Thursday, November 8, 2012

Wake by Lisa McMann

This is the first novel in the Dream Catcher trilogy by Lisa McMann.

The first time it happened, Janie was 8 years old. One minute she was awake. The next, she was sucked into a dream; only it wasn't hers. And she couldn't wake up until the dreamer woke up.

Then, when Janie had her first sleepover, she was sucked into the dreams of both girls sleeping next to her: Janie's best friend Carrier and Janie's enemy, Melinda.

After that, Janie tried to stay away from crowds and if she ever saw someone drifting off in class, she ran from the room as fast as she could.

Because if the dreams are intense, Janie becomes paralyzed and can't find a way out of the dream. And if they are extremely intense, Janie has seizures she can't control. So it's better to find a way out of the dream than to be stuck in it for a long period of time.

Janie can't turn to her mother for help, since all she does is drink her life away in her room. Janie has never known her father, and this isn't the news to tell her friends for an afternoon chat.

On a trip to a school event, Janie found herself switching dreams for 4 consecutive hours. The only thing that got her through that trip was Cabel, who had no idea what was going on.

Well, that was before Janie got sucked into his dream. And the weird thing is, Cabel was sucked into the dream as well, and saw Janie watching his dream. Then he sorta figured it out.

Janie realizes that she needs to find a way to control this "gift" because it's getting out of control. Especially when Janie sees a gruesome dream that has chilled her to the bone. And she's seen a lot of unique dreams in her 17 years.

Will Janie be able to trust Cabel with this secret? Will she be able to figure out how to control her dreams before she gets hurt? Read the first in this completed trilogy, Wake, by Lisa McMann to find out!

My Thoughts/ReflectionsThis is the third novel I've read of McMann's and ironically, I've read them out of order from when she published them! I've reviewed both of her novels on my blog: Cryer's Cross and Dead to You.

And I haven't been disappointed by her work yet! I really enjoyed the beginning to this trilogy. Being sucked into other people's dreams is not as fun as it may sound, but Janie has been able to handle this unique gift that she never asked for.

McMann wrote this very differently. She jumped from scene to scene, some of them being from years ago reliving how Janie first handled the dream catching. And she wrote it based on the day and the time, which I'm really awful at looking at so I couldn't keep track of the time span very easily.

However, I really liked Cabel. When Janie heard that he was dealing drugs and dating a cheerleader, she stayed away from Cabel. She didn't need that complication in her life along with the dream jumping as well. Even though she felt a strong connection with Cabel.

But Cabel was very determined to talked to Janie. He left her notes and went to her house - anything to get her attention.

I could not imagine jumping from one person's dream to another and seeing their innermost unconscious thoughts. Heck, I don't even like dreaming my own personal dreams, so looking in on others would be tiring.

I'm glad I finally got around to reading McMann's first books that she published! Because this series is already complete, I don't have to wait around for the second or third. And actually, I have the second one right next to me that I am going to start shortly!

I would definitely recommend this book to readers. It's different because it's about dreaming, but also has everyday problems like how Janie lives in a trailer and gets bullied at school.

No comments:

Post a Comment