Wake

Reader reviewed by David

I read the book Wake by Lisa McMann. In the book the main character experiences other peoples dreams. She is sucked into the void of the mind that thinks while you sleep. Throughout the book, Janie (the main character) struggles to find out what is wrong with her while also struggling with her love life. Lisa McMann did an excellent job portraying the real life of some high school students. We get to see the side of some students that are rarely portrayed. It is a graphic book, but by writing these scenes in the book, Lisa shows the everyday life of a high school student. She provides an in look of the different people in society and how were all connected. But at the same time, she shows how were separated by a barrier. How we exclude and include people in our daily lives. She also shows consequences of our day to day actions. Lisa McMann shows the way the world is through her writing. I think by having Janie fall into her piers dreams, it shows a connection we all have but often choose to ignore. With her ability, Janie tries to change and make peoples dreams better hoping that it will change their actual lives. By the end of the book, Janie finally finds her calling and her life seems good. McMann shows the relationships of friends and people alike. She connects her writing with the inner self of people while including the hopes and dreams of people today. McMann shows that some adult figures are weak and take no charge in their childrens lives. Janies mother is a drunk who doesnt exactly care where Janie goes. She just leads her own life at home, so in a sense Janie is her own adult figure. In Janies character, McMann shows the working class people and how hard they work to make a living. Janie works at a nursing home and she still manages to keep her grades up in school. Janie is a determined individual who plans on not becoming her mother and making her life into something great. Through her hard work, she does well for herself. Lisa McMann did an excellent job on portraying students of today by showing choices some students choose to make. With drugs and peer pressure of the people around her, Janie still manages to fall with the crowd. I believe teenagers would love to read this book and take a look into the supernatural life of Janies life. But also to see the life real students lead. Over all, Lisa McMann does an excellent job with this book. To know what happens to Janie you would need to read the next two books Fade and Gone.       

Reader reviewed by Okapi

Wake by Lisa McMann is an unusual book that stands out from the crowd. It centers around a teenager named Janie Hannagan, who is cursed with the power to enter other people's dreams. Janie has difficulty coping with her uncontrollable power, and is sucked into the fantasies and nightmares of the surrounding people. After being sucked into the nightmare of a mysterious boy, Janie soon uses her powers to benefit of society by trying to catch a marijuana dealer. 

At first, I really disliked Wake because I thought the choppy writing style was very annoying. However, as the book progressed, the style became one of my favorite things. Ms. McMann is the first author I have seen that uses this choppy writing style; full of fragments, it's almost like poetry. 

The main character Janie is overall, very likable. She's flawed and human, though her values could be developed a little more, and the relationship with her mother a little more stressed upon. The dreams in Wake are not very realistic. Characters are shown as having recurring nightmares or fantasies, though in reality, dreams do not repeat as frequently unless once is traumatized or facing emotional difficulties. The dreams of the characters make more sense than how dreams normally are. 

Wake is an exhilarating, quick read. It could have been developed a little more; some of the characters seemed flat. Though the beginning is kind of slow, the suspense soon gains momentum. I also recommend reading Wake's sequel, Fade, which is even more action-packed and suspenseful.

Reader reviewed by carly

This is one if not the best book I have ever read. It's a quick read but don't let the shortness of it fool you, it is packed with a great plot and great writing. The characters have great personalities and you just cant help but love them. The romance between Janie and Caleb is perfect and combined with the little problem Janie has....it makes a book that you will have to read cover to cover at least ten times.

Reader reviewed by Yan

Lisa McMann, you have just found yourself another fan girl. I started to readWake last night and finished it the following morning. After chatting with Carolyesterday night regarding my disappointment with Chasing Boys, I decided to seek some guidance with choosing my next book to read/review. I wanted something in my currently reading pile, killing two birds with one stone, which consisted of fifteen (now thirteen) books. She chose Wake and Triple Shot of Bettys. I decided to start the Wakeseries. And. I. Loved. It!

My expectations for Wake were moderate, I read some good reviews but the summary did not draw me in. And the cover as well (Im a cover whore). So imagine my surprise when I was half way in and an hour past my curfew, not to mention my lack of interest in preparing for the test the next day; or the fact that I dragged the book to school to read during advisory when I should have been studying just to finish the book. And lets not forget the fact that I am going all fan girl mode here, typing this review up and ignoring my upcoming quiz tomorrow.

What I loved about Wake was the fresh idea! Finally, something other than faeries and vampires! Now we have dream catchers, which that idea itself was new. I read somewhere that someone had issues with the many fragment sentences. I, however, found the sentence structure fun and lyrical. It was like little mini poem verses, small breaks from the extensive details. Despite the details, Wake can hide little details along the story and catch you in surprise! This kept the excitement going and the action not too predictable.

The characters were amazing! I like how each and every character had a certain set of traits, one was the strict leader, and the other was the flirty cheerleader and so forth. And the relationship with Janie and Cabel had me swooning and squealing like a pig being fed a five course dinner.

Of course, there were some issues. The ending was rather rushed. I had some questions about the police force that employed Janie. And I felt that the relationship with Janie and Cabel, while great, was too fast paced and too soon. I guess a bit of more build up would have been nice.

Overall: I needed this book after going through a not so pleasant stream of novels.Wake was a fascinating read that will keep the reader entertained even after finishing the book. I just could not help myself but to reread some sections after sighing with satisfaction.

Reader reviewed by Megan

The description of this book makes it sound tons creepier then Wake
really is. This sounds like she is sucked into a murder's or a rapist's
dream. In reality - well I can't ruin the plot. It's just a little bit
on the anti-climatic side.

The plot is excellent. The pace is excellent. I got completely sucked in. I wanted to know more about Janie - How'd she get this gift? What's going to happen to her? I can't wait to pick up Fade
in the hope that more will be shared with us. The two leads are strong.
Janie is an interesting character whose story is pleading to be told.
Cabel defines the Transformers motto - "There's more than meets the
eye".

I had one huge problem with the entire book. The writing
style. It's extremely jumpy and blotchy. She writes. Her sentences.
Like this. After a while I was able to stop caring about the way she
wrote since the plot was so good. If either Fade or Gone is bad then reading them is going to be painful.


I also had a problem with how much drinking Janie did.


Overall, pick this up from the library. I wouldn't want anyone to buy a
book that they can't stomach reading. If you can tolerate the style,
it's worth picking up.

Reader reviewed by Holly

Wake by Lisa McMann is a bout a girl who gets pulled into peoples dream and no one in the dream notices her until she fall into Cabels dream, a bad boy who lives down the road, and the dream chills her to the bone. This book will keep you thinking about it even once you ahve finished reading it. It made me turn page after page and I was one in two days. A great chilling read!

Reader reviewed by Sab H. (Crystal Reviews)

I'm so glad I read this! I absolutely adored it. I guess its my type of
book. Its so amazing the way she writes, she doesn't tell you
everything just enough. I did feel a little bit confused with dates, I
kept going back, to see what day it was. But its so refreshing and
original the way she writes you just keep turning pages non stop.

The
story is amazing, I've always felt intrigued by dreams, I think people
don't really know the power they have. So reading -fiction- about the
subject was delightful. The characters are simply marvelous. This is
one of the best debuts I've read, a mesmerizing plot that will stay in
my mind for long. And the cover is one of my favorite, I'm somehow
discovering I'm definitely a fan of black covers. If you like dream
mystery and troubled romance you will most likely fall in love with
this book just as I did. I highly recommend it!

Reader reviewed by LIzzy

Who hasn't wished
to have a super power? I know that I personally would love to fly, or
be able to become invisible. McMann's story, however, is a little
different from the typical "super" human story. Janie has the power to
see into other people's dreams, which is actually a huge pain. For
example, when she is pulled into someone else's dream, she ends up
unconscious as well. So, she's never really safe. It could be the kid
in the back of English class, or someone napping while she walks past
their house, she's never really safe from them. She also sees the most
subconscious thoughts and feelings manifest themselves. Like, being
naked in class, or attacking someone who you hate.

This is going
to be a fairly short review, but overall I enjoyed the book. It was
realistic enough to make me think, "I wonder if anyone has ever really
been able to look into someone else's dream" and then question my
friends suspiciously. I wish there had been a little more character
development from Cabel. He wasn't the main character of the story, but
he plays an important role in helping Janie learn more about her power.
It wasn't enough of an issue to detract seriously from the story, and
there are two other books to learn a little more about him.

I'll be picking up the Fade, the sequel, soon!

Reader reviewed by Aud

Wake by Lisa McMann is about a young girl who throughout most of her life has what she calls a curse by being put in others dreams. She has to stand by and just watch no matter if she wanted to or not. She soon realizes that she can help these people move on past bad nightmares if she concentrates. She learns to use her gift to help bring down a powerful drug ring. I really enjoyed this book! It is a short read but it seemed to cover everything it needed to. McMann has a very creative writing style that is easy to read and understand. She doesn't feel the need to use overly large words that would send you running for a dictionary every other sentence. The book is mysterious and had my attention from beginning to end. I really enjoyed it!

Reader reviewed by KJ

"Your dreams are not your own," Wake by Lisa McMann

Janie, at age seventeen, has a unique power. She goes inside other people's dreams. As soon as someone falls asleep in the same room as her *poof* Janie's inside, experiencing their dream with them. Unfortunately, not all dreams are happy. One dream in particular, frightens Janie out of her mind, not only because it's terrifying, but because she's not just in the dream, she's a participant...

Wake is one of the best books I've read this year. I finished it in one day, not only because it was relatively short, but because I was hooked from page one. Janie was a likable main character and the plot was one of a kind. I can't wait to read the sequel, Fade to find out what happens to Janie next. Fans of The Summoning, Evermore, and Need will definitely enjoy this book.