I received a copy of this book from the author for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review, and all conclusions are my responsibility. While this book is often tagged as a YA contemporary romance, or a YA story: I don’t think those simplistic categorizations are complete. Yes, there is romance and there are teenagers as the primary protagonists in the story – but it is so much deeper and more all-encompassing than just tagging it with a Contemporary Romance label.

This story is touchingly and cleverly crafted as 3 or 4 day journal entries: his side then her side where somewhere in the middle lies the real truth fashion. We have Jem, newly in remission from a long battle with cancer and the treatment and Willa who has just returned to this town after losing a sister to cancer. The two are introduced in a Social Sciences class in high school, and from there the story begins to unfold.

What the author has done so cleverly is completely immerse each entry with all of the angst, anger, confusion and conflict that are common to the human condition, even without the overbearing weight of cancer, and managed to create two distinct young adults – both of whom are lucky to still be around. Throughout the 6 months that are contained in the story, we see the characters grow and mature, develop into real people with tangible issues, showing the healing power of openness and acceptance, and what it truly means to love and accept.

Even the secondary characters that are introduced are done so with a flair and a style that creates someone that we all are familiar with, if not exact copies, well enough crafted to give an instant “realness” to them, most of the family members are quite well flushed out, schoolmates tend to be more along the “stereotypical” lunchroom divisions, but even with that generalization there is good depth in characterization.

759 is a healthy amount of pages, and may look quite daunting, but the story really has been trimmed nicely, without many pages of excess. The need to know what was next, why Willa wore fingerless gloves everywhere, what cancer did Jem have, where would the story go: it went forward at breakneck pace.

As much of the story is told in journal form, and there are several conversations retold from both sides, it could feel stilted to read – but again, very cleverly the author manages to craft dialog that both flows from one speaker to the next, but does so with such concise and clear voice, that the lack of the “he said” then “she said” is not even missed.

There are a couple of spots where words were missed, or typos caused me to stumble as I read – but to be honest, they were nearly inconsequential when I think back on the book. I just wish that it were available in traditional book form as well as electronic, as I think it’s a book worth passing along to others to read. While the themes of cancer, and death by extension, are not going to be a first choice read – they are far overshadowed by the joy in acceptance and discovery that happen throughout this story.
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This book was fantastic!!!! Seriously, it was so good, if I could give it more than 5 stars, I definitely would. In fact, I’ve already gotten one friend to purchase a copy for himself, and I am anxiously waiting to hear his thoughts on it. Don’t let the high page count scare you off! It almost scared me off, I’ll admit it. I kept delaying reading this book. Funny how something like that can scare you. BUT I made a huge mistake in waiting. Honestly, I don’t think the cover or the blurb do the contents of this story justice. No, I have no clue how I would change either one lol. I should also note that I powered through this book in one weekend – I couldn’t help it, it was that good. I literally had double vision from eye strain while grocery shopping! And it was totally worth it!

Let’s start with the facts about this story. It is about Jem (short for Jeremiah) and Willa, two high school students with more pain in their history than any person should have to deal with. The story alternates between both of their point of views, sometimes both going over the same scene from their own point of view. This worked SO well for this story. It kept it fresh and moving. Right from the beginning of this story I was captured by the whole tone and easy flow.

First we have Jem. Jem is in remission from cancer. He is relatively new at his high school, so he doesn’t really have any strong relationships with people there. He does, however, have incredibly strong and powerful relationships with the people within his family. I loved them all, and I couldn’t wait until I could come over to their house and integrate myself into the Harper family. I firmly believe without their love and support Jem would not have survived the diseased that ravaged his young body. Aside from that, Jem is a bit of a snarky pessimist – a new thing for him. But he has just survived something so painful and it has stolen so much from him, you can’t blame him. But even further, he is a deep and caring person. He has a wicked sense of humor and I would totally want to be his friend.

“… And before you try any other small talk: yes, I really did move here from Newfoundland; no, you may not borrow my car, homework, or money; black is my favorite color and the Stones feed it to the Beetles. Okay?” -Willa

Next, and certainly not least, Willa. Willa has just moved back to Smiths Falls. She is a bit quirky, and cancer has also touched her family. She is no stranger to the pain and fear that the disease brings to not only the patient, but everyone around them. But she has this wonderfully warm and caring side that she just really doesn’t give herself credit for. So many times I just wanted her to see what a terrific person she is, but when you have secrets like hers it can be hard to see what is right in front of you.

Willa and Jem become lab partners in Social Studies. It begins as a horrible and annoying friendship of circumstance. Both are annoyed by the other, but you can tell there is something else there just swimming beneath the surface. And then a friendship begins; a complex, beautiful, enchanting, scary and frightening friendship. I really believe that Willa was a huge part in Jem’s recovery, and her sincerity and sensitivity were integral to him becoming him again. Their road is not easy by any stretch of the imagination. But through the entire book I was constantly pulling for them. I wanted them to work through his attitude, her ability to shut down, all of the mountains before them. I fell in love with these characters. I didn’t do the math, but you get a nearly daily account of their days for several months. It really gives you a chance to get to know them. I mean, you get to know these characters on such a basic level you feel like you’ve known them forever. When they hurt, so do you. And when they smile it puts you over the moon. This book was definitely magical and touching, and I was sad when it was over. But I WILL read it again. I have a feeling this is a book where you learn something new every time you read it. I wish it was in print, but I don’t believe it is. Another thing, if you are a foodie, make sure to check out Abria’s website while you read the book. Food plays a huge part in this story, and she is awesome enough to have the recipes on her site!

I really believe this book is a hit, and you will too. So I hope you give it a chance. Don’t let the long length scare you off, it goes fast. In fact, I’m thinking sometime in the near future I will be including this book in a giveaway because when I find something I love, I have to share it with everyone! If you have already read it – please come talk to me!! I really need someone I can gush over the wonderfulness of it all with!

Edit: It is available in print on Lulu ( )

I love books written from the main characters points of view, alternating between each character, but continuing with the story. This book was written very well. There was a heading for each of the characters, but then it was also broken into days like a diary. However, there was not that feel of a diary, to me it felt just like large paragraph breaks with headings. Done very well! There was not a lot of overlap between the characters, except when there needed to be. This balance was very well done.

The book starts January 19th. Jem is in remission and there is a new girl in his school, Willa. This story mainly revolves around these two and is a beautiful love story.

Jem was very likeable. The author created a strong male character who may or may not be in a weak situation. Depends on how you look at him or the situation. Jem was trying to return to “normal” but normal may not be what it used to be. He grew to understand himself, what he used to be, and where he was now. He also was learning how to shape himself better.

Willa was a very strong female character. She was not afraid of Jem and what he had gone through, even though she really should have been afraid of what she was getting herself into. Willa also has her own struggles she is dealing with, past and present. Learning to work through those, she helps many others in the book.

Elise is the younger sister who did a brave thing by being a donor for her brother. While not an easy task, she knew she wanted to do it without question. She is growing up and wants to prove she is old enough for grown up things. Of course, her older brother is very protective. Elise returns this favor by still being his protector and provide comfort to him.

Ava is one of Jem’s friends from Ottawa. I really liked her when I first met her and that’s why I wanted to put her in the review. She comes to visit him and “set him straight”. She does have some similar character traits as Willa, but Willa is a little more polished.

I loved all the characters and their situations. This story, while it is 759 pages, did not ever keep me from wanting to turn page after page after page. Very enjoyable read! ( )

With this one I feel I should start with the characters. Admittedly I didn't like Jem at first. I found him to be rude and kind of obnoxious as a character but I didn't let it hold me back from reading on as I grew quite fond of him in the end.

What I really loved about the characters was that they were extremely complicated. At first it was quite overwhelming but as I got into the story I found myself really feeling for them and liking how relatable they are. They had faults, they had a lot of baggage and they were human. I do like characters where you want to shout at them for doing one thing and then the next thing you know they come together and they have this chemistry that makes them so easy to read about.

I also loved how the book came together as a whole. Initially I saw how many pages it was and was like, woah, this is going to take quite a bit of time, but it didn't. It had this nice flow to the writing that made me utterly engrossed so I flew through the book. ( )

Being a teenager is difficult. Being a teenager trying to start over is double hard. Willa Kirk is only 18 years old but is trying to restart her life in her old hometown in the middle of her senior year at high school. Jem Harper is trying to deal with the stigma of being known as the "cancer guy." All he wants is to get better and get through the school year. These two teens are the heart and soul of Wake by Abria Mattina.

There's some typical teenage angst in Wake but not much of it is because of Willa or Jem. These two start with an antagonistic relationship that quickly develops into an antagonistic friendship. They are both outsiders trying to strike a balance with their families and school. Jem is recovering from cancer treatment and a bone marrow transplant. Fortunately the cancer is in remission, unfortunately all of the medications he's on cause him to continually suffer from extreme nausea. His diet is limited to soup, Jell-O, and smoothies and he often has difficulties with these items. Jem has had a truly rough year. His family relocated from Ottawa to Smiths Falls (a small town) and he was diagnosed with cancer shortly after the move. His entire persona in this new town is as the "cancer guy." His friends from his hometown aren't quite sure how to deal with his diagnosis but they're too far away to be a support system.

Willa's situation is somewhat similar to Jem's in that she is also dealing with being the new kid without really being the new kid. She grew up in Smiths Falls but her family had moved out of the province. Now she's dealing with the death of her older sister, Tessa, and some bad decisions that resulted in a brief psychiatric hospitalization. Her parents can’t quite deal with her problems since they came so quickly after Tessa's death, so she's shipped off to stay with her older brother Frank.

Much of the story takes place over the course of six months and is told in alternating voices by Jem and Willa. The same time periods are presented in alternating perspectives which add to our understanding of Jem and Willa. The reader is allowed to see the development from both points of view and provides a better understanding of both characters. There are also a few chapters told from the perspective of Jem's sister Elise and brother Eric toward the end, along with one chapter by Frank early in the book and these provide additional insight into the action within the story.

Wake is filled with secrets revealed, self-acceptance and love. Jem is fortunate that he has unconditional love and support from his family but he still needs to be seen as an individual that has something to offer. Willa doesn't really have the support of her family although her brother Frank is trying. She is dealing with a lot of guilt over her past actions and wants to be accepted for who she is, warts and all. There's a lot going on in Wake and Ms. Mattina does a fantastic job at providing the reader with the information necessary to see the big picture. I didn't like this story initially as I couldn't really see, or appreciate, where it was going, but by the time I was a little more than one-third of the through I was hooked. I wanted to see what was going to happen, if anything, between Jem and Willa. This isn't a traditional YA coming-of-age story nor is it a traditional teen love story; it is a little of both and so much more. ( )