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Awareness
Eighteen-year-old aspiring painter Eliza Harper doesn’t believe in hell. When she wakes up in the middle of surgery, however, she learns just how wrong she was.
After attending a party with her three best friends, the night ends in a terrible accident that puts Eliza on an operating table. Awake yet paralyzed, in a condition known as anesthetic awareness, Eliza leaves her body and begins a desperate search to discover the fate of her friends.
Though unable to make herself seen or heard, Eliza still experiences a journey unlike any other. Torn between life and death, Eliza begins to understand the importance of the people in her life—and what it really means to love unconditionally.
After attending a party with her three best friends, the night ends in a terrible accident that puts Eliza on an operating table. Awake yet paralyzed, in a condition known as anesthetic awareness, Eliza leaves her body and begins a desperate search to discover the fate of her friends.
Though unable to make herself seen or heard, Eliza still experiences a journey unlike any other. Torn between life and death, Eliza begins to understand the importance of the people in her life—and what it really means to love unconditionally.
220 pages, ebook
First published January 14, 2022
2 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
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March 5, 2022Where did I stop? 24% in
Why? I was bored. There was nothing happening. I purposefully held off on reading this because I was having surgery just after I got it. No way was I going to read a horror novel about being conscious during surgery just before I go under. Little did I know I would have nothing to fear, because nothing happened by the time I stopped reading. Literally nothing that would even indicate that actual plotline was going to occur. On top of that, the characters were pretty gross. A lot of antiquated and pejorative slang was being thrown around, along with a lot of cliché-for-the-90s antagonism between the MC and her parents that just screamed forced tension. For a book that just came out this year, it read like it was written twenty years ago. If it weren’t for mentions of the pandemic, it might as well could have been. I was just not liking this book at all. I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Why? I was bored. There was nothing happening. I purposefully held off on reading this because I was having surgery just after I got it. No way was I going to read a horror novel about being conscious during surgery just before I go under. Little did I know I would have nothing to fear, because nothing happened by the time I stopped reading. Literally nothing that would even indicate that actual plotline was going to occur. On top of that, the characters were pretty gross. A lot of antiquated and pejorative slang was being thrown around, along with a lot of cliché-for-the-90s antagonism between the MC and her parents that just screamed forced tension. For a book that just came out this year, it read like it was written twenty years ago. If it weren’t for mentions of the pandemic, it might as well could have been. I was just not liking this book at all. I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
January 24, 2022
this was the perfect suspenseful teen novel, it had what I was looking for in this type of book and I enjoyed getting to know Eliza. It had a perfect atmosphere and I'm glad I was able to read it.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
February 14, 2022
I am appreciative for the gifted copy of Awareness from Metamorphosis Literary Agency; I enjoyed this new YA suspense book from Amanda Lance. The narrative development and pacing of the novel was effective and I found the focus on anesthetic awareness interesting. I would not describe this book as horror, the notion of anesthetic awareness is frightening but the book to me is more about the story of Eliza's journey during her out of body type experience. She has to examine her relationships, her attitudes towards her family and her future, and make decisions as she hovers in the in between state of life/death.
I found this book to capture a lot of how I see/hear the lives of the college age students I teach talk; things feel both urgent and full of consequence in the moment, friendships and parent/adolescent relationships are felt as more intense (a lot of this has to do with biology... I will save the lecture) and the focus is on a movement away from the security (?) of childhood into adult roles. The timing of high school graduation captures a lot of natural intensity and insecurity about change blended with some of the still present cognitive and social immaturity, and risk taking, that 18 year olds display. I say this because I think it can help understand that the characters can read as superficial but I think it is more that this specific timing of the story captures a complicated push/pull part of development and it might be an honest portrayal of youth today.
I will also say that I found, intentional or not, the idea of an adolescent being unable to be seen/heard due to anesthetic awareness to be fascinating if you think about how often adolescents today live in contexts where they present themselves (videos, stories, selfies, etc) with the desire to be seen, heard, followed, liked... For me this opens up an interesting set up for an adolescent who is less used to being so alone with thoughts, memories, ideas and the time for real self examination. It is interesting to consider this possibly bigger theme in the story, which for me influenced my 4 star rating.
I found this book to capture a lot of how I see/hear the lives of the college age students I teach talk; things feel both urgent and full of consequence in the moment, friendships and parent/adolescent relationships are felt as more intense (a lot of this has to do with biology... I will save the lecture) and the focus is on a movement away from the security (?) of childhood into adult roles. The timing of high school graduation captures a lot of natural intensity and insecurity about change blended with some of the still present cognitive and social immaturity, and risk taking, that 18 year olds display. I say this because I think it can help understand that the characters can read as superficial but I think it is more that this specific timing of the story captures a complicated push/pull part of development and it might be an honest portrayal of youth today.
I will also say that I found, intentional or not, the idea of an adolescent being unable to be seen/heard due to anesthetic awareness to be fascinating if you think about how often adolescents today live in contexts where they present themselves (videos, stories, selfies, etc) with the desire to be seen, heard, followed, liked... For me this opens up an interesting set up for an adolescent who is less used to being so alone with thoughts, memories, ideas and the time for real self examination. It is interesting to consider this possibly bigger theme in the story, which for me influenced my 4 star rating.
February 13, 2022
This is the account of a teen who experiences a real but rare condition called anaesthetic awareness. I was ready for a tale of agony but rather this is more of an out of body experience. True accounts explain this condition is upsetting but the patient rarely feels pain, which is the case in Awareness.,
Here is a story of a teen named Eliza who attends a party with her three best friends. There is quite a bit of underage drinking. The fun night ends in a terrible accident by another tern who should have never gotten behind the wheel after many drinks. And there was a DD who failed to stay sober. The wreck ends with Eliza on an operating table with severe and critical injuries. Awake yet paralysed by anaesthetics, Eliza leaves her body and begins a desperate search of the hospital to discover the fate of her friends. She is not seen or heard by most staff and while she can’t walk through doors, neither can she open them so she has to wait and slip through when someone else opens. She is unable to make herself seen or heard at least to most everyone she encounters.
She is a good daughter, student and aspiring artist and Eliza Harper doesn’t believe in hell. When she wakes up in the middle of surgery, however, she begins to have a change of heart on that subject. So what is true hell?
For Eliza, this is a journey unlike any other. Torn between life and death, Eliza begins to understand the importance of the people in her life, and what it really means to love unconditionally.
Will this young girl, just beginning her life, get to put into practice this newfound understanding?
Awareness is a quick read which is good because there wasn’t a lot of content. The characters are portrayed a shallow and not developed at all. I grew impatient after the bombshell opening. Then it abruptly cuts to high school life described in kind of boring detail up to the day of the party. But take into account it’s been many decades since this reader experienced high school life. young adult readers will better relate.
After Eliza leaves her body the story moves slowly following Eliza as she viewed the fate of her injured friends and families grieving their children, who are now radically changed both physically and emotionally.
The book ends with the words, “I take the plunge.” I’d like to discuss the ending with another reader or the author. What do those powerful 4 words mean?
The epilogue cuts to the future as the characters learn to “deal with their lot in life.”
Through extensive all kinds of therapy, the teens are trying to make the best of their “lot.”
Definitely an interesting and thoughtful book, but if you are looking for fast paced, leave this one.
Here is a story of a teen named Eliza who attends a party with her three best friends. There is quite a bit of underage drinking. The fun night ends in a terrible accident by another tern who should have never gotten behind the wheel after many drinks. And there was a DD who failed to stay sober. The wreck ends with Eliza on an operating table with severe and critical injuries. Awake yet paralysed by anaesthetics, Eliza leaves her body and begins a desperate search of the hospital to discover the fate of her friends. She is not seen or heard by most staff and while she can’t walk through doors, neither can she open them so she has to wait and slip through when someone else opens. She is unable to make herself seen or heard at least to most everyone she encounters.
She is a good daughter, student and aspiring artist and Eliza Harper doesn’t believe in hell. When she wakes up in the middle of surgery, however, she begins to have a change of heart on that subject. So what is true hell?
For Eliza, this is a journey unlike any other. Torn between life and death, Eliza begins to understand the importance of the people in her life, and what it really means to love unconditionally.
Will this young girl, just beginning her life, get to put into practice this newfound understanding?
Awareness is a quick read which is good because there wasn’t a lot of content. The characters are portrayed a shallow and not developed at all. I grew impatient after the bombshell opening. Then it abruptly cuts to high school life described in kind of boring detail up to the day of the party. But take into account it’s been many decades since this reader experienced high school life. young adult readers will better relate.
After Eliza leaves her body the story moves slowly following Eliza as she viewed the fate of her injured friends and families grieving their children, who are now radically changed both physically and emotionally.
The book ends with the words, “I take the plunge.” I’d like to discuss the ending with another reader or the author. What do those powerful 4 words mean?
The epilogue cuts to the future as the characters learn to “deal with their lot in life.”
Through extensive all kinds of therapy, the teens are trying to make the best of their “lot.”
Definitely an interesting and thoughtful book, but if you are looking for fast paced, leave this one.
January 22, 2022
Awareness by Amanda Lance.
Eighteen-year-old aspiring painter Eliza Harper doesn’t believe in hell. When she wakes up in the middle of surgery, however, she learns just how wrong she was. After attending a party with her three best friends, the night ends in a terrible accident that puts Eliza on an operating table. Awake yet paralyzed, in a condition known as anesthetic awareness, Eliza leaves her body and begins a desperate search to discover the fate of her friends.
Though unable to make herself seen or heard, Eliza still experiences a journey unlike any other. Torn between life and death, Eliza begins to understand the importance of the people in her life—and what it really means to love unconditionally.
A good read with good characters. It was different. I loved the cover. 4*.
Eighteen-year-old aspiring painter Eliza Harper doesn’t believe in hell. When she wakes up in the middle of surgery, however, she learns just how wrong she was. After attending a party with her three best friends, the night ends in a terrible accident that puts Eliza on an operating table. Awake yet paralyzed, in a condition known as anesthetic awareness, Eliza leaves her body and begins a desperate search to discover the fate of her friends.
Though unable to make herself seen or heard, Eliza still experiences a journey unlike any other. Torn between life and death, Eliza begins to understand the importance of the people in her life—and what it really means to love unconditionally.
A good read with good characters. It was different. I loved the cover. 4*.
March 4, 2022
Actually a 3.5 read
Unfortunately. This isn’t a thriller book as what I’ve expected. The only thing that scared the hell out me was waking up during operation and feeling the pain! Surprisingly, what I liked about the story were:
- i had a visual of what’s life when you are about to die
- you’ll appreciate life because of second chances
This isn't kind of my taste for a "thriller" but this a fast-paced and decent read.
Thanks Netgalley for this free copy!
Unfortunately. This isn’t a thriller book as what I’ve expected. The only thing that scared the hell out me was waking up during operation and feeling the pain! Surprisingly, what I liked about the story were:
- i had a visual of what’s life when you are about to die
- you’ll appreciate life because of second chances
This isn't kind of my taste for a "thriller" but this a fast-paced and decent read.
Thanks Netgalley for this free copy!
March 4, 2022
Awareness
Amanda Lance
I enjoyed this book, it is not a book a normally would read but I am so glad I did. This is an account of a girl, Eliza, waking during surgery after an accident and leaving her body in search for her friends. Good book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Amanda Lance
I enjoyed this book, it is not a book a normally would read but I am so glad I did. This is an account of a girl, Eliza, waking during surgery after an accident and leaving her body in search for her friends. Good book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
July 1, 2022
It’s a pretty quick read. I enjoyed it but it didn’t really scream horror to me besides the fact she woke up mid surgery. Overall a nice read to get you out of a reading slump.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews