Wake (Wake Series, Book 1)

I am ashamed to say this book sat on my shelf, lingering and waiting for me to pick it up, for over a year. I'm not sure why I hesitated on reading it, considering it peeked my interest as soon as I saw it on the store bookshelf... but not yet owning the other two novels in the three-part series bothered me and kept me away. I always said I'd read the first one, and if I liked it, I'd pick up the other two. But I waited so long to read it, and for that, I am kicking myself in the ass. Why, you ask?Lisa McMann did an incredible job at captivating me as her reader right from the start. From page one, I knew I wasn't going to be able to put it down until I finished it. As a writer, she had a rare ability to -- literally -- launch me, head first, into this story. The protagonist, Janie, takes you through her incredible and thrilling world of dream visions, where she is held captive and dragged through other people's thoughts, memories, nightmares and physiological wonders. The dreamers do not know that she is there, and Janie cannot comprehend as to why it keeps happening, which makes it difficult for her to understand the importance of her presence. What's worse is, each time it happens, the severity of the situation increases, making it harder for Janie to pull herself out out of them... One daunting one in particular is not only challenging to escape, but toilsome to witness.Her mother is barely in the picture and has no idea of Janie's capabilities. Her best friend (whom is not shallow -- which I LOVE!!) is actually there for her whenever she is can be, but has her own secrets and burdens to bare. With kids in High School drifting to sleep daily, all Janie wants to do is blend in and find some peace and quiet and make it stop so she can rest. Then enters Cabel. Dark, mysterious Cabel, who's made it a goal to go his own way and do his own thing in order to escape his troublesome, drug-related past and never-ending bad-boy reputation. The last thing Janie needs is to be caught up in something else she can't control, but one nightmare sequence and a wicked street name later, and Cabel and Janie embark on her journey together -- for their own individual reasons. What they didn't expect to find was how close they were linked together, and how they could possibly be able to help each other out.This story was absolutely compelling. I loved the twists and turns that left me guessing and holding onto the edge of my seat. The one thing that did bother me was, as the plot thickened and the pace sped faster, the writing did become a bit choppy -- which I know can render a lot of readers because once a story that contained full sentences and well-written explanatory paragraphs suddenly turns into fragmented lines and disconnected phrases, you start feeling a little whip-lashed. Granted, it's how the author wanted to display the urgency and spiral in the plot, and that I can respect. Lisa McMann's Wake provides wonderful, easy to enjoy characters, and a plot that is so gripping, you'll barely have time to nitpick the fragments; all you'll want to do figure out what will happen next.Allowing this book to sit on my shelf for so long may have been a huge mistake, but reading it was not. I enjoyed the book thoroughly and have since added both Fade and Gone (Wake`s successors) to my to-buy list and moved them to the very top of my cart, as I cannot wait to see what happens next with Janie and Cabel's journeys. Until then, I'm sure I'll be dreaming of what could be, considering the story is stuck in my head. Thankfully, I wouldn't have it any other way. That's what happens when a fresh writer comes into your life.

Can you imagine if someone could literally step into your dreams? What would you be embarrassed by? Horrified by? Now imagine every time someone fell asleep next to you and started to dream, you were thrown violently into their dream while your body convulsed on the floor like you were having a seizure. Could happen in study hall, at work, even while you were driving. Sound creepy? Then pick up Wake by Lisa McMann and learn how Janie handles her unwanted gift.Janie realized at a young age she had to avoid people who were sleeping. She manages to do so pretty well at home since her mother is usually passed out drunk. Janie is generally avoided at school since her clothes are too small or grungy or not the current fad, but when Carrie moves in next door, she doesn't let prejudice and gossip dictate who she will be friends with. Unfortunately, that means she is also friends with Melinda, the Queen Bee who hates Janie with a passion. When Carrie invites them both over for a sleepover, Janie's journey into Carrie and Melinda's dreams are too much information. She realizes sleepovers are just not a good idea.Janie works hard, saving money for college, since their mother drinks any money that didn't go to pay the rent. When Cabel, another kid who was generally ignored through high school, shows up at school with a new haircut, a new wardrobe, and has all the other girls drooling, Janie is shocked when he pays attention to her. Their budding relationship is rocky at best, especially since they both seem to be hiding something. When Janie admits her ability, she expects Cabel to share his secrets too, but instead he sends her mixed messages. When he starts hanging out and partying with the popular crowd and rumors start floating that he is a drug dealer, Janie refuses to speak to him. But what she doesn't realize is there is much more to Cabel's life than he is allowed to tell her. So much, it makes her dream walking seem pretty tame!Wake was a fun little book, only topping out at 200 pages. It is broken up really well with chapters broken up in chunks of time according to what Janie is doing at the time. This makes it a good book for oral reading in one-on-one tutoring or to be read in short chunks. Because it is so broken up, you have frequent places to stop without breaking up the action. The story is very tame and appropriate for younger students. The writing level is fairly low, but it deals with serious topics such as alcoholism and drugs, so it would also be appropriate for an older student with low reading skills.The story itself is interesting, but not terribly complicated. I will admit I didn't see the truth behind Cabel's life coming, but once it was explained, I could see how McMann was setting it up (I was just dense- a more savvy reader might figure it out earlier). That makes this a bad book for any of those kids who can analyze and dissect a movie plot 10 minutes into it (I am not one of those people- Usual Suspects and Sixth Sense were made for people like me). Those kinds of kids might get bored by this story. Even so, it is a good middle reader-ish story and I enjoyed it. I also plan to pick up the other two books in the trilogy because it ended with tons of potential for Janie and Cabel's future!

I loved the style of Wake - it was bitesize and that made it easy to devour in one sitting. The style is quite different from anything I have ever read before; it reminds me almost of a newspaper report because it is written in the third person, but in the present tense. For whatever reason, that really works for me. I find that because the level of detail is kept to a really light level, there was a lot of room for me to imagine things in this story. In fact, I felt upon finishing that I had never before had such a strong sense of place in a book - usually I read descriptions and sort of cobble together an idea of what I should be thinking of, but I sometimes get too lost in the detail.In the story we follow Janie, who has an unfortunate ability to get sucked in to other people's dreams. She meets Cabel, a mysterious boy who pushes her home from a dance on his skateboard when she is forced to walk home barefoot by some pinching shoes. I fell in love with him right then, although it took Janie a while longer. Their relationship is developed in an intelligent and interesting way, and I love these characters. They don't need anyone to look after them; but they come to need each other. This book makes my heart pound. I love how you get to see how Cabel feels about Janie as she does through his dreams, and the waking interplay between them is just delicious. Cabel is a boy of few words, but long, intense looks and he is one of my all-time favorite leading men.My one word of warning about this book is that it contains a number of instances of strong cursing.

This series is one of my favourites, and I think Lisa McMann does a really good job of drawing the reader straight into the story.Janie's gift is fascinating, and to be able to see what other people are dreaming about is both scary and interesting, taking voyeurism to a whole new level. Being a dreamcatcher has its pros and cons; the pros being the chance to help people and solve crimes, with the cons leaning more towards physical ailments and the loss of privacy. The sense that people's deepest, darkest secrets are hidden in their dreams is a constant problem for Janie, because how do you draw the line? How can she keep herself grounded? All are questions the reader is faced with, along with a couple of moral questions of our own.Cabel is a fantastic male character, and compliments Janie's personality perfectly. He understand her, he helps her, and ultimately becomes her go-to person when she's in trouble. Their relationship progresses as any normal one should -- with a certain amount of trepidation and hesitation. These are characters that can't afford to slip up or make a wrong move: too much is at stake, and this definitely shows through in their attutudes towards each other.Lisa McMann's writing is simple but stylish, and is the only time I've come across this particular prose. She brings something new to the YA table, and makes sure to target a wide audience by having her story include many different components. Romance, danger, and the difference between right and wrong are just a few of the elements waiting for you within the pages of Wake, and if you haven't yet read it, give it a go -- I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Yet another wonderful book written for young teens. The story is about a 17 year old girl called Janie who gets sucked into other people's dreams and how she learns how to control it. On the way you explore her life at home and high school, relationships with her alcoholic mother and peers and her hopes and aspirations. Its not a long book by any means which means your teen if you have one will probably finish it, read it before you give it to them, you won't be disappointed. I'm giving it to my 71 year old mother for Christmas because she enjoys a good read and this is definitely one.

I have given this book 2 out of 5 because i really didnt enjoy it! It was badly written, nothing flowed. I felt the book was choppy jumping from place to place! It also took quite a while to get going. Can not believe i paid £2.99 for it. The story sounded great, the plot idea really drew me in but in the end the writing let it down. Very very disappointed!!

bad things = didn't really make much sense, and was a bit random.good things = nice idea, and was quite short so didn't have to endure it for long.