The Ninja Reviews. . .Gone by Lisa McMann

!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!
If you have not read the first two books,
be aware that this entry may contain spoilers.
You have been warned!




This is the final - the LAST!! - book in the Wake trilogy by Lisa McMann and she certainly did not disappoint this particular reader!

Janie is not only suffering the aftermath of the her investigation and trial of several of her high school teacher's, but she also with what she must decide conerning her fate as a dream-catcher. She has Cabel to rely on, but is it fair to stay with him, knowing she will make his life harder when she loses both her sight and the use of her hands?

Responding to frantic messages on her cell phone from her best friend and neighbor, Janie and Cabel abruptly end a relaxing vacation to rush to the hospital where Janie's mother has been taken. However, it's not Janie's alcoholic mother who has been hospitalized, but Janie's father, whom she knows absolutely nothing about. While this should be a chance to learn about him, Janie is shocked to hear that he is in some sort of coma and won't last much longer. To make matters more confusing and disturbing, Janie is sucked into her father's nightmare and learns some devastating things about him that only serve to make her final decision about being a dream-catcher even tougher.

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I read this book in roughly 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Each book in the series is a really quick read, so they are great if you want something to read on a plane ride or a long car trip. With each book McMann writes, I am always impressed by her unique style. Each chapter starts with a date and time and reads somewhat like a journal, as it is written in short, descriptive bursts that get straight to the point. Despite this fact, there is a lot of character development for Janie and some of the other characters.

While the first two books each follow an actual mystery involving the police, this last book is more about Janie's internal struggle to figure out which path is the right one to follow. Some readers may be disappointed that this third book does not follow the plot format of the others (no mystery involving Janie and Cabe's work with the police). It does read more like a family drama, and the end is 100% concrete. However, if a third book was to be written, I'm not sure how else McMann should have written. I think she did as well as she could have. Some online reviewers have said she should have written another in the exact same vein as the first two, or else just stopped with the second. I'll let you read and decide.

As for other content, there is some harsh language from time to time, as well as an intimate relationship between Janie and Cabel, but all is done tastefully and within the confines of the story itself. Keep in mind that Janie's story is a rather dark one, but there is also a lot of hope because she is ultimately a positive person who will always battle for what is right.

It's difficult to find books very similar to the Wake books, but try these anyway!

Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink

Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause

Ninja Amy's Top 5 books of 2009 and Top 5 books to look for in 2010

It's totally not fair that Ninja Jenny and I read and love a lot of the same books. So, I am sorry if some of my books are the same as hers, but that just means they are so flippin' awesome that you should read them, too. Not all of my books were published in 2009, but I did read them in 2009. And I also cheated like Jenny (cheater!!) and chose two for my number 5 because I loved them both.


Amy's Top 5 Books of 2009
5. I chose two graphic novels for this slot because I couldn't leave either of them out. Stitches: a memoir by David Small is cataloged as an Adult book here at the Arlington Public Library, but some places consider it Young Adult. Stitches was one of five books nominated for the National Book Award in the category of Young People's Literature and I really wish it had won. I read it in one sitting and actually went back and re-read it because I couldn't believe it ended so quickly (despite being 329 pages - of course, it is a graphic novel). You won't believe the strange childhood the author/illustrator had. It has to be read and seen to be believed.Tales From Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan is much lighter fare than Stitches but still contains some melancholy themes now and again. But there are lots of funny parts, too. It contains 15 illustrated short stories set in the suburbs of Australia. I've been a fan of Shaun Tan since his book The Arrival, so I'm a bit biased. =)

4.I have to admit that I didn't like the first cover that Lament: the faerie queen's deception by Maggie Stiefvater was published with (not the one shown here), but I made myself pick it up just to give it a chance. Boy was I glad! Teen harpist Deirdre meets a strange flute-playing boy named Luke at a competition and gets roped into performing a song with him. Before she knows it, Deirdre is thrown into a world she didn't know existed: faeries and monsters and of all types, some of whom want to use her for rather nefarious purposes. Romance, action, and supernatural creatures abound.


3.Ninja Angela got me to read Wake by Lisa McMann, along with the sequel, Fade. Some people may be surprised to see this on my list, but the truth is that I was really floored by the simple yet very deliberate style in which McMann wrote the book. It was not what I expected and was much darker and inventive than a lot of the supernatural YA fiction out there. Main character Janie falls into people's dreams, but especially their nightmares, and doesn't seem to have control over it. Makes a school day rather difficult.

2.Yes, I know that Jenny chose this book, too! But this is the book that got me to eat healthier and stop drinking sodas. I'm not kidding. Fat Cat by Robin Brande might not change your life, but it is one of my very favorite books EVER and, if nothing else, Brande tells a great story with characters you can't help but love. Cat decides to get a little crazy with her 7-month-long science project and not only begins to eat as closely to the way our earliest ancestors (hominims, specifically the homo erectus) ate, she also gives up as much technology as possible. Crazy!

1.And where do I start with The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness? Oh, Patrick Ness, how I love thee (don't tell my boyfriend!). Set in a town where there are only men and everyone can hear each other's thoughts (even animals), Todd realizes that his upcoming birthday, which will "make him a man", is something to dread. Where did all the women go? And why can they all hear each other's thoughts? I read this. My mom read it. My brother read it. My best friend read it. My mom's boyfriend read it. And several librarians here have read it. When are you going to read it? Soon, I hope.


Amy's Top 5 Books to Look Forward to in 2010

The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong	Thresholds by Nina Kiriki Hoffman	Gone by Lisa McMann
Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness	Strange Fate by L.J. Smith	Book 3 of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Okay, so I cheated and did 6, but I couldn't forget the third Hunger Games book even if Jenny already did that one, too. Grr!!! Also, I have been waiting for Strange Fate to be published since I was 18 years old. I will turn 30 before this book is published. Haven't I waited long enough, Simon & Schuster? Haven't I???

The Ninja Reviews. . .Wake by Lisa McMann

Janie has a problem that no one knows about. When she is close enough to someone who is asleep, Janie falls into their dreams. She can't control it and, what's worse, the strongest pull comes from intense nightmares. Her vision goes and she can't control her body. The first time it happened was when Janie was 8. As she gets older, it becomes more and more difficult to deal with. High school students are more likely to fall asleep in class, and this makes it harder for Janie to cope.

On top of that problem, Janie lives with her alcoholic mother who doesn't work, so Janie has to work evenings and nights at a nursing home. All of this while struggling to keep her grades up so she can have a better life.

Janie drives by a house late one night and nearly wrecks her car after being thrown into the most violent, frightening nightmare she's ever experienced. After this and an equally strange experience at her work, Janie knows she has to learn how to navigate and possibly control the dreams.

I love the way this book is set up. It's a quick read because the book is written in segments marked by the day and time. This sets up the reader for a lot of suspense. There are also some intriguing characters, like Cabel, whom I had the hardest time figuring out if he was good or bad.

If you love mysteries and just a little bit of supernatural, you will definitely enjoy this book. Check out the sequel, Fade, and also keep an eye out for the third book, Gone, which will be published in Spring 2010.