Wake by Lisa McMann: Book Review

 Janie Hannigan is a high school junior from the wrong side of the tracks.  She's never known who her father is and her mother is a raging alcoholic who has always resented Janie's interference in her life.  As if that is not enough to deal with, Janie also has an unusual (dis)ability ~ she can fall into someone else's dreams or nightmares.

She has known about the ability since she was eight, riding the Amtrak with her mother to visit her Grandmother.  While clouding a window with her breath, Janie slowly fogged out slipping into a balding man's nightmare about facing a boardroom of laughing people while in his underwear.  Janie could not figure out how to help the balding man, and she was confused by the events.

Throughout Janie's childhood the dream events occur until Janie learns to take them into stride.  With each dream or nightmare she enters, her body goes into an almost seizure-like state.  Once she awakens from the other person's dream, she's weak and desperately in need of sustenance. 

Janie has never told anyone of her ability.  Then, in the course of a few short weeks, she tells two people who remain integral to her growth and development as a person and as a dream catcher.  These two forces will be important throughout the trilogy (a bit of foreshadowing for you)

Wake is refreshing in that there are no vampires, no angels and a plot with substance.  Janie is a well-rounded character that grows throughout Wake.  The supporting cast are interesting in their own right - from Janie's best friend and next-door neighbor, Carrie, who "doesn't seem to talk about anything with sharp edges. Maybe she's afraid they might poke into her and then she'd burst." to Cabel, the guy she has known since 9th grade that gives her a ride home on his skateboard when she bails early from a dance "Just stand. Bend. Balance. I'll push you."

Wake is a novel about finding your place, coming into the person you're supposed to be.  It was one of those books that you can't turn the pages fast enough to find out what the next nightmare may be or if Janie will discover her true calling. 

As a side note, there are descriptions of unspeakable child abuse in this book.  It happens, it's real, and I think acknowledging that fact within this novel takes away some of its shadows.  However, it is something that parents may wish to review prior to allowing younger teens to read. 

Sites of Interest: Author's Site | Watch the Trailer |

Publisher: Simon Pulse   | Published: 12/31/08

Paperback | 224 pages | ISBN: 978-1416974475

Genre: Young Adult Fiction

Have you read this trilogy by Lisa McMann? or Cryer's Cross?  I've found her to be a gifted storyteller.  What are your thoughts if you've read her novels?

I purchased this book for my enjoyment and to share with you in this review.

and if you like this this book you might also enjoy:

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Saving Zoe by Alyson Noel

The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder

  Happy Wednesday!