of-age as she works to carry on her mother's search, we're also seeing a young teen and her family, manage grief and try to come to terms with loss. This element adds another dimension to a magical adventure, and gives the story a lot of heart. LoveReading

'Emerson Page and Where the Light Leads' is part fantastical quest and part coming-of-age. It's an easy to read story that I think teens and young adults will love. LoveReading