My Papa (William McGee is on the right, and that’s Keechi next to him in the middle, along with their buddy Jim.
Madisen's earthy, unrestrained style melds perfectly with the wild and brutal world that lives on the other side of the Barrier.
Landscape and environment play a much larger role in the story of The Emberlight Chronicles, perhaps, than in many other YA novels. It's Jonathan's longing to connect with the natural beauty that he's caught glimpses of on the other side of the Barrier that sets the entire story in motion. After growing up within the sterile concrete walls of the State, Jonathan feels a deep, primal urge to be a part of the natural world that's been placed just outside of his reach: The forbidden fruit that he suddenly must have at all costs.
As Jonathan's tale unfolds, he ends up exploring a vast land far more dangerous than he ever dreamed. While it has many similarities to the Beaver State of today, Oregon Zone in Jonathan's world is fraught with a wild and untamed beauty foreign to most of us. This map should help you find your way around Oregon Zone and allow you to keep up with Jonathan on his epic journey. And, if you happen to find yourself labeled an Enemy of the State, you might want to keep it around as a handy escape route.
We’ve all been there before if we’re honest. Those times in life when it feels like we’ve been kicked in the gut one too many times and we just can’t see how it’s possible to take another step forward.
The inspiration behind the series title, The Emberlight Chronicles, is the driving need to press on, even in the most difficult circumstances that life throws in our face. In Blood State, Jonathan attempts to describe the Ember Life to a still-skeptical Salvador this way:
“I…I’m a guy who believes in living. I believe that life itself is something that’s really a gift, I guess. And, because it’s a gift, it needs to be taken full advantage of, it needs to be explored and…and maximized. When I was in the State, I tried my best to live every day to the fullest and I tried to bring others into that kind of full-on living as well. Others, like you and…and Maria. I wanted you to be able to catch a glimpse of what life could be like when you aren’t worrying about what others think of you or what’s acceptable as the status quo. I wanted all of us to be able to feel what it could be like when life is without limits.”
Salvador was silent for a long time, looking as if he were reliving all of the memories that he had made with Jonathan in the past few years.
“You did help me feel that, and…and live that, Jonny. No one else ever did that for me…” Now, it was Salvador’s turn to swallow hard. “Not even…Maria.”
“Well, that’s good to hear, I think.” Jonathan tried to blink back the tears as he continued, “I don’t know why I’m put together this way, Sal. Maybe it’s this crazy notion that I was born in the Wildlands, or the Colonies, whatever they’re called, and I’m more, I don’t know, connected to nature and the world around me than a lot of people are. Whatever the reason for it, it’s what drives me and motivates me and…and animates me…”
“The fire inside that you’re always talking about?”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s what I like to think of it as. But, it’s not just me that has it. I think everyone has it burning inside somewhere. For some, it’s just an ember; for others it’s burning bright. I…I guess I look at my purpose in life to be the one who helps to stoke that fire in as many people around me as possible. I don’t know why, but it’s just the way I’ve always looked at myself…”
The person that lives the Ember Life is someone who stubbornly and tenaciously refuses to let the fire die inside of them no matter what life is hammering them with. You may not be an Enemy of the State at the moment like Jonathan and his friends are, but the likelihood is that you’re facing your own struggles that are threatening to make you give up hope.
Take a long, deep look inside of your soul for a moment. What do you see? Chances are, there’s still a faint glow somewhere inside of you. It might just look like embers right now, but that’s really all that you need. Take Jonathan’s advice and give those embers another chance. Let a fresh breeze blow through your soul. Give it some time and those barely-visible embers will turn into a raging inferno once again.