Wake [Kindle Edition]

Abria Mattina (Author)

Book Description

Eighteen isn’t too young to run your life into the ground, but it’s not too old to fix it, either. The desire for change drives Willa Kirk from St. John’s, Newfoundland back to her hometown of Smiths Falls, Ontario, away from her mistakes and the place where her sister died. She’s looking for a place to settle and rebuild, but Jem Harper just wants to get out of town, back to the life he knew before cancer. By letting the tragedies in their lives define them, they are both dying a little more every day. Welcome to the wake.

Product Details

• File Size: 1205 KB
• Print Length: 617 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0986957917
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005OMWXZE
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #47,269 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling read that sucks you in (4.5) February 15, 2012

By Tara Kerwin

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

How do you write a coming-of-age story when both of your protagonists have been through more than most adults?

'Wake' is a sometimes painful, often compelling story about two teenagers who form a reluctant friendship. Jem is a pariah in his school - a cancer patient, newly in remission, who makes his classmates uncomfortable with his sickly appearance and prickly demeanor. Willa is the newly returned girl to town - popular, but with a painful and dark past stemming from her sister's death from cancer. Willa's experiences give her unique insight into Jem, much to his dismay.

What follows is an all-too-real push and pull between two people who barely like each other, put together in an evolving and devolving relationship as they learn each others' secrets. It's a slow start, but once you get involved, it's difficult to put down. It's fascinating to watch these characters drag each other out into the light. Willa is intent on 'killing' Jem's notion of who he is. Jem realizes he has to help Willa see that she is not her mistakes. There are points that will make you want to cry and others when you want to smack them in the back of the head. The important thing is that you feel for them - the story feels and hurts in a genuine way.

My favorite thing about this book are the exchanges of dialogue. It's the first thing I truly appreciated about it on the first read (I've read it cover-to-cover twice, which is saying something considering the length). Mattina writes dialogue that not only sounds real, but is also structured in such a way that it doesn't feel like repetitive "he said, she said," or abuses the use of character names to lead the reader from speaker to speaker. There are also some bits that are just funny as hell....

On the negative side of things, I wish this had gone through one more pass with an editor.

-It is long, and could have probably benefited from some paring down. However, as a reader, I would be loathe to perform that task myself. Excising any part of the narrative would be a difficult task in general, but in dealing with a story as compelling and well-written as this, it becomes nearly impossible.

-There are several instances where there are typos (word skips), etc. Granted, they're all minor, minor errors. Unfortunately, there are enough of them that it takes away the polish on a great book. It's the only thing, in my mind, that shows the difference between this being an indie production, versus not having gone through the 'traditional' process. (I'm also quite picky - I'm still ticked that my edition of HP:Goblet of Fire has a sentence that reads 'Snap' instead of 'Snape.') The cover art alone is the most professional I've seen in any of the plethora of self-pub/indie fair that seems to dominate my corner of the internet right now. This also stands apart from that crowd in being a story I would never classify as romance, but would call a love story just the same.

Overall, my biggest regret is that I didn't purchase this in a print edition. Few people I know are using e-readers, and I'd love to be able to put this in their hands and go, 'Read this! You won't be sorry!' I'd also like to look up and see it on my bookshelf, like many of my other favorites.

Willa and Jem have been through more than most adults. Yet, in each other, they find the means necessary to grow beyond the pain and hurt that's marred their lives. That's the beauty and strength in 'Wake.' Read more ›

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written, Compelling and Emotional April 16, 2012

By Kris VINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Wow, Wake was absolutely fantastic. This incredibly engaging and totally addicting book kept me reading long into the early morning hours. It is a beautifully written, compelling, emotional and sometimes humorous story of two very damaged souls who fall in love in the midst of illness and tragedy.

Jem Harper is in cancer remission. He has been at this school since his cancer was first discovered and has no friends. He is lonely and miserable, tired and sick. He is no longer the popular, gorgeous and friendly guy he once was at his old school. Willa Kirk comes back to her old town and is suffering from a tragic past of her own. Her sister died of cancer and she is angry, hostile and feels responsible for her death. Jem and Willa become frenemies then friends and eventually lovers as they bond over their mutual loss; Jem's loss of his former healthy self and Willa over the loss of her sister. Willa takes care of Jem by feeding him and loving him physically and emotionally. She often tries to convince him to love himself for who he is now as she does and to see himself as beautiful. Jem tries to help Willa to forgive herself and to move on from the death of her sister. He has some issues with how she handled things with her sister, but knows she is a good person and wants her to realize it too.

This touching love story will leave you emotionally exhausted and rooting for Jem and Willa to be together despite the odds against them. I highly recommend this incredible story about survival, love, sacrifice and giving oneself over completely to another.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating January 3, 2013

By Book Worm

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Wake was a fabulous read for me. It gripped me from early on. There are 4 things that stood out for me that made this story different from all other books out there involving two teenagers who are messed up. I will be the first to admit that some of these differences people will not like, they won't work for everyone, but they worked great for me.

1. I was always wondering if this book would have a happy ending or not. Jem, the hero, is in remission from cancer, it is very early days. I was frequently worried that he was going to die. I'm not going to say if he does or not, but this anxiousness I had for his wellbeing throughout the whole book worked for me. It made me so caught up in his story, I just had to keep reading to find out what would happen to him. Some people may hate this feeling of worrying about not getting a happy ending. It didn't bother me for this story, it made it feel more real.

2. Jem and Willa (the heroine), who also has huge issues due to her sister dying of cancer and her own depression, are also very different from other characters. They could be very unlikable characters at times. They were both rude, cold, closed off, defensive, and attention seeking at times. But they were just so interesting and real, and even though they had these unlikable characteristics they were so engaging to read. I can understand why someone would say they find them hard to like. But this was why I liked them even more, because I became invested in what made them who they were. I found their story fascinating. I couldn't wait to find out how they were going to breakdown each other's defences and ultimately help each other.

3. This is a long book.... There is a lot of time to actually get to know the characters, for them to develop a real relationship, for them to actually get to know each other. Nothing is rushed in this book. It is not one big problem after another after another. It is like life, where sometimes not a lot happens, but then things do. As a reader you get time to breathe and take in everything that is happening. It really is a slow burn. I can see some people saying that the book is slow because of this, but for me I loved the pacing. Another thing that was great about the pacing was that when something bad did happen it did not take up more of the book then the good stuff. The story was written in a way that time seemed to travel at the same pace, it was not like half the book is two months then the second is two days. It was even, just like life. This allowed you to feel so much without it feeling forced.

4. You get a great insight into how the actions/behaviour/illness of the main characters affects the people around them. These characters have people around them that love them, support them, and want what is best for them. That was great.

Will I read it again? Yes
Would I recommend it? Yes Read more ›