I didn't like the execution style the authors took with this book. I was getting the present and past mixed up and I just wanted the author to get to the heart of the story. Emerson just came off as a whiner to me too. The first couple of chapters all he does it mope and cry.
Maybe I wasn't in the right mindset for this story and that's why I didn't like it. I don't know. I might have to revisit this story later just to see if I feel the same.