Wake (Amy)
Lisa McMann
210 pages
Janie Hanagan has problems. Her mom is a drunk and it really seems that she couldn’t care less what Janie does. She also has a secret. She gets sucked into other people’s dreams if they fall asleep near her.
Janie is determined to make a better life for herself. She works all the hours she can get at a nursing home and she studies hard because she wants to go to college. But being considered “white trash” by your peers and the secret of being a dream catcher don’t exactly make life easy. Then Janie meets Cabel Strumheller and life gets really complicated.
I saw this book at the bookstore last weekend when I was browsing the YA section. Lately, I have just really been in the mood for some pure escapism and this seemed to fit the bill. I’m glad I chose this one. It reminded me a bit of A Nightmare on Elm Street without the gore. Anyone who knows me knows that, as a rule, I hate horror flicks. However, I loved the premise of dreams and the boogey man. It worked really well for this book only on a much tamer level. Still, I found it to be a fast-paced page-turner that kept my interest right up until the end. I didn’t really have a guess as to where the story was going and I like that. I did find it hard to suspend disbelief in a couple of places but to say where would risk spoiling the plot for others.
Overall, I really enjoyed Wake. If you’re looking for a quick read and you enjoy YA fiction, you can’t go wrong with this one. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Fade, as soon as my library gets a copy. I’ve heard it’s even better than this one. (4.5/5)
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