She is About to Lose Everything

When we last left Janie, our Dream Catcher, she was recovering from a horrifying undercover sting where she helped bust that put some teachers in jail for drugging and raping her classmates. While she is a hero for putting herself in such a scary position to help others, the job came with some very serious realizations about her ability to step into people's dreams. In Gone, by Lisa McMann, the story continues with a very real examination of what kind of life Janie can hope to live.

Now that janie knows her fate as a Dream Catcher, blind by her 20's and gnarled, crippled hands shortly after that, she is facing Morton's Fork- a philosophical fork in the road where both choices are impossibly horrible. She either becomes a shut-in who hides herself from the world or goes blind and becomes crippled due to her dream hopping like the only other Dream Catcher she knew- Mrs. Stubin. When she gets a call that her father, the same father she never knew who abandoned her to a life with her alcoholic mother, she has to go investigate.

Her father is in a coma and it is almost as if his brain "exploded". When she sleeps into his weak, fitful coma, she is faced with a terrifying realization- her father might have been a Dream Catcher too. It is possible the reason he abandoned her mother was to escape the very same dreams she suffers from. Now she must truly face Morton's Fork and decide what she wants to do with her life- isolation or become crippled. How can one choose between two impossible choices? What would you choose?

The interesting thing about this series is how wildly it varies in target audience from book to book. The first book was good, but clearly a soft, middle reader light mystery that would be best for middle school students. Then came the second book which was quite disturbing and graphic. Finally, we get the last installment which is strangely introspective and delves into really deep decisions and situations. Now I really have no idea who this series is geared for! I assume it is best for older, lower-skilled students, but they might be bored by the first book. Younger students might be too young for the second book. I am not saying this is a bad series or without its merits, but it is a strange fit student-wise. The writing is low-leveled, so it would be best for a struggling reader. But be sure the content is best for the student you are giving it to!

An Investigation that Will Haunt You

Dream catcher. Knowing a person's most intimate thoughts and dreams. It might be interesting if it didn't control and possibly ruin your life. In Wake, by Lisa McMann, we saw how dreams were controlling Janie's life, but in Fade, the sequel, we see Janie learn to control the dreams.

Now that Janie knows Cabe isn't a drug dealer and is actually an undercover narc, she trusts him completely. She even begins working for the same department he does, trying to find leads in their small town. When a tip comes into a hotline that a teacher might be sexually assaulting students, the Captain sends in Janie as bait, much to Cabe's horror. Through her investigation, Janie suspects one of her teachers, but she can't prove anything. When the teacher invites the whole class to a Chem party at his house, she is nominated to go in and make sure nothing happens. Armed with her ability to read dreams and test strips to tell if there are drugs in any of the drinks, Janie feels safe enough to go to the party. What she doesn't know is that what she suspected was happening is really only the tip of the iceberg. In reality, the situation is much more terrifying and she walks willingly into a situation she might not find her way out of.

This was a much more disturbing follow up to the first story. With Wake, I thought the series bordered on the line of a middle reader series- very innocent paranormal series, but interesting enough to keep a kid's attention. With this sequel, it is clear this series is meant for young adults. The truth Janie uncovers is so terrifying it made me horrified just thinking about it. And the descriptions of how everything unfolded at the party will make you start homeschooling your children immediately. That all being said, this is a good book for a mature student who has low reading skills. It is a short, simple book but the material is anything but innocent.

Janie's character development really intrigued me in this sequel. At first, we knew she was an independent young woman who dealt with her mother's debilitating alcoholism with stoic determination. She wanted to do anything to go to college, and worked her butt off to save for it. Her dream hopping was hidden the best she could, and she kept everything to herself (before Cabe of course). But in this story we see a different side of her, and a lot of that comes from the more she learns about the dream catching. Through a deceased dream catcher's journals, Janie learns the terrifying fate that awaits her thanks to the dreams. The dreams not only take a lot out of her emotionally, but they literally drain the life right out of her. Now she must find a way to steel herself against the horrible truth of what awaits her. Do you think she will be able to live with the truth?

What if Someone Stepped into Your Dreams?

Can you imagine if someone could literally step into your dreams? What would you be embarrassed by? Horrified by? Now imagine every time someone fell asleep next to you and started to dream, you were thrown violently into their dream while your body convulsed on the floor like you were having a seizure. Could happen in study hall, at work, even while you were driving. Sound creepy? Then pick up Wake by Lisa McMann and learn how Janie handles her unwanted gift.

Janie realized at a young age she had to avoid people who were sleeping. She manages to do so pretty well at home since her mother is usually passed out drunk. Janie is generally avoided at school since her clothes are too small or grungy or not the current fad, but when Carrie moves in next door, she doesn't let prejudice and gossip dictate who she will be friends with. Unfortunately, that means she is also friends with Melinda, the Queen Bee who hates Janie with a passion. When Carrie invites them both over for a sleepover, Janie's journey into Carrie and Melinda's dreams are too much information. She realizes sleepovers are just not a good idea.

Janie works hard, saving money for college, since their mother drinks any money that didn't go to pay the rent. When Cabel, another kid who was generally ignored through high school, shows up at school with a new haircut, a new wardrobe, and has all the other girls drooling, Janie is shocked when he pays attention to her. Their budding relationship is rocky at best, especially since they both seem to be hiding something. When Janie admits her ability, she expects Cabel to share his secrets too, but instead he sends her mixed messages. When he starts hanging out and partying with the popular crowd and rumors start floating that he is a drug dealer, Janie refuses to speak to him. But what she doesn't realize is there is much more to Cabel's life than he is allowed to tell her. So much, it makes her dream walking seem pretty tame!

Wake was a fun little book, only topping out at 200 pages. It is broken up really well with chapters broken up in chunks of time according to what Janie is doing at the time. This makes it a good book for oral reading in one-on-one tutoring or to be read in short chunks. Because it is so broken up, you have frequent places to stop without breaking up the action. The story is very tame and appropriate for younger students. The writing level is fairly low, but it deals with serious topics such as alcoholism and drugs, so it would also be appropriate for an older student with low reading skills.

The story itself is interesting, but not terribly complicated. I will admit I didn't see the truth behind Cabel's life coming, but once it was explained, I could see how McMann was setting it up (I was just dense- a more savvy reader might figure it out earlier). That makes this a bad book for any of those kids who can analyze and dissect a movie plot 10 minutes into it (I am not one of those people- Usual Suspects and Sixth Sense were made for people like me). Those kinds of kids might get bored by this story. Even so, it is a good middle reader-ish story and I enjoyed it. I also plan to pick up the other two books in the trilogy because it ended with tons of potential for Janie and Cabel's future! So stay tuned for those reviews to come!