Wednesday, January 27, 2010

WARNING: SPOILERS!

GONE reviews:

Kirkus 1/1/10: McMann continues her conversational-style narration, but her usual quick pacing turns slower as she wraps up the trilogy that began with Wake (2008) and Fade (2009). Instead of solving crimes using her dream-catching abilities, Janie is spending the summer before college trying to resolve her own dilemma. She learns that the father she never knew has been living in an isolated house not far from her and now lies in a hospital bed. By entering his unconscious, she also learns that he is a dream catcher too, while a search through his home reveals that he has avoided the debilitating blindness and gnarled hands of Janie's dream-catching mentor, Miss Stubin, but has sacrificed love in the process. He begs her to consider Morton's Fork-a choice between two equally unpleasant alternatives-before shutting herself off from her boyfriend, Cabel, and the rest of the world. Fans will gain a real appreciation of Janie's quandary and rally behind the control she musters in her seemingly helpless situation. A fitting completion to this popular series. (Paranormal. YA)


School Library Journal 2/1/10: MCMANN, Lisa. Gone. Bk. 3. 224p. CIP. S & S/Pulse. Feb. 2010. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-7918-0. LC 2009018682.

Gr 9 Up–Janie Hannagan is inadvertently and unwillingly drawn into other people’s dreams and nightmares. In Fade (S & S, 2009), she uses her unique abilities to apprehend criminals. In contrast, Gone is a more personal story about Janie’s attempts to come to terms with her troubled family and with the ways that dream catching will affect the rest of her life. Faced with an alcoholic and irresponsible mother, the teen finds some solace in her relationship with her boyfriend but then, unexpectedly, the father she’s never known enters her life. Henry Feingold is suffering from a mysterious brain disorder. When Janie is drawn into his unconscious and continuous nightmare, she discovers that he, too, is a dream catcher, and she struggles to use her power to help him find release. As she finds out more about him, Janie faces a choice–use her abilities for the benefit of others and become blind and crippled in her ’20s like her mentor, or isolate herself from other human beings, as her father did, to avoid entering their dreams. This is a fast-paced read, written in flashbacks and sentence fragments that suggest the dream state. Janie is a strong, appealing character, and the depictions of her emotional turmoil and her painful dilemma are absolutely believable. This book would make an interesting choice for a book-discussion group. However, it is necessary to have read Wake and Fade to understand everything that is occurring.–Kathleen E. Gruver, Burlington County Library, Westampton, NJ

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Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Yes, hello again. It's time for FADE reviews to start rolling in. I'll add them here as they come in.

From Booklist:
“A great blend of mystery, romance, and supernatural elements, and featuring a strong but vulnerable female protagonist, this episode ends with an irresistible hook for the final installment.”

From Kirkus:
McMann, Lisa FADE
"The quick-paced, present-tense narration and realistic dialogue that gripped readers in the first book resume here... Fans will clamor for a third title."

From Teensreadtoo.com:
"As a highly anticipated sequel to WAKE, FADE certainly lives up to expectations. Along with Janie, readers will be able to delve deeper into the enormity of Janie’s ability and the strain that it causes not only on her but also on Cabel." http://www.teensreadtoo.com/FadeMcMann.html

Jen Robinson's Book Page -- WAKE and FADE reviews

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Saturday, April 26, 2008

"McMann lures teens in by piquing their interest in the mysteries of the unknown, and keeps them with quick-paced, gripping narration and supportive characters." Kirkus Reviews

"A lyrical, shuddersome novel whose images linger with you long after you've turned the last page, like the most haunting of dreams." Cassandra Clare, author of NYT Bestseller City of Bones

"Be warned: If you open this novel, you're going to be sucked into it until the very last page. Author Lisa McMann presents Janie Hannagan's strange world in a vivid and compelling story of dazzling originality. Janie Hannagan is a tremendously sympathetic character, an ordinary girl with an extraordinary problem that she handles with resilience and grit. Her romance with Cabel Strumheller, himself a mystery, adds several delightful twists. A terrific read for teens and adults alike."
Richard Lewis, author of The Flame Tree, The Killing Sea, and The Demon Queen (forthcoming).

"Man, oh, man. If I understand anything at all about the movies, this book is bound to become one. GREAT premise--teenage girl who gets sucked against her will into other people's dreams, including their nightmares--and excellent execution. Plus a really hot guy, a heroine we're totally pulling for, and nonstop action and intrigue (plus the really hot guy). You're really, really going to enjoy this one--a fast read, nothing but cool."
Robin Brande, author of Evolution, Me, and Other Freaks of Nature.

"...a work of art that we all will long remember." TeensReadToo.com

"I will definitely have trouble waiting for the sequel "Fade" to come out next year." A Page Turner Book Reviews

"I loved Wake! McMann has created a complex tale sure to keep readers engaged." Teen Troves

"Ms. McMann is a master story teller, she has me hooked. From now on all of her other works will be on my book shelf. 5 Hearts." Book Reviews by Crystal

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Monday, March 31, 2008

A PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY review:

Wake Lisa McMann. Simon Pulse, $15.99 (224p) ISBN 978-1-4169-5357-9

The trick to getting hooked on this highly satisfying first novel is to look past its disjointed opening. The initial chapters consist of flashbacks into which are woven a series of repetitive scenes wherein Janie Hannagan is unwillingly sucked into others’ dreams and nightmares, and suffers debilitating side effects. But as soon as McMann establishes Janie’s strange skill, she throws just the right teen-centric ingredients into the story to propel it forward and grab readers. Tough and strong Janie, now 17, seems totally independent, charting a future that will lead away from her welfare mother’s alcoholism. Her turbulent relationship with Cabel, the unwashed stoner boy-turned-handsome, pulsates with sexual tension—problematized by Janie’s knowledge of his insistent dreams about killing a man. But then Cabel learns to communicate his desires to Janie through lucid dreaming at just about the same time that Janie finds out that she can influence the dreams she enters. The plot twists keep coming, even if one or two are shopworn, and the writing has a Caroline Cooney—like snap that’s hard to resist. Ages 14-up. (Mar.)

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Thursday, February 07, 2008

Blogger reviews of WAKE:

http://apageturnerbookreviews.blogspot.com/2008/02/wake-by-lisa-mcmann.html

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Friday, January 18, 2008

KIRKUS REVIEWS 2/1/08

McMann, Lisa

WAKE



Dealing with an alcoholic single mother and endless hours of working at Heather Nursing Home to raise money for college, high-school senior Janie Hannagan doesn’t need more problems. But inexplicably, since she was eight years old, she has been pulled in to people’s dreams, witnessing their recurring fears, fantasies and secrets. Through Miss Stubin at Heather Home, Janie discovers that she is a dream catcher with the ability to help others resolve their haunting dreams. After taking an interest in former bad boy Cabel, she must distinguish between the monster she sees in his nightmares and her romantic feelings for him. And when she learns more about Cabel’s covert identity, Janie just may be able to use her special dream powers to help solve crimes in a suspense-building ending with potential for a sequel. McMann lures teens in by piquing their interest in the mysteries of the unknown, and keeps them with quick-paced, gripping narration and supportive characters. (Fiction. YA)

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Wednesday, January 16, 2008

"A lyrical, shuddersome novel whose images linger with you long after you've turned the last page, like the most haunting of dreams."
Cassandra Clare, author of NYT Bestseller City of Bones

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Five stars for WAKE from TeensReadToo.com! Here.

And my author interview here.

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