Wake

Reader reviewed by Saile G

Wake Review

            Wake by Lisa McMann is a book following Janie Hanagan who has an involuntary     ability of being sucked into the dreams of the people around her.

She officially fully notices her secret talent at the age of eight, and throughout her years, and into high school, the effects grow stronger. A traumatic event in a dream that she doesnt understand leads her eventually into Cabel. Cabel and Janie act as the love interesting the novel but they both have important roles in helping each other with their problems. Janie tries to figure out the meaning of Cabels secret dream and the story behind it while Cabel, in a way helps her control her dreaming ability.

            The whole thing itself seemed a little short, but had good visual vocabulary.

One thing however that could have been explained better were the transitions that were in between chapter. For example, One day Janie would be ten years old, then an event would happen, then it would say she is sixteen. The huge jump keeps you wondering, and leaves you with unanswered questions that just leave you hanging. I think it lacked detail from that. It had a dreamy like3 vocabulary that made things feel unreal when she was talking in real life, and not in dream land. However, the types of dreams that are written are very realistic to ones that I and you would have. Everyone has had those dreams that just catch the eye and are with you forever, and in Wake, it explains in detail just that. I believe that dreams have meaning of what you feel, what you need to do, and perhaps a future. When you are in sleep mode, your brain takes control and acts separate from your body. Its like your body goes inside your brain and explores the specific map it made.

            This book has plenty of thrilling scenes that will catch your eye, and can totally change your opinion on the entire book. But this novel is the type that its either really good or just a book on a shelf with the rest. I would rate this book a three out of five because it didnt have that mind blowing ending that would make you want more, but its relations to what teens go through are on the spot, and are really relatable. Wake by Lisa McMann is a definite read if you have a thing for short stories that you can read for fun.

                        -Saile G

Reader reviewed by AyeCaptain Reviews

Since eight years of age, Janie has been pulled into other peoples dreams. It's pretty easy to cover up at first, but when the dreams start including murderers and secrets, Janie wonders why its impossible for her to help. And then there's Cabel, and some of his dreams aren't so bad to be pulled into, but is he hiding things from her?

Reader reviewed by Steph Su

Every time someone near her falls
asleep, Janie Hannagan gets sucked into their dreams. This is hardly fun at
all, as most peoples dreams consist of falling, nudity, or sex, and, while
Janie is technically awake through these experiences, shes blind to the real
world. Talk about an uncomfortable lifestyle.

Janies troubles only continue to
escalate when she starts to fall into the once troubled, now sexy Cabel
Strumhellers dreams&and finds that she appears in them as well, and that he,
too, is aware of her presence in his dreams. There may be more to her ability
to fall into peoples dreams than Janie realizes, more power than she realizes
she has. So begins a new chapter of Janies life, one where she learns to
control her abilities and use them for good.

What WAKE lacks in good writing
and comprehensible characters, it makes up in a stunning story idea. McManns
writing style is straightforward and succinct in an almost ethereal manner.
This, while effective in exposition, does not work as well when the plot really
needs to get going, and I felt like I was missing what was going on between
Janie and Cabel as their relationship developed.

Cabel, whom I at first thought to
be some sort of Marcus Flutie incarnate, is sadly underdeveloped; his character
is not clear to me. Janie passes through in a little better shape, as the
self-motivated white trash girl who learns to rely only on herself, which is
why I was upset when she seemed to lose perspective when things with Cabel hit
some bumps.

WAKE works fairly well as a
stand-alone novel, but thanks to its fascinating premise, I think I am going to
pick up the next book in the series, FADE, and see if Janie, Cabel, and the
situation theyre in become clearer to me over time. 

Reader reviewed by TheBookworm

Wake by Lisa McMann
Publication Date: March 2008
3 out of 5 stars
R- Sexual References, Sensuality, Profanity, Violence, Drug and Alcohol Abuse

Janies dreams are not her own. Since the age of 8, no matter where she is or what she is doing, if a person near by falls asleep she is dragged into their dream, be it a nightmare or not. She has seen it all, the falling dreams, the drowning dreams, the naked at school dreams and more. The worst is yet to come as the dreams tug grows stronger she begins to suffer physical pains. Now at the age of 17 and struggling to keep her secret, she wonders if there is anyone who can help. But what if that someone is a loner type who is a supposed drug dealer?

Wake was based on an interesting problem that translated into an easy to read paranormal mystery.

I flew through Wake. I was so caught up in Janies wretched predicament that I couldnt stop reading. Janies and Cabels relationship wasnt realistically solid enough to handle the stress between them, so no matter how much I disliked their slowness at getting back together after some fights, I have to agree that it fit the situation.

The profanity and sexual references didnt add any substance to the story, all it did was make it murkier. It wasnt needed. What added depth to Wake was Cabel. His past, his repentance for the wrong that he did, and then his turning away from that sin and setting out to do better was ultimately his greatest quality.

I recommend Wake because of its plot and the main characters interesting dilemmas. I suggest readers who want to read this book to be wary of sexual content and frequent cursing (f-word used often) and to try their best to skip over the inappropriate material.

Date Reviewed: December 17th, 2008

For more book reviews and book information, check out my website at www.inthecurrent.blogspot.com

Reader reviewed by Alexis

I think Wake was a good book. It was kinda wierd at first, but I was hooked almost instantly. I think that it was so wierd she could see into people's dreams. It was kinda scary. I definitly felt bad for her with her mother being so lazy. I think that this book is for people who love suspense, but also enjoy a little humor here and there. I would reccommend this for people fourteen and older. I can not wait until the sequel comes out!!!