Helpful Score: 3
Every time someone near her falls asleep, Janie Hannagan gets sucked into their dreams. This is hardly fun at all, as most people's dreams consist of falling, nudity, or sex, and, while Janie is technically awake through these experiences, she's blind to the real world. Talk about an uncomfortable lifestyle.
Janie's troubles only continue to escalate when she starts to fall into the once troubled, now sexy Cabel Strumheller's 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 people's dreams than Janie realizes, more power than she realizes she has. So begins a new chapter of Janie's life, one where she learns to control her abilities and use them for good.
What WAKE lacks in good writing and interesting characters, it makes up in a stunning story idea. McMann's 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.
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 they're in become clearer to me over time.
Janie's troubles only continue to escalate when she starts to fall into the once troubled, now sexy Cabel Strumheller's 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 people's dreams than Janie realizes, more power than she realizes she has. So begins a new chapter of Janie's life, one where she learns to control her abilities and use them for good.
What WAKE lacks in good writing and interesting characters, it makes up in a stunning story idea. McMann's 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.
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 they're in become clearer to me over time.
Helpful Score: 2
This book was a so-so read that was fortunately short. It had potential, with a very interesting plot, but since the author was more worried about playing with fonts and the use of several writing styles that the thing as a whole was lacking. The short, clipped sentences did nothing to help as well since they only made it annoying to read. Once I did get used to my complaints, the story did improve, but wasn't one of those "great" starts to a series. I'll give it one more chance by putting the next book on my wishlist for PBS, but if that one disappoints, I'll give up on this series.
Helpful Score: 2
I'd like to start this review by saying I'm usually a slow reader and I read this book from start to finish in a few hours. That being said, it had my attention, but the characters aren't really described really well and the relationship between Janie and Cabel is awkward and a hot mess at best.
The way the author writes can be really obnoxious.
Like the.
Use.
Of two or.
Three word sentences.
All.
The.
Time.
It's really not a terrible book, it's just over too quickly and there isn't very much depth to the characters.
I've already requested the next book in the series because the first book left me unsatisfied. If you read this book, I suggest you have the whole trilogy on hand. I also highly recommend this book for young teens, maybe about 14 or 15.
The way the author writes can be really obnoxious.
Like the.
Use.
Of two or.
Three word sentences.
All.
The.
Time.
It's really not a terrible book, it's just over too quickly and there isn't very much depth to the characters.
I've already requested the next book in the series because the first book left me unsatisfied. If you read this book, I suggest you have the whole trilogy on hand. I also highly recommend this book for young teens, maybe about 14 or 15.
Helpful Score: 1
Choppy at best. I do not care for this style of writing. I didn't really become attached to the characters at all :o( There just didn't seem to be any feeling in it. Honestly not what I expected for a teen book or one I would give to my teen.
Helpful Score: 1
First Line: Janie Hannagan's math book slips from her fingers.
Seventeen-year-old Janie Hannagan lives on the fringe in more ways than one. Janie lives with her mom, an alcoholic, and at an early age, Janie learned that she was responsible for her own welfare. And if she's near anyone when she falls asleep, she gets sucked into their dreams. It's all to invasive-- and all too same old, same old. She's trying to save money for college and works at a nursing home. She likes working there; old people usually don't sleep soundly enough to dream.
She can't tell anyone about this ability that she can't control. They'd think she was a freak. So when she falls into a particularly gruesome nightmare in which she's a participant as well as a witness, she has no idea what she's going to do.
This book is fast-paced and almost immediately hooked me. Janie is a very sympathetic character, and it was easy to get emotionally involved as she tries so desperately to stay out of other peoples' dreams. I'm looking forward to following this series to see what happens to her next.
Seventeen-year-old Janie Hannagan lives on the fringe in more ways than one. Janie lives with her mom, an alcoholic, and at an early age, Janie learned that she was responsible for her own welfare. And if she's near anyone when she falls asleep, she gets sucked into their dreams. It's all to invasive-- and all too same old, same old. She's trying to save money for college and works at a nursing home. She likes working there; old people usually don't sleep soundly enough to dream.
She can't tell anyone about this ability that she can't control. They'd think she was a freak. So when she falls into a particularly gruesome nightmare in which she's a participant as well as a witness, she has no idea what she's going to do.
This book is fast-paced and almost immediately hooked me. Janie is a very sympathetic character, and it was easy to get emotionally involved as she tries so desperately to stay out of other peoples' dreams. I'm looking forward to following this series to see what happens to her next.
Helpful Score: 1
I was completely sucked into this book, just as Janie is sucked into peoples dreams. Lisa McManns writing style is very interesting. She doesnt beat around the bush, she just puts it all out there for you. I read this book in a few hours, I just couldn't put it down. I cant wait to read the next one!
The main character finds herself falling into other people's dreams - without wanting to. She starts falling into a loner's scary dreams of murder and doesn't know if she should be afraid of him or fall for him like she is. Especially after he starts hanging out with other girls at parties and she hears rumors of him dealing drugs. One thing is for sure, his dreams are scary and he seems to be living them out!
I am a sucker for cover art and this one really got my attention. I absolutely loved the font. I guess that's really besides the point, though.
After reading the little blurb on the back, I really wanted to enjoy this book. Janie isn't your normal 17-year old high school senior. When she is around people that fall asleep and dream, she is pulled along for the ride. The other characters that we met were somewhat interesting and all have their own little secrets. Of course, Janie knows them because they dream about them. There was even a little romance added with Cabel.
Like I said, I wanted to love it. However, it was just okay for me, I rated it at 3 stars. The concept is great and had a lot of potential. It was really hard to get into due to all the choppiness. It read more like a pre-teen's diary than anything else. It was also extremely short and took maybe a hour to read. Plus, there were several things that weren't even touched upon. Like the situation with her mother, her gift, etc. And the ending? Really? Too easily tied up for my liking.
I have the second book in the series and will read it with slightly lower expectations. Maybe it will answer some of my questions.
After reading the little blurb on the back, I really wanted to enjoy this book. Janie isn't your normal 17-year old high school senior. When she is around people that fall asleep and dream, she is pulled along for the ride. The other characters that we met were somewhat interesting and all have their own little secrets. Of course, Janie knows them because they dream about them. There was even a little romance added with Cabel.
Like I said, I wanted to love it. However, it was just okay for me, I rated it at 3 stars. The concept is great and had a lot of potential. It was really hard to get into due to all the choppiness. It read more like a pre-teen's diary than anything else. It was also extremely short and took maybe a hour to read. Plus, there were several things that weren't even touched upon. Like the situation with her mother, her gift, etc. And the ending? Really? Too easily tied up for my liking.
I have the second book in the series and will read it with slightly lower expectations. Maybe it will answer some of my questions.
This was such a great book. I got this book yesterday and read it all night.
janie is 17 years old and ever since she has been little she can enter into peoples' dreams. most of the time it is a huge inconveinance and embarrasing for her.
One day she enters a terrible dream, a dream of murder and she cannot shake it off.
As she gets drawn into the dream she also gets drawn into the life of the one who had the dream.
Did Cabel musrder his father/ Why was she having this dream, and what is it telling her. Cabel is also not all he seems to be either. What is the mystery around the good looking sullen teen.
janie is 17 years old and ever since she has been little she can enter into peoples' dreams. most of the time it is a huge inconveinance and embarrasing for her.
One day she enters a terrible dream, a dream of murder and she cannot shake it off.
As she gets drawn into the dream she also gets drawn into the life of the one who had the dream.
Did Cabel musrder his father/ Why was she having this dream, and what is it telling her. Cabel is also not all he seems to be either. What is the mystery around the good looking sullen teen.
I read this book the night i got it.. all the way to the end in one sitting. It was well written, and I liked how she wrote it by the time and date. when things happened. I really felt like i was there in this book watching it all and feeling some of what she felt...and really wished it was longer! you can bet I'll be getting the next one and in fact get both when you buy them.. I really think they should have put both in one book anyways.. I like a thicker book and this one was just too short..buts thats the only bad thing I can say about it.. it held my attention for the whole book and i couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen.. this is a really cool idea I haven't seen in a book before.. I have seen books where people can go into dreams but not like this girl does and not being able to control it or understand it. I like how she showed how and when the dreams started, alot of books don't go into the past of the person or how a paticular gift or curse starts always ad Im always left to wonder.... so for her first book she did a great job writing this one! I can see how it would keep a teen interested and an adult also.. I haven't forgotten what it was like to be a teen so alot of the teen books i can still relate to as I think thats why alot of adults like them also... this one is no exception there... Id think good for any age even though its targeted at teens... and you can bet ill be buying more of her work.. the next book is fade... Id get it at the same time so your not disappointed when this one ends so soon...
Great teen book!
I was slightly dissapointed at first because, at my own fault, I wasn't aware this was a book geared towards teenagers.
After getting through the first two chapters the book really started to pick up and create a very interesting story line. I really enjoyed reading it.
McMann almost writes as if you were reading a script. Very straight forward. I will definitely be reading book 2 "Fade" in this series.
Great summer read. I read it in a couple hours. I recommend it to anyone looking for an easy read with an interesting story.
After getting through the first two chapters the book really started to pick up and create a very interesting story line. I really enjoyed reading it.
McMann almost writes as if you were reading a script. Very straight forward. I will definitely be reading book 2 "Fade" in this series.
Great summer read. I read it in a couple hours. I recommend it to anyone looking for an easy read with an interesting story.
Horribly disappointed in this one! The premise sounded like such fun, too! I made it as far as the third chapter and quit reading.....one girl dreams of sex with another girl, there is foul language, and talk of a male erection...makes me shake my head that this is the crap that passes for young adult reading material these days. It was the second f-bomb that made me stop reading. This could have been an amzing read if only the author had kept the junk out of her writing.
At first I didn't like the way the book presented itself. It was like reading a diary, but not really. It was just in that format. While I commend the creativity of this style... it was at times frustrating to read. It was also frustrating that no one really communicated to each other. Not that it isn't something that doesn't happen in real life, but it went beyond what I felt even the characters of the book would tolerate and then amended too easily. The ending of the book became much more interesting, but it left you feeling unfinished. Granted I know there is more in book two, but it almost felt like that time of her life needed more closure. Perhaps it was written a little too YA for my tastes.
Reviewed by Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen for TeensReadToo.com
Dreams can usually be categorized as our source of entertainment while we are sleeping. Although we sometimes may not remember them, they often take us on a journey that we may (or may not) want to happen. For Janie Hannagan, though, dreams are her worst nightmares.
Not like any other normal teenage girl, Janie witnesses the dreams that anyone within close proximity is dreaming. Of course, she doesn't really want this to happen, but it has been going on ever since she was eight. Janie is able to see the ordinary dreams, from falling to drowning to going to work without wearing any pants. Along with that, she is able to see people's secrets and what they desire the most.
There is nothing Janie can do about this but to just keep the knowledge to herself. That all changes when Cable, the guy who everyone thought was a pothead and a dealer, enters her life as she enters his dreams. Half the time, the dreams are somewhat sweet and romantic, but then other times she witnesses the nightmares that have been haunting him.
As Janie tries to sort out not only his dreams but her own feelings for Cable, she learns that the only way to survive her reactions towards other people's dreams is to control them -- and to help the people complete the tasks that they so desperately want to accomplish.
Every now and then a novel gets published and becomes a work of art that we all will long remember. WAKE is one of those novels that is not only unique but also mesmerizing and exhilarating. With her debut novel, Lisa McMann creates something that will be on our minds and change the way we think about what we read.
Dreams can usually be categorized as our source of entertainment while we are sleeping. Although we sometimes may not remember them, they often take us on a journey that we may (or may not) want to happen. For Janie Hannagan, though, dreams are her worst nightmares.
Not like any other normal teenage girl, Janie witnesses the dreams that anyone within close proximity is dreaming. Of course, she doesn't really want this to happen, but it has been going on ever since she was eight. Janie is able to see the ordinary dreams, from falling to drowning to going to work without wearing any pants. Along with that, she is able to see people's secrets and what they desire the most.
There is nothing Janie can do about this but to just keep the knowledge to herself. That all changes when Cable, the guy who everyone thought was a pothead and a dealer, enters her life as she enters his dreams. Half the time, the dreams are somewhat sweet and romantic, but then other times she witnesses the nightmares that have been haunting him.
As Janie tries to sort out not only his dreams but her own feelings for Cable, she learns that the only way to survive her reactions towards other people's dreams is to control them -- and to help the people complete the tasks that they so desperately want to accomplish.
Every now and then a novel gets published and becomes a work of art that we all will long remember. WAKE is one of those novels that is not only unique but also mesmerizing and exhilarating. With her debut novel, Lisa McMann creates something that will be on our minds and change the way we think about what we read.
