Please scroll down for my review of Wake, by Abria Mattina. I received a free digital copy of this book from the blog tour owner for my unbiased, honest review and was not compensated in any way for my review.
Author:
Abria Mattina
Genre:
Contemporary, Romance
Publisher:
self-published
Ebook/Paperback
Pages:
759
Purchase:
Amazon.com
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| Epub
book | Barnes
& Noble
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(Paperback) |
More
formats listed here.
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Book
Description:
Eighteen
isn’t too young to run your life into the ground, but it’s not
too old to fix it, either. The desire for change drives Willa Kirk
from St. John’s, Newfoundland back to her hometown of Smiths Falls,
Ontario, away from her mistakes and the place where her sister died.
She’s looking for a place to settle and rebuild, but Jem Harper
just wants to get out of town, back to the life he knew before
cancer. By letting the tragedies in their lives define them, they are
both dying a little more every day. Welcome to the wake.
About
the Author:
Abria
Mattina works as Production Manager for the Ottawa Arts Review, an
eclectic literary journal. Her work has appeared in Ottawa’s The
Fulcrum and Canculture Magazine. Her poem “Circus” was published
in volume 5.2 of the Ottawa Arts Review.
Abria
holds a Certificate in Publishing from the New York University Summer
Publishing Institute and a degree in English Literature and
Psychology from the University of Ottawa. When she isn’t writing
she enjoys travelling, eclectic books, blogging, and baking. She
lives with her fiance, Daniel.
Her
debut novel, Wake, is about the struggle to redefine life after
experiencing cancer and caring for an ill loved one.
Find
the Author:
My Review:
Wake is a great book and a great concept. I don't like to post spoilers, so I won't go much further into the actual story.
Jem has cancer, he's back in school after being held back due to his illness and is-rightly- miserable about it. Willa is the new/not so new girl in town with a bucket of angst than befriends Jem. Her sister was lost to cancer. She sympathizes with him without the sympathy. She treats him like every other kid, which is refreshing.
The tone of the book is great, it's heavy, it's hard, it's very real. The writing is great, the characters are fleshed-out and real. I'd have given it a five except for the following:
This is a great novel, it really is. It is long. I think a very good editor could have reduced the pages without minimizing the story, which is a great story. However, it is fan-fiction based on another book with a huge following, huge success, and a very distinct concept. I know fan-fic is all the rage right now, but as I writer I cringe at the thought. I think many aspects could have been thrown right out of the window and this story could stand on it's own legs. To be very honest, this novel is better than it's inspiration. That said, I think the author should have cut it's ties and similarities and then Wake could be a truly outstanding novel shining it its own light, not in the shadow of Twilight.
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