Wake

Reader reviewed by Kayla (Midnight Twilight)

Janie is just like every other seventeen year old, except that she gets sucked into other peoples dreams. She's been in almost every type of dream; the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, the sex-crazed dreams, and the horrible drowning death dreams. She has to keep this power a secret for fear of them thinking she's crazy. The dreams are fine for her to deal with, but the nightmares are starting to kill her. One night she falls into a horrible nightmare and for the first time for Janie she is not only watching the dream--she is a part of it.

Usually after i read an amazing book like the Host was any other book i read right after pales in comparison. Which is why i was surprised when i was drawn into Wake so quickly and fully. The characters are amazingly portrayed, and her "powers" of going into other peoples dreams were very understandable. I never wanted this book to end, yet i finished it in 1 day. I can't wait until the next two books in the series come out.

Reader reviewed by Bookmac

Wake wasn't what I expected but I liked it, a lot. The author's writing style was a bit weird, I felt like I was watching Janie rather than being in the story with her, but it sort of worked in this book. The book was a little choppy, it's told in dates, example: May 20th 6:45, so that was different, but I needed change so it was good.

Reader reviewed by abscae

In its entirety, Wake felt exactly like a dream. Luminous and mesmerizing, when I was done with the novel, I was in a complete dream state: hypnotized slightly and barely grasping that wonderous feeling of an out of world experience. The story itself is written in such a manner that left that feeling behind.

Janie's dreams are nightmares, for instead of dreaming only hers, she is pulled into the dreams of anyone else sleeping nearby as well; and she never gets a break from them. Not all of them are normal dreams though. There's one dream, more of a nightmare, where the monster is after her. And it's all in Cable's dream, him being this guy that has suddenly caught Jaime's eye.

Fast-paced with spurts of energy, this novel proved to be monumental. If you have time, read this one.

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 hillary

Janie has always been sucked into the dreams of whoever is near her. She can't help it, it's uncontrollable and unpredictable, and she wants it all to stop. But it's been happening to her ever since she could remember. It's more of a burden then a gift really, especially with the nightmares. You think dreaming them is bad, imagine what Janie feels like. But somehow she keeps it together and is quite sane for a person with problems like hers.

Then there's this guy at her school. He always sleeps during her study halls. When she gets sucked into his dreams it's not a pretty picture. His are possibly the worst nightmares. Then she gets to know him. And for the first time in her life, she has her own dream...and he's in it.

Will Janie ever be able to control her problem?

I thought that Wake was a fantastic book. I was totally captivated for beginning to end. It was fabulously written. The characters were great. I could very easy compare them to real people that I know. (I know a few Melissas!) I would recommend it to anyone. Which I pretty much all ready have. My best friend got the book too and she told me she really liked it also.

The sequel is coming out sometime next year...maybe. Amazon was once again withholding valuable information. Why do they do this to me? Whatever, I can live without knowing. That way I won't be creepily counting down until then like I'm doing with multiple other books.

Reader reviewed by Jessica

Unbelievable and a glorious page turner, "WAKE" keeps the reader captivated throughout each page of the book. It is impossible to stop reading once you start and even more impossible not to fall in love with the characters that Lisa McMann develops throughout the novel.

Each page builds up the action and the mysterious intrigue until it all crashes down at the end, filling the reader with too many thoughts to manage at once. Unbelievable and wonderfully written. It will leave you begging for more.

Reader reviewed by Megan

Wake, by Lisa McMann, brings us headfirst into the life of Janie. Her story begins at the age of eight, when she first thinks that there is something strange going on with her: she can see peoples dreams. Sounds like fun? Maybe to some people, it would be. But when you can not pick and choose when you go into a dream or whose dream it is, then it becomes less fun. You tend to learn a lot about people this way. For instance, she learned that her hateful girl classmate dreams about having sex with her best friend& ahem, her best girl friend. That same friend dreams about the death of her little brother. And, one dream hits her the hardest the one of a boy turning into something with knives for fingers, trying to chase away a man catching him on fire. She finds out later that this dream belongs to none other than Cabe, the boy who also dreams about Janie& holding Janie, kissing Jamie. She gets tangled up in these dreams, but after the death of one of the elderly at the place where she works, she learns that she can help people in their dreams. The other thing she learns is not so pretty the old man trying to catch the boy on fire in Cabes dream& really happened.
Lisa McMann is such an amazing author! I can not wait to get my hands on the sequel to Wake, called Fade. This book was definitely worth reading.

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 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 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.