Waking Up: A Short Story

by Andrea J. Buchanan

Everyone knows what happens when you become a Twelve. It’s all over the Ultranet. And besides that, there are the rumors. But when Talia Troy learns the true nature of her fate, she decides to fight back. With the help of her computer-genius brother, locked far away in a government facility, she finds a way to resist. And soon her only way out becomes...waking up.

Genres: Fiction

56 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 13, 2012

About the author

Andrea J. Buchanan is a New York Times bestselling author whose latest book is THE BEGINNING OF EVERYTHING, which was a finalist for the 2019 PEN/E.O. Wilson Award for Literary Science Writing. Her other work includes the multimedia young adult novel GIFT, the internationally bestselling THE DARING BOOK FOR GIRLS, her essay collection on early motherhood MOTHER SHOCK: LOVING EVERY (OTHER) MINUTE OF IT, and seven other books. Before becoming a writer, Andi trained as a pianist, earning a bachelor of music degree in piano performance from the Boston Conservatory of Music and a master's in piano performance from the San Francisco Conservatory. Her last recital was at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall. She lives with her family in Philadelphia.

Reviews

[Ryan Spranger · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have to assume most people reading this (or thinking about reading this) are coming from the Vechs map. For a book found in a Minecraft map, it’s solid enough. A basic sci fi story about control and revolution, I guess. Judged as a work on its own, though, it’s pretty lackluster. There’s just an utter lack of tension. Talia hears secrets, the “antagonists” tell her they know she hears secrets, but don’t do a lot. She executes her plans (and her brother’s plans) with next to no resistance. And then the story ends, happily ever after. It feels limited by its length, like we spend most of the time establishing a somewhat basic Act 1, learning the lies and dangers of the world, and then Talia reaches her lucid dreaming state and we are ready for the book to get really creative and adventurous. The potential of fighting a revolution while dreaming is limitless. But instead, we are told there is a plan, and then we break free, and it ends. It’s just limp.

[Helen Bright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good story with a creepy premise, but plot holes and a lack of clear purpose behind the events of the story (there seems to be no reason for any of it to happen except to Be Evil And Creepy) take away from its impact.

[Bass Drop (Joshua) Burda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was actually a good book to read.
For the 99 cents, this book is perfectly worth it. Although most of the chapters is Talia actually being awake, the conversations filled that hole in.