The dreams Janie finds herself in are believable and relatable, and give a really interesting insight into the characters responsible for those dreams. Getting sucked into other peoples’ dreams is one of those concepts that could go horribly wrong if not written well, but Wake is spot on.

In addition to the refreshing writing style, Lisa McMann impressed me with Wake‘s characters and storyline. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about a book that takes this approach, as I don’t recall ever reading anything quite like it before. One of the reasons for this is Lisa McMann’s decision to skip unnecessary time passing scenes and lengthy paragraphs of description, instead choosing to use time and date stamps to inform the reader of how much time has passed, and using short, snappy sentences to get straight to the point. It’s a short, quick read, but the story feels as lengthy and substantial as a book with twice as many pages. She’s outside in the dark, alone, behind a shed, listening to muffled voices, hoping that somebody’s nightmare isn’t about to explode through the walls or from the bushes. Or the chilling nightmares like when she’s in a strange house… in a dirty kitchen… and a sinister monster edges ever closer.īut now, for the first time, Janie is not just a witness but a participant. Especially the falling dreams and the standing-in-front-of-the-class-naked ones. Seventeen-year-old Janie is tired of being sucked into other people’s dreams. Wake is a fantastically written, unique and clever novel that combines coming of age with romance and supernatural in a perfectly blended mix.

Lisa mcmann wake series