Review: Fade, by Lisa McMann

Click to see my review of the first book, Wake.

Summary: 

Janie's been hard at work since the drug bust she assisted in. Of course the Captain likes having Janie on the team, because of her ability to "dreamwalk" and catch the criminals. 

And things with Cabel are going great.

When the anonymous Crimebusters hotline gets a call that doesn't make much sense, Janie is asked to investigate (a.k.a. look through people's dreams/nightmares for clues). Janie thinks she might just have to get a little closer in on the action.

Is it safe? No.

Does she still do it? Of course.

Review:

I stand by my thoughts of the first book, but whereas that one had an exciting and original plot, this plot just disgusted me. Yes, it's a quick read (like 3 hours) and there is action that keeps the pages flipping, but the plot just didn't... appeal to me. I didn't really want to read about all that.

If creepy teacher/student relationships don't bother you, go ahead, but it's my opinion that McMann should have stuck with Wake and left it at that. Or follow it with a story that doesn't make me want to barf.

Oh, and let me copy this little bit from my review of Wake.

I didn't really like the style. There's a lot of very simple sentences [i.e. "Janie is happy" and the like] and a billion sentences without nouns, which annoys the living daylights out of me. 

Fade is like that too. Which is good, I guess, and not really suprising. I just thought I'd mention it again.

So in all, I didn't really like the book. But it was quick and high-paced, so you might if you don't have a strong gag reflex like me ;) Just kidding. It wasn't all that terrible. There were redeeming qualities, like the wit (though most of it was full of cussing, which got annoying too) and Janie and Cabel's sweet relationship (though they just couldn't keep those pants on, could they? bleh. I change my mind. I didn't like the book at all.)

Rating: 1.5 Stars (for the wit and excitement)

Clean?: Inappropriate student/teacher relationships, some sexuality, lots of language

Length: 256 Pages (reads like 150 imo)

Oh right, I was going to add that I was a little surprised at the ending. Yay.

Review: Wake by Lisa McMann

Since eight years of age, Janie has been pulled into other peoples dreams. It's pretty easy to cover up at first, but when the dreams start including murderers and secrets, Janie wonders why its impossible for her to help. And then there's Cabel, and some of his dreams aren't so bad to be pulled into, but is he hiding things from her?

Again, Wake is one of those books almost everyone has said they loved. And don't get me wrong, the story was inventive and brilliant, but I didn't really like the style. There's a lot of very simple sentences [i.e. "Janie is happy" and the like] and a billion sentences without nouns, which annoys the living daylights out of me. 

However, this doesn't mean you won't like the story. I finished Wake in one night (but it is pretty short) because it flows nicely and is interesting. The premise is the whole reason I picked it up, and I think this society can tell that excellent writing isn't the reason books do well (i.e. Twilight). Ours is a time of good stories, and Wake is much more than a good story, it's a brilliant story (as I've said before).

Characters. Janie was well developed for a book of this length, but I felt there was something missing. I would have liked to see more of what it felt like to be pulled into dreams, and how exactly she starts to control it, but perhaps we will see more of that in the next book, Fade. The whole issue with Cabel kind of threw me at the end, but I guess it makes sense. I was hoping for something a little more... exciting, but it was a nice resolution.

In all, Wake is a book I would get at the library first to see if you like it. Personally, I wouldn't buy it, but I can see how many people (especially guys... I'm curious how they see it, but I imagine its that type of book) might love it. I enjoyed reading Wake, but I regret to say its not going on my favorites.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Clean?: Some harsh language. Some sexuality (not explicit).