Wake by Lisa McMann

Book Review #22
Wake by Lisa McMann
Rating: Five stars (refer to the rating system on the right)

Summary: (taken from the back of the book)

For seventeen-year old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie's seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.

She can't tell anybody about what she does-they'd never believe her, or worse, they'd think she was a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn't want and can't control.

Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else's twisted psyche. She is a participant...

I"m trying to decide where I should start this review. First of all, WOW! Wake is extraordinary and unlike anything I've ever come across. Not to sound corny, but reading Wake was like having a really good dream the sucks you in leaving you never wanting to wake up. I literally could not put this book down, luckily for me it wasn't very long so I got to finish it in an hour or two. I've heard wonderful things about Wake, but I wasn't expecting myself to fall in love. Wake was intense, romantic, and full of craziness.

Janie Hannigan is a senior in high school living in Michigan. Her mother is an alcoholic which is one of the reasons Janie is known as "white trash" around town. Janie is average in the sense of being a hard worker and working to get to college, but aside from the regular teenager she has a n extraordinary "gift". Ever since she was little, she has been pulled into other people's dreams the moment they doze off. When she is in someone else’s dream it looks as if she is having a seizure.  She becomes numb and loses any feeling in her limbs. As time passed, Janie has learned to live with her "gift" and has even come to accepted it. Although one day she is pulled into a horrifying dream unlike anything she has ever experienced in the past.  Janie isn't just seeing  dreams anymore; she's become an active participant.

In the beginning of the book Janie only has one loyal friend; next door neighbor Carrie. Later on Janie meets Cabel, the only person who Janie has told about her "gift". Not only has Janie seen Cabel’s dreams, but
she finds that she appears in them as well, and that he is aware of her presence in his dreams. From what Janie has seen through his dreams added with rumors around school, she tries to avoid him. Cabel finds a way to get through to Janie and she finds out the truth behind his image (which was a twist). Cabel helps Janie and together they realize the Janie has more power and control over her abilities. 

I absolutely loved Cabel. At first I was reluctant to like him because of his "bad boy" image, but once you discover the truth behind his motives, you can't help but love him. Cabel is caring, sweet, and just right for Janie. Together their relationship kept me on edge, but in the end left me satisfied.

Wake isn't just a book about a girl falling into other people's dream, it is much more deep than that. Wake has crime-fighting, mystery, romance. The intense plot makes up for the not so amazing writing. Set in the present tense combined with being a quick read, Wake is definitely a book not to miss. Lucky for me, I don't have to wait for the sequel to come out (Fade)! If you haven't picked this one up yet, you most definitely should.