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Asleep #2
Awake
Adisa and Micah's saga continues as the young couple try to heal Micah on their own. Their repeated failures drive Adisa into a desperate but secret alliance with Micah's father and place a strain on the young couple's relationship that may drive them apart permanently. Adisa learns more about the super world, revealing just how alien they are, like their curious bathroom habits and disdain for earthbounds, which leads her to question if a life with Micah is possible. Victor, Micah's super twin, continues his pursuit of Adisa in hopes of fulfilling a prophecy predicting their union is the only way to save Micah's life.
As Adisa deals with the mounting challenges, threatening her relationship with Micah, she discovers her birth parents are alive and want to see her. Pearl, her earthbound mother, and Cyrus, the greatest super being in modern times, have been absent from Adisa's life since they abandoned her in a cotton field when she was only three years old. Does Adisa's reunion with her birth parents hold the key to Micah's cure or will it lead to his death?
As Adisa deals with the mounting challenges, threatening her relationship with Micah, she discovers her birth parents are alive and want to see her. Pearl, her earthbound mother, and Cyrus, the greatest super being in modern times, have been absent from Adisa's life since they abandoned her in a cotton field when she was only three years old. Does Adisa's reunion with her birth parents hold the key to Micah's cure or will it lead to his death?
- GenresYoung Adult
Paperback
First published September 1, 2010
1 person is currently reading
75 people want to read
About the author
Wendy Raven McNair
9 books14 followersWendy Raven McNair was born in Houston, Texas and grew up in the Third Ward projects. She didn't travel outside of Texas, until she was an adult, except vicariously through stories. "... I travelled past the bounds imposed on me by my circumstances ... through books. They took me away from my insecure, sometimes frightening but mostly monotonous poverty existence. Stories brought to my awareness a bigger world beyond my limited surroundings and transported me to places I would eventually live or visit and others I can still only dream about."
Storytelling has always been an integral part of McNair's life. As a child, she shared a room with her younger sister and made up bedtime stories for her. In school, she wrote short stories to share with friends. As a young mother, she made up stories to entertain her daughter.
McNair has a B.A. in English from the University of Texas and a Certificate in Graphic Design through Kennesaw State University's Continuing Education. She is currently working on a trilogy inspired by her daughter. "My teen daughter enjoys fantasy stories but I couldn't find any that were age appropriate with main characters who reflected her." Thus, ASLEEP, was born. It's a fantasy love story that chronicles an African American teen's introduction to the secret world of super beings.
GIANT SLAYERS, McNair's first novel, tells the story of three childhood friends learning to negotiate their declining African American community as adults while tackling the challenges presented by the men in their lives.
"I feel doubly blessed that I'm still able to create stories and can now share them with a larger audience. My hope is to inspire others to overcome their challenges and pursue their dreams."
Storytelling has always been an integral part of McNair's life. As a child, she shared a room with her younger sister and made up bedtime stories for her. In school, she wrote short stories to share with friends. As a young mother, she made up stories to entertain her daughter.
McNair has a B.A. in English from the University of Texas and a Certificate in Graphic Design through Kennesaw State University's Continuing Education. She is currently working on a trilogy inspired by her daughter. "My teen daughter enjoys fantasy stories but I couldn't find any that were age appropriate with main characters who reflected her." Thus, ASLEEP, was born. It's a fantasy love story that chronicles an African American teen's introduction to the secret world of super beings.
GIANT SLAYERS, McNair's first novel, tells the story of three childhood friends learning to negotiate their declining African American community as adults while tackling the challenges presented by the men in their lives.
"I feel doubly blessed that I'm still able to create stories and can now share them with a larger audience. My hope is to inspire others to overcome their challenges and pursue their dreams."
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 22, 2010
Wow. Just wow. If I had any inclinations as to where things were headed after ASLEEP, McNair completely blew me out of the water. I tried to read through this one slowly, to savour it, but it got to a point where I just couldn't put it down and I was racing to find out what was going to happen.
It's time for Adisa to grow up, and she as some hard lessons to learn. Some of her emotional upheaval comes from normal things. She has her first serious boyfriend and she has to learn balance and responsibility when it comes to her family and friends. She has just realized that her college attending sisters' moral code is not quite the same as the conservative one instilled in them by their parents and she must reconcile the fact that her sisters are old enough to make their own decisions. She also just recently found out she was adopted. Then there are some not so normal things, such as the cultural differences between the super being (Sp) world and the earthbound one, the manifestation of her super powers, the realization that she is the only one who can save her boyfriend's life. Everyone has an agenda for Adisa and all of them have different motives. The pressure is on, and she is bound to make mistakes along the way, hopefully they won't be too serious to repair.
Because of the cultural differences between the earthbound and Sp world, both Micha and Adisa make unfounded assumptions that could cost them everything. If Micha had taken time to teach Adisa, or had Adisa taken time to ask, more about the Sp world, Adisa would have made more informed decisions. But here I am talking about what the character's should have done, not the author. That's because, once again, Wendy Raven McNair has brilliantly blurred the lines of reality and supernatural. Her heartfelt characters are so realistic, that she truly brings the reader into the story. I read lots of YA fantasy and paranormal but none that is so firmly planted in reality that it's almost ...tangible.
When the book ends Adisa has finally come into her own, though the process was grueling. It ends openly, but not on a gut-wrenching cliffhanger, leaving McNair plenty of Sp world for Adisa to discover and much still to be resolved.
If you love YA, I beg you to check out this trilogy, starting with Asleep. It's a beautiful story, expetly told and magnificently written. I think it's truly an incredible series like nothing I've ever read. I am anxiously awaiting the third and final book, ASCEND.
http://girlsjustreading.blogspot.com/...
It's time for Adisa to grow up, and she as some hard lessons to learn. Some of her emotional upheaval comes from normal things. She has her first serious boyfriend and she has to learn balance and responsibility when it comes to her family and friends. She has just realized that her college attending sisters' moral code is not quite the same as the conservative one instilled in them by their parents and she must reconcile the fact that her sisters are old enough to make their own decisions. She also just recently found out she was adopted. Then there are some not so normal things, such as the cultural differences between the super being (Sp) world and the earthbound one, the manifestation of her super powers, the realization that she is the only one who can save her boyfriend's life. Everyone has an agenda for Adisa and all of them have different motives. The pressure is on, and she is bound to make mistakes along the way, hopefully they won't be too serious to repair.
Because of the cultural differences between the earthbound and Sp world, both Micha and Adisa make unfounded assumptions that could cost them everything. If Micha had taken time to teach Adisa, or had Adisa taken time to ask, more about the Sp world, Adisa would have made more informed decisions. But here I am talking about what the character's should have done, not the author. That's because, once again, Wendy Raven McNair has brilliantly blurred the lines of reality and supernatural. Her heartfelt characters are so realistic, that she truly brings the reader into the story. I read lots of YA fantasy and paranormal but none that is so firmly planted in reality that it's almost ...tangible.
When the book ends Adisa has finally come into her own, though the process was grueling. It ends openly, but not on a gut-wrenching cliffhanger, leaving McNair plenty of Sp world for Adisa to discover and much still to be resolved.
If you love YA, I beg you to check out this trilogy, starting with Asleep. It's a beautiful story, expetly told and magnificently written. I think it's truly an incredible series like nothing I've ever read. I am anxiously awaiting the third and final book, ASCEND.
http://girlsjustreading.blogspot.com/...
November 12, 2010
Asleep, the first book in Wendy Raven McNair's YA trilogy, was an incredible first book that set up the premise for an even better romance, and fantasy filled second book in Awake. It combines everything you would like in a great romance, coupled with fantasy elements that haven't been explored in any other book I have read before.
The characters seem to come even more to life in this book, and their personalities start to blossom. Adisa in the first book was somewhat shyer when it came to her relationship with Micah, a common trait among female leads in YA books, a trait that Micah also had. But throughout this book you see them both begin to grow a backbone and find out what it means to love each other. The sacrifices, the promises, and what is at stake for their relationship and the people's lives who are involved. That was really how the romance was so stepped up in this book. It wasn't just the "I love yous" that showed the bond between Micah and Adisa, it was what was at stake for both of them and how they used it to make them grow closer together, and push the limits of what in the end they would be willing to do to save and be with the other.
The fantasy aspect was also amplified. It was taken to a whole new level. Slowly throughout the book facts and different theories about the whole Sp world is given out. And the way all that begins to turn together towards the end is awesome. Adisa is put into a situation that she has been dreaming about since we ended with her in Asleep, but now that she is there, she is being tested, experimented, and given a huge reality check on the decisions and choices she made to get there. Something else that I loved was how many of the minor characters in the last book or the beginning of this book took on a greater role. It made everything more suspenseful when it wasn't just Micah and Adisa at stake. The new friends, the old enemy's, everyone thrown into this world of not just good and evil, but trying to decipher the greater good over the worse evil.
This book was more than the unexpected, I have the dynamite romance between Adisa and Micah that I have been craving since I read the first book, but an even stronger plot line and character buildup that leave me in even more anticipation over the third book!
The characters seem to come even more to life in this book, and their personalities start to blossom. Adisa in the first book was somewhat shyer when it came to her relationship with Micah, a common trait among female leads in YA books, a trait that Micah also had. But throughout this book you see them both begin to grow a backbone and find out what it means to love each other. The sacrifices, the promises, and what is at stake for their relationship and the people's lives who are involved. That was really how the romance was so stepped up in this book. It wasn't just the "I love yous" that showed the bond between Micah and Adisa, it was what was at stake for both of them and how they used it to make them grow closer together, and push the limits of what in the end they would be willing to do to save and be with the other.
The fantasy aspect was also amplified. It was taken to a whole new level. Slowly throughout the book facts and different theories about the whole Sp world is given out. And the way all that begins to turn together towards the end is awesome. Adisa is put into a situation that she has been dreaming about since we ended with her in Asleep, but now that she is there, she is being tested, experimented, and given a huge reality check on the decisions and choices she made to get there. Something else that I loved was how many of the minor characters in the last book or the beginning of this book took on a greater role. It made everything more suspenseful when it wasn't just Micah and Adisa at stake. The new friends, the old enemy's, everyone thrown into this world of not just good and evil, but trying to decipher the greater good over the worse evil.
This book was more than the unexpected, I have the dynamite romance between Adisa and Micah that I have been craving since I read the first book, but an even stronger plot line and character buildup that leave me in even more anticipation over the third book!
April 12, 2011
McNair has done it again! Suspense, check. Romance, check. Humor, check. Action, check. Spirituality, check. History, check. If you are looking for entertainment and a plot of substance, look no further. McNair hits the jackpot with Book II of her science fiction series.
Awake picks up where Asleep left off in the intertwined world of earthbounds and superbeings. McNair followers are in for a treat as the story focuses on Adisa’s manifestation and proper use of her powers as a Healer. Adisa also discovers that two of her classmates and one of her sister’s boyfriends are superbeings. Feeling somewhat betrayed by the reality of her abandonment and adoption, Adisa jumps at the opportunity to meet and confront her biological parents. That choice costs Adisa four years of her life, battling between real time and the fantasy world her father has created. Through all of her trials, Adisa manages to hang on to her ever deepening love for Micah. Even with the threat of upholding betrothal promises between her father and Victor’s father, the Guardian and Healer’s romance stays intact.
I eagerly await the conclusion of this thrilling volume!
Natasha R. Hines
AAMBC Reviewer
Awake picks up where Asleep left off in the intertwined world of earthbounds and superbeings. McNair followers are in for a treat as the story focuses on Adisa’s manifestation and proper use of her powers as a Healer. Adisa also discovers that two of her classmates and one of her sister’s boyfriends are superbeings. Feeling somewhat betrayed by the reality of her abandonment and adoption, Adisa jumps at the opportunity to meet and confront her biological parents. That choice costs Adisa four years of her life, battling between real time and the fantasy world her father has created. Through all of her trials, Adisa manages to hang on to her ever deepening love for Micah. Even with the threat of upholding betrothal promises between her father and Victor’s father, the Guardian and Healer’s romance stays intact.
I eagerly await the conclusion of this thrilling volume!
Natasha R. Hines
AAMBC Reviewer
August 15, 2011
Fabulous. That's all I can say. I devoured it. It was the last thing I read before I went to bed and the first thing I picked up the next morning.
Awake is very well written, the story progresses at a nice pace, and the age transition is done in a way that leaves no confusion.
Adisa is more curious about her biological parents than ever before, and Micah is more in love than good for him. It's almost heart wrenching watching them face off against cultural differences and people who stand in their way.
The other thing that I didn't see a need to be incorporated was the story about the children dying. But I can't say it's a useless plot until I read Ascend.
Mrs. McNair really needs more PR because this trilogy is awesome. Finally, a sci-fi/fantasy story with Black characters that isn't garbage.
Awake is very well written, the story progresses at a nice pace, and the age transition is done in a way that leaves no confusion.
Adisa is more curious about her biological parents than ever before, and Micah is more in love than good for him. It's almost heart wrenching watching them face off against cultural differences and people who stand in their way.
The other thing that I didn't see a need to be incorporated was the story about the children dying. But I can't say it's a useless plot until I read Ascend.
Mrs. McNair really needs more PR because this trilogy is awesome. Finally, a sci-fi/fantasy story with Black characters that isn't garbage.
December 19, 2010
...In Awake, readers get to enjoy yet another outstanding and original superhero fantasy and paranormal love story, with the added benefit of richly-developed conflict and amazing characters who must resolve and learn from challenges all human beings face. A treat for both the imaginative and the contemplative mind, and another highly recommended read, I eagerly await Book III in the trilogy!
Please see my full review at The Paranormal Romance Guild:
http://www.paranormalromanceguild.com...
Please see my full review at The Paranormal Romance Guild:
http://www.paranormalromanceguild.com...
February 15, 2011
There were quite a few twists and unexpected turns in this installment. I am eagerly awaiting Ascend to learn how it all ties out and ends up!
Great job, Wendy Raven McNair!!!!!
Great job, Wendy Raven McNair!!!!!
April 27, 2012
Very thrilling. An this trilogy is still one of my favorite series well... EVER!!!!!!!!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews