* New York Times Bestselling YA series
*New York Times Bestseller
*New York Times Bestseller
The Gist
It began when she was eight. Janie Hannagan was sucked into the embarrassing dream of a business man who was trying – and failing – to impress his co-workers with his new presentation. After Janie was finally released from the hold the dream has on her, Janie sees the same business man, getting off the same train she was on. She knows that something isn’t right. Things only get worse as she gets older. People fall asleep more often in school, and she can’t do anything to stop it. One minute she’s reading calmly in study-hall. The next she goes blind and numb and she knows she’s been forced into another person’s dream, against her will, with no way to get out. She just has to wait for them to wake up – then her vision returns and she’s released from the dream. Despite the hardship with sleeping people and their dreams, Janie’s senior year goes by in a blur. Almost everyday after school she works at Heather Home – an old people’s nursing home – to raise money for food and clothing and – hopefully – college. Janie stresses about her grades - which need to be nearly perfect so she can get a scholarship. Carrie Brant, Janie’s only friend, knows nothing of Janie’s “gift”. But Janie knows she can’t do anything about that. She has to face the dreams alone. On top of that, Cabel Stumheller - former drug addict and loner – changes his look and slowly becomes a part of Janie’s life. Janie knows that the most important thing in her life must be her grades…but things change as she grows closer to Cabel and is forced to learn more about her dream catching. But Janie tries to juggle it all – her friendship with Carrie, her alcoholic mother, her ability, her job, and her new, conflicting feelings for Cabel.
What We Think
What We Think
Reviewed by Dream Catcher
Number of Pages: 210
I saw this in the bookstore awhile ago. And I do mean awhile ago. So I put it on my 2010 list was excited to eventually read it. Living Destiny beat me to it, and told me it was a great book. Good, I’d thought, good books are good. A very intelligent thought, I know. 
But still, I was sincerely excited to read. I don’t know what I was expecting. The best book I’d ever read? Certainly not. But a book I would look back on fondly? Yeah. Well, it was good…but I didn’t love it. The whole idea – concept – of everything was amazing. So cool. Getting sucked into people’s dream. I love it. It’s incredibly unique and fascinating. I’ve always loved anything to do with dreams (probably why I wanted to read this book so much), so Janie’s whole gift was completely awesome, in my opinion. Moving on to the title. Wake, like most one-word titles, is the first thing I noticed. It was interesting and mysterious. It made me want to find out what the book was about – so it fulfilled its purpose. So that was good. When I saw the name of the trilogy I laughed. Then I thought, well this must be the series for me! Though I’ve never really heard it referred to as the Dream Catcher trilogy, its also a good title. The cover is another plus. All black except for the title and splash of color that is a picture of a pillow. How fitting. It’s also really dramatic. I like dramatic and mysterious covers. Maybe I’m the only one, but I only read the inside flap if I like the cover. As you can see, this cover got me to read the inside flap (or back of the book). So that was great. *Sigh* Now, onto the topic of plot. Sadly, there wasn’t much of one. I mean, there was an idea…but where was it going? It was kind of hard to write a gist for this book, because I didn’t want to give away too much, but I wanted to make it sound like it had some defined plot. If anything, though, the plot was very, very basic. I would have preferred a little more than that. The characters were pretty average. Janie (who swore ridiculously) was at times likable and strong. Other times she was a little oblivious, which is always annoying, but I got over that. I’ve read worse characters than her lately. Cabel was my favorite character. He was really sweet, and very mysterious. Though at times he could have the weirdest mood swings, he made up for it at some point or another. So on characters, McMann gets…a B+. That’s pretty good, I think. And that’s all her characters were: pretty good. So I think I’m being fair. And finally, the writing style and writing quality. The style itself is very sarcastic for third person. I found this very realistic for a troubled teenager’s point of view, so I really liked it. It was fitting and kind of funny (in a good way). Now, the writing quality was a little disappointing. Sure, she used a lot of similes (and I do mean a lot) and the description of the dreams was clear. But, since it’s written in third person, McMann really had to define who she meant when she said “she”. Sometimes I felt myself wondering who said what, or who did what. I’d read it a few times and then finally understand it. But as a published writer, I think she should get that straight before she publishes anything else. Also, sometimes I couldn’t tell if comments were sarcastic or not. I wasn’t sure if Janie was thinking something seriously. But that was only occasionally, so I managed to overlook it. Overall, this was a pretty good book, but not one I would rave about. I’m really only giving it such a high grade because I thought the dream part of it was executed nicely. And it was very unique, which, like I’ve said, earns respect. I realize I’ve used the word “good” a lot during this review. Sorry. But I think I’ve managed to convey that the book was just good, not amazing. But there’s really nothing wrong with a just good book, right? They can’t all be the next Great American Novel.
But still, I was sincerely excited to read. I don’t know what I was expecting. The best book I’d ever read? Certainly not. But a book I would look back on fondly? Yeah. Well, it was good…but I didn’t love it. The whole idea – concept – of everything was amazing. So cool. Getting sucked into people’s dream. I love it. It’s incredibly unique and fascinating. I’ve always loved anything to do with dreams (probably why I wanted to read this book so much), so Janie’s whole gift was completely awesome, in my opinion. Moving on to the title. Wake, like most one-word titles, is the first thing I noticed. It was interesting and mysterious. It made me want to find out what the book was about – so it fulfilled its purpose. So that was good. When I saw the name of the trilogy I laughed. Then I thought, well this must be the series for me! Though I’ve never really heard it referred to as the Dream Catcher trilogy, its also a good title. The cover is another plus. All black except for the title and splash of color that is a picture of a pillow. How fitting. It’s also really dramatic. I like dramatic and mysterious covers. Maybe I’m the only one, but I only read the inside flap if I like the cover. As you can see, this cover got me to read the inside flap (or back of the book). So that was great. *Sigh* Now, onto the topic of plot. Sadly, there wasn’t much of one. I mean, there was an idea…but where was it going? It was kind of hard to write a gist for this book, because I didn’t want to give away too much, but I wanted to make it sound like it had some defined plot. If anything, though, the plot was very, very basic. I would have preferred a little more than that. The characters were pretty average. Janie (who swore ridiculously) was at times likable and strong. Other times she was a little oblivious, which is always annoying, but I got over that. I’ve read worse characters than her lately. Cabel was my favorite character. He was really sweet, and very mysterious. Though at times he could have the weirdest mood swings, he made up for it at some point or another. So on characters, McMann gets…a B+. That’s pretty good, I think. And that’s all her characters were: pretty good. So I think I’m being fair. And finally, the writing style and writing quality. The style itself is very sarcastic for third person. I found this very realistic for a troubled teenager’s point of view, so I really liked it. It was fitting and kind of funny (in a good way). Now, the writing quality was a little disappointing. Sure, she used a lot of similes (and I do mean a lot) and the description of the dreams was clear. But, since it’s written in third person, McMann really had to define who she meant when she said “she”. Sometimes I felt myself wondering who said what, or who did what. I’d read it a few times and then finally understand it. But as a published writer, I think she should get that straight before she publishes anything else. Also, sometimes I couldn’t tell if comments were sarcastic or not. I wasn’t sure if Janie was thinking something seriously. But that was only occasionally, so I managed to overlook it. Overall, this was a pretty good book, but not one I would rave about. I’m really only giving it such a high grade because I thought the dream part of it was executed nicely. And it was very unique, which, like I’ve said, earns respect. I realize I’ve used the word “good” a lot during this review. Sorry. But I think I’ve managed to convey that the book was just good, not amazing. But there’s really nothing wrong with a just good book, right? They can’t all be the next Great American Novel.Real Teen Rating~ B : Read it, but there’s no rush.
Reviewed by Living Destiny
Reviewed by Living Destiny
So, like Dream said, I got around to this book first. I saw it in the bookstore one day and the cover really caught my eye. Then I read the back, and that seemed pretty cool too. So I thought I’d try it. I liked the concept of the story a lot. A girl who falls into dreams? Sometimes I wish I could do that. I also liked the way it was told, in a day by day sort of way. It’s all very broken up (the paragraphs and writing), but I thought that was a good method for telling this story. The characters were all good too. I loved Cabel the best, but at the same time he irritated me. Realistically, there’s only so much sensitivity one guy can show. He exceeds it at times, and it seems a little lame and far-fetched. But I still loved him. Janie was an odd character, especially for a main character. She seemed too wishy-washy to me: one minute she was friends with Cabel, the next minute she hated his guts. I guess she had her reasons, but it was still annoying.
Overall it was just a good book. I know I’ve said the word good a lot, but it’s very fitting. It was certainly good enough for me to finish reading the trilogy, but in my list of favorite books, this one doesn’t make the top ten. But hey, only ten books do, so a book needs to be elite to get there, and that’s tough to manage. It’s perfectly acceptable to be just a ‘good’ book. We need good, so bad can be bad and great can be great. This is a good book, and that makes it important. I feel like I’m rambling on without any real purpose here. Good book! End!
Real Teen Rating~ B : Read it, but there’s no rush.
