Wake (Wake Series, Book 1) [Paperback]

Lisa McMann (Author)

Book Description

Release date: December 23, 2008 | Series: Wake

Not all dreams are sweet.

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....

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up In Lisa McMann's first title (Simon Pulse, 2008) in a projected series, we are introduced to 17-year-old Janie who has a rare ability to see other people's dreams whether she wants to or not. The episodes are growing more frequent, and the dreams she falls into vary from boring to sexy to disturbing. When she is drawn into a classmate's nightmare, Janie is forced to address her ability and how it may affect her future. Although this story makes for compelling reading, it falls flat as an audiobook. The text's short, choppy phrases make the narration sound stilted. There are a number if flashbacks to various time periods in Janie's life and each one is prefaced by a date. In print this device works just fine, but it is confusing to listen to and keep track of in the recording's linear format. The narrator's voice seems disconnected from the character and her reading of emotions sounds forced. Also, the sibilant quality of the narration is distracting. Stick with the print format on this one. Genevieve Gallagher, Charlottesville High School, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Lisa McMann is also the author of Wake. She lives with her family in the Phoenix area.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Simon Pulse; Reprint edition (December 23, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416974474
• ISBN-13: 978-1416974475
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (263 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #424,099 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hi, I'm Lisa McMann, New York Times bestselling author of fiction for young adults and children.

My fantasy series is for ages 9 and up, called THE UNWANTEDS. It's about a society where 13-year-olds are sorted into groups. The strong and intelligent kids are Wanted and they get to go to university. The creative and artistic kids are Unwanted and they are sent to their deaths. Follow 13-year-old twins Aaron and Alex as they are forced down opposite paths. Book 2 in the series, THE UNWANTEDS: Island of Silence, comes out Sept 4, 2012.

I'm also the author of the WAKE trilogy, about a seventeen-year-old girl named Janie who gets sucked into other people's dreams. I have two stand-alone thrillers, CRYER'S CROSS and DEAD TO YOU. Coming soon: CRASH -- it's the first book in the VISIONS series.

I grew up in Michigan and now I live in Arizona with my husband, two teenagers, and two cats. Have a question? Find me on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/McMannFan or Twitter @lisa_mcmann.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 35 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Well Conceived, Questionably Executed January 15, 2010

By Ann-Kat @ todayiread.com

Format:Paperback

THREE QUICK POINTS:
* Point 1: It's rather short. With abrupt, sometimes awkward, sentence structures.

* Point 2: This is either a `love it' or `hate it' book, yet somehow I managed to be squarely in the middle, loving some aspects and hating others.

* Point 3: The characters remind me of Bella Swan and Eward Cullen (Twilight) in their inexplicable love with little justification that just somehow seems to work for the story.

SHORT SYNOPSIS:
Janie Hanagan has a special ability: she inexplicably plunges into the dreams of others. She discovered this unique ability when she was eight, but didn't understand it until much later. As she aged, her episodes increased and through her interactions, she discovered the hopes, fears, and desires of those around her. Then she tumbles into a nightmare while driving one day. Eventually she discovers it belongs to a mysterious guy named Cabel, who eventually helps Janie come to terms with her ability and Janie helps him come to terms with his own twisted history.

MY THOUGHTS:
I was torn between three and four stars, because I love the story's premise, but I'm not fond of the holes and superficial development.

Wake falls into the category of well conceived, but questionably executed. Rarely do I say this about a book, but it needs to be longer. It's convoluted in places and anemic overall; otherwise it would have rated as one of the better books I've read.

The format of the date and time for sections was a nice touch. The description of the dreams, the terseness of the sentences, and the vague descriptions all contributed to the dreamlike quality of the book.

What didn't work well for the story, however, was the lack of details, back story, and transitions. The development of the relationship between Janie and Cabel was suspect. (It's difficult to give an example without spoilers.) And the cat and mouse game they played while Cabel was withholding information from Janie, leaving her with nothing to go on except rumors and conjecture, seemed trite. And let's not even get started on the big reveal of Cabel's secret, or the secret itself--that entire section, which came at the end, changed the tone, style, and tempo of the book. Suddenly, what made the book a unique and exciting read dissipated into thin air and it felt as though I were reading a completely different book than the one I started.

Other readers might love it for its simplicity, but for me, it was too simple. So simple that the story seemed disjointed. The end was more like an afterthought added for a bit of action than a deliberate thread in the story.

The next novel in the series, Fade, is said to complete the Janie/Cabel story, but frankly, the story shouldn't have been broken into two books. All in all, though, it was a quick and easy read and I will most likely check out Fade from the library to see what happens next.

Note for parents or sensitive readers: This book is targeted to young adults (girls in general), but it does have some coarse language and underage alcohol/drug use. It's probably along the lines of what young people face today. While it's not hardcore, or even condoning its use, I thought I should go ahead and mention it.

76 of 89 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too February 19, 2008

By TeensReadToo

Format:Hardcover

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.

Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen

35 of 44 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars An Unexpected Dream March 4, 2008

By Kathryn Gaglione

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I don't really know what I was expecting from this book, but what I found was pretty amazing. The plot flowed like a dream in that it was told in minimalistic spurts that echoed a dream state. And the story itself wasn't quiet mystery or fantasy or romance, but seemed to combine all three in an entirely new genera.

Janie Hannagan is a dream catcher. She wakes into other people's nightmares and fantasies, yet she doesn't know what they expect her to do. From her best friend begging her to help save her drowning brother to the lonely old woman in the nursing home where she works asking for a second chance with a lover she lost in the war, Janie doesn't know if she can help any of these people turn their fears into happiness.

That is until she falls into burnout Cabel Strumheller's dream and finds out there are some secrets in Cabel's past and some hope for his future that she's not sure are nightmares or fantasies--and she doesn't know if she wants to find the truth either way. But Cabel's dreams aren't the only thing she finds herself falling into. With his protective instinct and deep brown eyes, Janie might just be falling in love.

I did find the exposition a little lacking in places so Janie's emotional extremes baffled me at times. And I don't want to give away the ending to explain what I thought about Cabel, but just know this is a definite series set up.

This book was a fast read with some great parts. It was a little reminiscent of Meg Cabot's 1-800-WHERE-R-YOU series, only with more substance. It was edgy like a Holly Black book and engaging like Janet Evanovich's Stehpanie Plum series, yet it was totally unique. I'm looking forward to FADE, and can't wait to see what comes after that.