Book Review: Wake by Lisa McMann

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's 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....

Who hasn't wished to have a super power? I know that I personally would love to fly, or be able to become invisible. McMann's story, however, is a little different from the typical "super" human story. Janie has the power to see into other people's dreams, which is actually a huge pain. For example, when she is pulled into someone else's dream, she ends up unconscious as well. So, she's never really safe. It could be the kid in the back of English class, or someone napping while she walks past their house, she's never really safe from them. She also sees the most subconscious thoughts and feelings manifest themselves. Like, being naked in class, or attacking someone who you hate.

This is going to be a fairly short review, but overall I enjoyed the book. It was realistic enough to make me think, "I wonder if anyone has ever really been able to look into someone else's dream" and then question my friends suspiciously. I wish there had been a little more character development from Cabel. He wasn't the main character of the story, but he plays an important role in helping Janie learn more about her power. It wasn't enough of an issue to detract seriously from the story, and there are two other books to learn a little more about him.

I'll be picking up the Fade, the sequel, soon!

Wake
By Lisa McMann
210 Pages
Published by Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster)
Rating: B-