The Fitter, Happier UnLibrarian's Blog of Young Adult Books

by Megan DeTour
LIBR 265-10 Materials for Young Adults
Spring 2009, Professor Wrenn-Estes
Master of Library & Information Science
San Jose State University, California

Wake by Lisa McMann

Wake by Lisa McMann

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Publish Date: December 2008
ISBN: 1416974474
Page #: 216pp
Reading Level: Young Adult
Classification: Fiction
Genre: Supernatural/Real-life

Series: The Wake Series
Wake (2008)
Fade (2009)

Subjects: Abuse, Drugs, Dysfunctional Family, High School, Murder, Mystery, Nightmares, Relationships, Romance

Annotation:

For seventeen-year-old Janie Hannagan, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old. But when one of those dreams turns into a frightening nightmare and Janie finds herself participating in the dream, things change.

Summary:

Lisa McMann takes the reader on a trip between the conscious and the unconscious of protagonist Janie Hannagan who cannot stop her lucid dreams, only they aren’t her dreams, they are other people’s dreams. All Janie wants is a better life, so she works hard, studying and working at the nursing home to hopefully get into college and get out of the "white trash" persona her peers label her as. Her plans get complicated when she meets Cable Strumheller and enters a nightmare where she participates. Janie doesn't know what is happening but she has many issues presented to her, involving an alcoholic mother, a turbulent relationship with her boyfriend, Cabel and her role in other people's dream.

Megan says:

I found Wake to be a haunting and complex tale. I thoroughly enjoyed the journal style format Lisa McMann uses. The story is very realistic as it deals with issues of abusive and negligent parents yet tips over to the fantasy/supernautral genre as we enter the dreamworld of Janie Hannagan, or rather the dreamworlds of the people near Janie. I highly recommend this to older teens.

Stars: ★ ★ ★ ★

Wake Book Trailer