"Chosen" by Denise Grover Swank

From Goodreads: "Everything Emma Thompson owns fits in a suitcase she moves from one roach infested motel to another. She and Jake, her five year old son who can see the future, are running from the men intent on taking him. Emma will do anything to protect him even when it means accepting the help of a stranger named Will. Jake insists she needs Will, but Emma's never needed help before. And even though she's learned to trust her son, it doesn't mean she trusts Will.

Mercenary Will Davenport lives in the moment. Hauling Emma to South Dakota should have been an easy job, but his employer neglected to tell him about Emma';s freaky son and the gunmen hot on her trail. Instinct tells him this job is trouble, but nothing can prepare him for Jake's proclamation that Will is The Chosen One, who must protect Emma from the men hunting her power. A power she doesn't know she has.

Will protects Emma and Jake on a cross-country chase from the men pursuing them, while struggling with memories from his past, his apprehension of Jake, and his growing attraction to Emma. Will's overwhelming urge to protect Emma surprises him, especially since it has nothing to do with his paycheck and possibly everything to do with the tattoo Jake branded on his arm. Rich and powerful men are desperate to capture Emma, and Will must discover why before it's too late." 

Do you remember that movie "Legion" that came out in 2009? The one with the storyline where a young pregnant woman, Charlie, finds out that her unborn child is the key to humanity's survival? This book has the same sort of storyline (just exchange "Legion's" angels for members of a secret society and throw in a little bit of the TV show "Supernatural", with the characters constantly being on the run and frequenting sketchy motels), with the main character, Emma, finding out that there is more than meets the eye when it comes to her son (and that he is caught in the middle of a battle between good and evil), but unlike the movie, this book is extremely well done and entertaining ("Legion" did not live up to my expectations whatsoever, but this book completely exceeded them). 

While there were numerous reasons why this book was so successful, Denise's writing style, the original storyline, and the likes of, I think that this book was most successful because of how fast paced and engaging it was. Because Will, Emma, and Jake were constantly on the move, fighting for their lives, etc., you could never find yourself bored with the storyline- you were seriously on the edge of your seat the entire time (and trying to guesstimate what Denise was going to throw at you next- an exploding truck? Another gun fight? A near drowning?). 

Furthermore, the large majority of her characters were so well-developed, complex, but, most of all, real. Despite all of the hardships that Will and Emma had endured in their lives, they remained strong, resilient, and grounded (while a lesser character would have curled up in a ball and cried). Though I must admit, that I did have a bit of trouble connecting to Emma's son, Jake (especially when he was behaving as if he was possessed- talking more eloquently and grown-up than any 5 year old I have ever seen before)- I did prefer the story more when he was not as involved in it. 

All in all, after reading this book it becomes evident that Denise is an author to keep your eye on. I cannot wait to see what she has in store for us in the next book in this series, "Hunted"! 

Rating: 9/10