The Wake Trilogy

Wake #1-3

by Lisa McMann

Includes Wake; Fade; Gone.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Paranormal, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller

Paperback

First published October 4, 2011

About the author

Lisa McMann lives and writes in the Phoenix area. Her newest middle grade fantasy series is called The Forgotten Five. Book one, Map of Flames, was an instant NYT bestseller. It's about five supernatural kids, raised in a deserted hideout, who enter civilization for the first time to search for a hidden stash left behind by their missing, criminal parents.

Book two, The Invisible Spy, is on sale now! Book three, Rebel Undercover, is coming summer 2023, and book 4 will be out in spring of 2024.

Also out now: CLARICE THE BRAVE. It's a story of hope against all odds, about sibling mice who get separated in a mutiny and vow to find one another again.

Lisa's other books include the NYT bestselling THE UNWANTEDS and UNWANTEDS QUESTS series, the GOING WILD trilogy, the YA paranormal WAKE trilogy, the VISIONS trilogy, CRYER'S CROSS, DEAD TO YOU, and INFINITY RING: The Trap Door.

See what's new and where Lisa will be at her
LinkTree.
You can find more info at Lisa'a website, lisamcmann.com, interact with her on Facebook or Twitter, or ask questions on her Instagram.

Reviews

[Annie Klassen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing. I had no idea when I started it that it was 3 books in one. Everyone needs to stop what they are doing and read this book!

[Camille · Rating 4 out of 5]

These three books were really good. I must admit though, the first one had me kind of confused in some parts. I didn't quite understand if Cabel was a cop, or he was a drug dealer but then they went to the police station and I got it, but the so call Captain said something about TV, guess now it was a joke, but the thing is it isn't exactly explained. That's the thing about these books, some things are just unexplained, which is ok because it's a type of plot and I get it, but it gave me the idea of Lisa MacMann being kind of lazy in some matters, like in the last book, at the end, when they only say Cabe and Janie talked. I wanted to read the conversation, what he thought and how he reacted to the truth, that Janie wanted to isolate.
Anyways, these books are really easy to read, entertaining, interesting, and they have little of all: Love, drama, action. They made me grow goosebumps all the time! And trust me, you'll want to write lots of quotes.
Of course, I absolutely LOVED CABEL. He's so sweet, kind, sexy, beautiful. I also loved Janie's character, but at the third book I really wanted to hit her several times, besides the fact that she didn't quite deserve such a good guy like Cabe. But she knew that, everybody did. He was just amazing, with everything and everyone. He cared. And that's something no many people do.

These books were, most than anything, original. Both Cabel and Jeanie are insane and have a weird relationship, and strange problems. Not just because he was an undercover cop and she was capable of being part of other people's dreams. No, for other matters as well.

Anyways, I highly recommend these books because they are pretty good, and they made me broke a new record! I read three hundred and sixty-five pages on a day. I know, it's not great but it's my new record, so I'm proud of it.

[Mare · Rating 1 out of 5]

Whyyy did I read this in middle school. Such a waste of time, her sleep power stuff didn't even make sense. SO many plot holes, also, WHY WAS SHE CONSUMING SO MUCH MILK? As a lactose intolerant person, that's what baffled me the most about this series. That, and the messed up plot-line where to catch the creepy teachers at her school they let her get sexually assaulted + drugged ??

[Bmquiram · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fast read, with a unique format.
Wake:
Janie keeps falling into the dreams of her classmates, neighbors, and friends. She doesn't know why she gets sucked into others dreams and she doesn't know how to stop it. Janie doesn't know her father, but her mother is more of a dependent than a mother leaving Janie feeling alone with her fears.
Cabel is interested in Janie, but is in the middle of something important.
Fade:
With one crisis done another one pops up. Students are not safe at Fieldridge High.
Janie learns more about her dream disability and Cabel struggles with learning to love and trust another person.
Gone:
After the discoveries made in Fade Janie has a lot to think about and a big decision to make. Cabel struggles to accept everything that makes Janie who she is.
If that weren't enough Janie's father is in the hospital in some kind of coma.
What will Janie decide about her dream disability?
Can Janie help her father, and does she want to?
Can Cabel accept Janie?

[Bianca · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is not a good book, and not a good series.
It felt more like a television series - where things dragged on and on and didn't get to the point of the book.
Choppy language, childish dialogue (e.g. not every teenager talks like a dimwit), profanity throughout, unbelievable events (e.g. an un-wired TEENAGER/"detective" undercover.... uhh)...
Just plain disappointing.

[Angela Auten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't Close Your Eyes: Wake; Fade; Gone Review

Book Rating: 5 stars out of 5.

Story Line: 5 stars out of 5. This book series was amazing! I really enjoyed every single second that I was reading it. Ever since Janie was eight she realized that she was different from everybody. She was sucked into other people's dreams. Therefore she hated when she was sucked into a dream at school. Her body would tremble and go numb. She would wake in a haze. After that she normally found a snicker bar waiting for her next to her. Throughout the whole series her mother was always drinking. The only thing that she did was go to the store and buy alcohol. She wouldn't even try to take care of herself. Janie was the one taking care of her most of the time. It was very bad. She deserved a lot more happiness than she got. She felt her mother didn't care about her or love her. It seemed like that throughout most of the trilogy. Janie also worked at Heather Home so that she could save up for college. They were on welfare because her mother wouldn't work either. Janie also had a lovely friendship with one of the elderly patients named Martha Stubin. It was very sad when she died. Janie loved her so much. I have more to say about Martha Stubin, but I will wait til I get further into my review. I loved when Janie actually talked to Cabel for the first time in the book. Also her memory of him taking her home on his skateboard was very cute. They didn't really speak, but she thought it was nice that he would help her get home. She had gone to a dance with her best friend, Carrie. Janie went on a school trip with everyone. That is where Cabel found out about her being able to be sucked into dreams. They talked it over. They started to fall for each other, but then Cabel hurts Janie by not showing up at her house. She starts to ignore him because of that. Eventually she finds out that he is an undercover narc from his boss. Cabel was dating Shay Wilder because he believes her father is supplying the kids with drugs. Janie ends up inside of one of the dreams of Shay's father and she discovers that the drugs are in yacht. Cabel and Janie made a good team. She eventually gets hired by Captain.

In book two Janie and Cabel work a case together as well. They start dating, but had to keep it a secret. She found out more about Cabel's past as well. What his father did and why he is the way he is. The case they are working on is about a teacher being a sexual predator. The captain asks her to be the bait. Cabel is not really that happy about that assignment. She does it and gets all of the teachers involved caught. She also finds out more about Miss Stubin. Miss Stubin was just like her. She was a dream catcher as well. Captain had known about her. Miss Stubin leaves her a lot of information.

Book three you find out more about Janie's mother past. Janie sees her father for the first time. With Cabel's help she finds out where he lives a lot of information about him. She also gets sucked into his dreams. She doesn't know how to help him. She eventually finds out that he is a dream catcher as well. I thought that Janie was going to leave Cabel at the end. I was gonna beat her for doing so. They are such a cute couple. She should not leave someone who loves her. This whole series was a ride. There were sad scenes and there were funny scenes. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. As another review pointed out some of the scenes in the book were confusing too. I started it once before, but stopped. I had gone back to it because I liked what I read. Reading it the second time I wasn't as confused as the first time.

Characters: 5 stars out of 5. Janie was an awesome character. She was an amazing heroine throughout this whole series. I did feel awful for her because of her mother. I also felt bad for her when she went into dreams. It was scary when she couldn't break out of the nightmares. I still loved her so much.

Cabel was awesome! He was so funny! I really enjoyed all the scenes with him. He was so loving and caring. I thought he was going to be a loner throughout the whole book series. I'm glad that he shed some positive light in this book.

Miss Stubin was sweet. I really wish that she lived longer through the book. It would have been better that way. My heart would not have broken for her. She was the same as Janie. Being a dream catcher was a burden for her definetly.

Janie's mother I didn't like because she was horrible through most the book. She barely did anything. It was disgusting the way she treated Janie. All Janie ever did was care for her. Janie should have left her. Maybe then she would get her life together!

Captain was an amazing character. You could tell that she truly cared for Janie and Cabel. She even told Janie that her and the police force were family! She deserved better than what she had at home!

I hated the three teachers. They needed to get destroyed! I'm glad that Janie took them down a peg!!

Favorite quotes: "The thought of being with Shay Wilder makes me want to gouge my eyes out with a butter knife," he says."

"Cabel gives her a quizzical look. "I am totally not getting enough attention here." (I feel like certain boys always want attention! ;))

Writing Style: 5 stars out of 5. Beautiful! I would read this book again! (I didn't ruin a lot of the book in my review. I left out a lot of details!)

[Kassandra Cornejo · Rating 3 out of 5]

it booked how i would want it to in 8th grade

[Hannah's Corner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this series! Read it many times. I remember I got these books without knowing anything about them and was very surprised at how easily I got sucked into it.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Janie could be the most irritating and annoying character in the entire world. It's a little harsh I guess, but sometimes I wish she would jump off a cliff. She gets upset and, on quite a couple of occasions, completely shuts down and stops functioning! Cabel and her have an argument? Stop doing anything useful and mope around! Yes, that is what the does most of the time. The characters were all very bland. Almost no one had any background information, except Dorothea, Henry, and Cabel (maybe Miss Stubin, too).

What I didn't like about these books was the writing style. I don't know if that was just me, but it frustrated me. A lot. Sure, it's easier and quicker, but it just doesn't do any justice to any of the books. Is it necessary to know that Janie has a dream a two a.m. in the morning? Do I need to know when Dorothea is wasted on the couch? Do I really need to know when Janie does her grocery shopping? No, I don't.

I feel as if I would have enjoyed these books more if they weren't written the way they were. Seriously, I was disappointed when I opened the book. The story line was promising, too. But the story line! It, too, would have been better if we got more answers about Janie's ability. When did this first start happening to people? Why does this happen to people? Is it possible to stop it? I wouldn't know because Lisa McMann didn't think it was necessary that we knew that!

I'll admit, there were some laugh-out-loud parts in there, but they were very rare. The only time I cried was near the ending of Gone, when Janie was talking about Henry right after her mom ruined the moment. That was the only time I felt a lot of emotion. Aside from that, some parts were really slow moving and very hard at developing.

Maybe it's the fact that I don't give up once I start a book; whatever it is, I didn't give up until I reached the very end of Gone.

Overall, I liked reading about the world Janie was living in. The only things stopping me from giving this book less than three stars are the [rare] parts that were actually really interesting. But I really need to know, did anyone else feel the exact same way I felt about this series?

[Liv · Rating 1 out of 5]

Man…. I wanted to like this book so bad but I couldn’t even finish it. I had to stop after Wake (or page 217) it just wasn’t good.

Slight spoilers for this review but but I’ll try to keep it vague.

I’ll point out something I did like. I liked how motivated Janie is. She isn’t in the best situation with her family yet she pushes to be better and do well.

The plot, if it’s even there is one at all if over the place. I don’t like how we start the book at present day for only about 5 pages to flashbacks for the 20+ pages. Then when we get further into the book Janie’s goal is all over the place. The party Carrie had was so not it and was really long? And Cabel introduction really messes with their relationship and how I perceived him.

ALSO I HATE their relationship. I know we should be rooting for them but even before they can start dating they’re fighting but a couple pages later they’re the opposite?? Its such a toxic relationship and it moved waaaaaay too fast for the book. The way Jamie acted towards him and to future character just made me like her less and less the more I read. And the age gap for Carrie’s relationship made me super uncomfortable.

The pacing was fine. A couple of times it moved fast but it mostly moved at a normal pace. However I don’t like the way the book was written. I see what the author was going for but there were so much unnecessary text/narrations. I remember one point Cabel says the most random thing and it’s so useless to anything in the book but Janie is comforted by it? The use of time/showing the time, was used too much and at points where it would have worked/been helpful the author didn’t used it. But the author used it when a minute passed MULTIPLE times.

Ok two more things. I didn’t like the amount of useless dreams we got. From one chapter characters we never see again to detailed dream from side characters. At times I just had to skim some of the dreams and I was proven right when they weren’t used later.

Last thing, It was also one big ad for snickers and milk? It’s not mentioned that her favorite drink and candy is milk and snickers or used in a way where it can help her when she so it’s just there.

[Megan Rose Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Upon purchasing this book, I had no idea it was three novels in one, but I am so glad I bought this version because I absolutely loved this story.

The main character, Janie, suffers from the involuntary ability to get sucked into other people's dreams and also their nightmares. This proves to be both dangerous and beneficial to her as she goes about her journey to cope with this power that she has. In this amazing trilogy that I had never heard of before, but really glad I did, we follow Janie as she tries to balance work, school, her love life, and dealing with an alcoholic parent amongst other things.

I have recently gotten interested in dreams and how they work and this book put a whole new twist on the concept of dreams and shows us a darker side of dreaming that I have never heard of before. What I loved about this book was the ease of reading it. You could just curl up on the couch with your favorite blanket and/or reading stuffed pal (mine is a giant llama named Buster haha) and lose yourself in a character's shoes that could be entirely different from you.

Overall, I give this book a five out of five stars because of how easy it was to read and how original the idea was. There was very little I disliked about it. I was honestly really sad to reach the last page because I wanted to keep living in this world, to find out how the rest of Janie's life had gone after there were no more words to tell us. Lisa McMann writes in such a way that is smooth like a knife through butter. I found myself feeling the emotions that Janie was feeling and I found myself wanting to keep reading even when I had other things to do. This is that kind of good book that I highly recommend everyone reading and I also would one hundred percent re-read it someday.

[Miranda · Rating 2 out of 5]

For me this book gradually got worse. Fade was interesting, different, something new to think about. The whole dream catcher concept was exciting!

Wake was still good, but could have been better. Everything that happened at Mr. Durbin's party kept me entertained enough, but I wanted more. I wanted to know what happened during the trials! I wanted to know what happened to the students afterwards! There were so many unanswered questions!

Fade. Ugh. I had such high hopes. I was really hoping to this story would go out with a bang and instead it was landed flat. Although some questions were answered, I feel like that was all that was happening. The entire book felt like the last unnecessary chapter at the end of a good book that just quickly wraps up everything. That's the feeling I had, but for 300 pages 😳. And Cabel became such a softy, I was so bored with their relationship. When his character was introduced in Fade, he seems to be this loner, a mysterious outcast, possibly bad boy 😏. Well, mystery solved, he's boring. Anytime Janie poured her lip, he was "oh baby come here let me hold you and tell you everything is going to be okay". His whole character just became a wimp when I expected him to be a badass.

Overall, I did finish the book, so there's something. It did keep me entertained which I guess is the whole purpose. But definitely could have been better.

[Amanda Hatfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this series. It sucked me in and I couldnt stop reading it. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because of the ending. Seriously. Not entirely a cliff hanger. But what is Janie and Cabels agreement? What happens with Janies mom? There are so many unanswered questions.

[Alison is probably reading smut · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was surprisingly good for being a YA book! I loved the overall premise of the book and each character was quite enjoyable. It didn't wow me by any means, but still held my interest throughout. I loved the concept of having three books in one and the setting being held in Michigan, which is where I am from, so it was fun to see everything come together.

[Tiffany Munroe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written story! Kept my attention from start to finish, which can be difficult to do!

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Morton's Fork: "A decision between two equally suck ass things"

[Ava Gallagher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good, it was written very well, highly recommend. I never got tired of it and flew through it, finished in 12 hours and 30 minutes. It was easy to follow and I enjoyed it a lot, not my usual read, but surprisingly good.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

From my blog and instagram account - @livereadandprosper

The Wake Trilogy is a tale about Janie who gets sucked into people's dreams when she gets around them. Without giving away anything, here is a quick synopsis of the three books: The first book "Wake" introduces Janie and her secret and reveals the captivating relationship between her and Cabel, a boy who's going through a tough time AND having pretty insane nightmares that Janie gets sucked into. The second novel "Fade" delves deeper into their connection with each other and Janie gets to learn more about what the rest of her life will entail being a "dream catcher". The third novel "Gone" takes place after Janie is out of high school and reveals the true meaning of what's in store for the rest of her life, something that keeps you on the edge of your seat and biting your fingernails for sure.

I freaking love this series. I loved everything about it. I fell in love with Cabel and I wanted to be Janie so badly. It kept me thinking for years about what it would be like to get sucked into people's dreams when I would pass someone sleeping in public. How insane! Lisa's writing is whimsy and beautiful and kept me coming back for more. I actually grabbed the first book a week after it was released so I actually had to wait for the other two to be published. Longest wait of my life! The second novel was so good, that I was super nervous for what she had in store for her third novel just because the possibilities were endless. Let me just say, the ending is the most emotional thing you will ever come across. Go pick this up right now. In fact, I may go just read it for the millionth time again!

5/5 Stars

[Aiden McDonough · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took a break in the middle of this book and regret putting it down when I did. There are some early areas where it was dragging for me, but I found myself thinking about Janie and wondering what was going to come of her and her unique ability. I picked the book back up a couple of days ago and sailed through the remainder of it. The story delved deeper and I found myself feeling for the protagonist and caring about her struggles. Very glad to have picked it back up because I was pleasantly surprised.

[Gianna Warner · Rating 5 out of 5]

i absolutely loved this!! it’s very different from what i’ve read before. i loved the writing style and the characters! i absolutely love janie and cabe! they were so cute! her ability was so cool and i loved how she was able to change dreams and help the people! i definitely recommend it! it’s long but very fast paced so don’t let the size of the book scare you lol!

[craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE book to end my readers block. i love this story so much. its the kind of slow burn that doesnt get dragged out even throughout all 3 parts. the adding plot, the suspense, the romance, angst and acceptance that she’ll never be a normal person is all so gut wrenching wonderful to read.

[Victoria Lynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite reads. The author, Lisa, has a way of pulling the reader in and capturing their attention.

This book had me absolutely enthralled with her writing with the way she goes into such detail about Janie’s experience and with the romance that Janie and Cabel are developing.

[Lillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wake: 3 stars

Fade: 2 stars

Gone: 4 stars

It would have been more enjoyable if the whole series was like book 3; if you loved the first two, you probably won’t like the ending.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Because this book is actually three books in one it’s a little difficult to give it an overall review. So I’ll start out by saying the first book was pretty good. It was probably the second most interesting out of the three. Though it wasn’t the most memorable. I honestly don’t remember much of what happens besides the main character, Janie, trying to navigate high school with her dream catching ability. And she also deals with her new love interest hiding things from her and she instantly jumps to conclusions since he won’t explain what’s really going on. Through out the whole series their relationship never felt real to me. But that issue could have been because of how the author wrote the book. At times I felt confused because the author wrote in a way that made me feel like I missed something. And I was confused at times.
The second book was more interesting. Janie starts working with the police department full time, using her abilities to try to figure out who the criminal is. But she ends up biting off more than she can chew. Or maybe I should say she just gets too confident? Or cocky maybe? She ends up getting into a very stupid situation that I felt she shouldn’t have been in in the first place. And the entire time she was in that situation she made horrible decisions which led to bad consequences. But in the end she got the job done.
The third book started off confusing. It was sometime after the second but I’m not sure how much longer. It felt weird and random like the author couldn’t figure out what to write about. Then all the sudden it stayed on one subject. And that subject wasn’t her job with the police department anymore which I felt like was a little bit of a let down. I felt like the first two books were setting it up for us to see her succeed in her dream catching detective work. But there was absolutely none of that even included in the third book. Also her friend slowly started to disappear from the series. And only made random appearances by the end of it. The last book almost felt like it didn’t even belong in the series. But it came to a somewhat happy ending. The last book just made me feel off about the whole series in general. Leaving me unsure of how I feel about it as a whole.
Overall the characters relationships either felt nonexistent or fake. I never really felt like Janie and Cabel were in love. It usually just felt more like a teenage fling or something that just wasn’t gonna last. And the lack of seeing Janie do her detective work in the end was disappointing. I know she was apparently taking a break after the trauma she experienced in the second, but it was still disappointing. Maybe because the trauma and experiences with going to court weren’t really mentioned much in the conclusion.
I guess what I’m saying is I’m disappointed in the last book. But the other too were fairly interesting and pretty easy to read. Number three just felt like it didn’t fit right.

[Nancy Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Don’t Close Your Eyes” was a delightful surprise for me. This YA paranormal book initially caught my eye because of its size and cover, not because I had heard anything about the book or the author. It seemed to call out to me to read it (not literally, but you get the idea - lol).

Jamie, the protagonist, is a dream catcher, and her “gift” comes at a very high price (not saying any more or I will give away too much). She grows up with an alcoholic mother and an unknown father. I connected with her immediately, having grown up with an alcoholic father myself. That aspect of the story felt very real and was portrayed exceptionally well. The betrayal and lack of emotional connection drive her forward instead of crippling her, which was one of the magical elements of this story.

While some have criticized the story part of the book, I found it to be the best part. The relationship dynamics between the main characters were spot on—teenagers often struggle to communicate their feelings (and adults aren’t much better).

Another criticism people mentioned is why she drinks so much milk. That actually seemed normal to me - her episodes drain her and milk is easy to get, it has a lot of protein and Vitamin D, and you can get it into your body rapidly. Plus, I feel like it there was some symbolism there as milk is a symbol of maternal sustenance which Jamie doesn't get from her mother. Plus, it is obvious she loves it.

The problems Jamie solves in this book —at her school, in her past, her own, and those of others—are intriguing, creative, and well-written.

The time stamp headings in the book were actually helpful rather than distracting - another pleasant surprise. I was a bit worried in the beginning, but I came to rely on them.

This is definitely a book worth reading. I was disappointed when it ended, only because I didn’t want it to end.

I will be putting this author on my definitely read list.

[Ellie Poitras · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don’t Close Your Eyes is an amazing book with great character connections, details, and will definitely make you want to keep reading. Janie, a young girl in high school has her tough, her mom is an alcoholic and she doesn’t know her own father. Being the one who is in charge of the house and doesn’t have a mother or father figure, finds it hard to open up to people. Until she met Cabel. He connects with her in ways she’s never connected with anyone else, growing very close. She opens up to him about her greatest secret, she can see other people’s dreams. Ever since she was little she has been able to go into people’s dreams, and sometimes change the course of them if she wants to or not. Though this “power” may seem fun, she cannot help being dragged into people’s dreams when they are sleeping, and the dreams take control of her. She knows nobody else that is gifted like her, besides one person. An old lady that lives at the nursing home Janie works in. The old lady tells her about her life as being able to go into people’s dreams. She tells her about the ups and downs of it, and gives her a book about it. When the lady dies, she feels alone, even having Cabel. Knowing that due to the dreaming she will start to lose her vision at 20, and lose being able to write too, she starts to panic, thinking of ways to make this not happen. She is conflicted between leaving everyone she loves so she can be safe, or staying near them and not being able to save herself. In the end, she uses her power for good, and joins an organization like the CIA, which Cabel works for too. I have already read this book 3 times and will continue to read it, and you should too.

[Adelyn Bock · Rating 4 out of 5]

She uses her power to help others, but her body decays even faster when she does. A fast paced book that leaves you wanting to turn the next page. I’m glad that the book is a three in one because I feel like I would have been disappointed by only the first one or the first two. Each book tackles a different situation but the three flow together really well. I was skeptical at first, the first couple chapters were cringey. I really love the pick up at the end and the choice Janie has to make regarding her decline. The second book was absolutely disgusting I hate all of Janie’s teachers. The lack of communication between Cabel and Janie pissed me off occasionally. I was pleasantly surprised that Janie’s mother didn’t have any sort of redemption or realizations, she was a raging alcoholic who thought Henry was an awful person until the end. Her consistency adds a bit more realism to the book, not everything can be fixed. I’m a little disappointed that Janie’s choice in the end was between two medical disadvantages, I feel like the choice between isolation and medical disability could have said a lot more about Janie’s character. Overall, a fresh and engaging book about a strange girl.

[Cal The Theatre Gal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twas a long process with the new school year starting up again, but I finally managed to finish this trilogy once again! The last time I read the Wake Trilogy was near the beginning of high school and I got this book from the Scholastic Book Fair. And what a ride it truly was the first time and this time!

I really enjoyed this trilogy and it was really nice reading it again with a more adult mindset. It’s like watching a childhood movie when you’re older and wiser.

This story is definitely for teenagers and up with its themes and content, showcasing grief and characters dealing with alcoholism to name a few. I forgot how heavy this book got sometimes, but it was definitely still worth reading again.

I really liked how Lisa McMann formatted these stories using time stamps. It truly felt like the story was happening in real time in my brain and it made the pacing very easy to follow. I also liked how each chapter had a title; I am always a fan of stories that have chapter titles. ☺️

Overall, this all-in-one trilogy was a fantastic reread and I highly recommend it to my fellow readers!🥰🫶

[BethannieRian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This took me FOREVER to get through because I kept setting it down on my side table and forgetting about it. I also didn’t want to lug a nearly 700-page book around with me. It’s a hefty one. But it seems to be 3 books in 1? I’m still trying to figure that out for my own book count🤣
The last book was when I noticed there was some lacking in the writing. I couldn’t stand the sentences that weren’t complete. For example, so many sentences written like: “She ignores it—thinking it’s probably Cabel. Needs to think. To do this alone.” It was enough in the last book to drive me bonkers.
The relationship of Cabel & Janie was a love-hate for me. His random cutting off of Janie infuriated me. But, I HATE the trope of not communicating what you’re really thinking/feeling. This isn’t new to anyone who’s read my other reviews.
Overall, the story was incredibly unique. I was enthralled and constantly wondering about when there would be another dream to experience with Janie. It’s quite intriguing. I would recommend it to others.

[Ava Sabadishin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book kept me on the edge of my seat. Every characters had developed personalities and I was very attached to each of the characters. Although this was three books in one large one I didn’t even realize how far in I was. It was an incredible adventure and the characters were wonderful. We follow Janie and her struggle to manage work, school, love life, dealing with an alcoholic parent, and above all managing the “curse” of her being sucked into peoples dreams. These books show the dark side of dreaming and how Janie is effected by it. This was a very original idea and I’m excited I was able to experience it. When I reached the last page I was disappointed, I wanted to know what happened to Janie and find out how the rest of her life went.
I found myself so addicted to reading this book and I fell in love with the characters.
This is a book I would recommend to anyone and would read it again someday.

•”And then they kiss.
Slowly, gently.
Because with the right person, sometimes kissing feels like healing.”