Gone Review

Gone - Lisa McMann
*February 9th, 2010 Simon Pulse

Janie thought she knew what her future held. And she thought she'd made her peace with it. But she can't handle dragging Cabel down with her.

She knows he will stay with her, despite what she sees in his dreams. He's amazing. And she's a train wreck. Janie sees only one way to give him the life he deserves--she has to disappear. And it's going to kill them both.

Then a stranger enters her life--and everything unravels. The future Janie once faced now has an ominous twist, and her choices are more dire than she'd ever thought possible. She alone must decide between the lesser of two evils. And time is running out...

Lisa McMann has built up a brilliant track record thus far with the first two books in the Dream Catcher trilogy, Wake and Fade (Fade review). With the final installment, McMann pulls it off again, bringing the story to a brilliant conclusion with Gone.

Writing-wise, Gone basically meets expectations. It's great to get another dose of McMann's unique writing style. The fragmented sentences, the exhilarating rush that accompanies it... there's something almost poetic about the diction choice, and the way they're selectively arranged. It definitely creates a sense of rushed immediacy, which injects tension and suspense into the narrative superbly.

Character development is continued nicely - we get more of a sense of Cabel and Janie - and the minor characters - as people. Getting familiarized with their motivations and thought processes definitely increases intimacy and augments credibility. There seems to be a bit of an exchange of action for character progression in Gone.

One of the great things about the trilogy has been its ability to provoke thought. Gone is no exception - McMann introduces interesting dilemmas which will doubtlessly cause you to self-reflect and wonder what you would do in that situation. The situation continued and rearranged and then posed in a new way in Gone is definitely a difficult, but well laid out, one. Which brings me to another point. Regarding the dilemma, there seems to be one answer that could potentially work out - yet this is neither proved or disproved, and more or less ignored. Hopefully this wasn't an oversight; but alas, as Gone is the final installment, guess we won't find out.

McMann brings the story to a very fitting conclusion with Gone. It's a fulfilling ending, which makes sense (mostly) and brings about a degree of satisfaction. With poetic writing, raw characters and an intriguing plot, Lisa McMann's Gone is bound to be another great success.

Fade Review | Goodreads | IndieBound | Lisa McMann


If you've reviewed Gone as well, link your review below.

In My Mailbox [26]

Brought to you by Alea & Kristi, Lucid Conspiracy presents In My Mailbox #26...

So this week I got the following:

`Gone by Lisa McMann
`The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott
`Nothing Like You by Lauren Strasnick
`The Islands of the Blessed by Nancy Farmer

And I must say, this week's haul was pretty exciting for a number of reasons. First off, I had no idea that these were coming, so it was definitely a little befuddling when the package showed up and lo' and behold, these gems were inside. And of course, the fact that it contained these books - all by such acclaimed authors with great feedback thus far - merely added icing to the cake.

Your turn now though - what was in your mailbox this week?

Fade Review

So, I actually read Fade weeks ago, but as it was a for-fun read, I haven't gotten around to writing up a review until now. And yes - I broke down and read it without having read Wake first - I know, bad me - but maybe that'll offer a slightly different perspective. And I hadn't meant to - I was just going to take a quick peek, but then... well.

Fade - Lisa McMann
For Janie and Cabel, real life is getting tougher than the dreams. They're just trying to carve out a little (secret) time together, but no such luck.
Disturbing things are happening at Fieldridge High, yet nobody's talking. When Janie taps into a classmate's violent nightmares, the case finally breaks open -- but nothing goes as planned. Not even close. Janie's in way over her head, and Cabe's shocking behavior has grave consequences for them both.
Worse yet, Janie learns the truth about herself and her ability -- and it's bleak. Seriously, brutally bleak. Not only is her fate as a dream catcher sealed, but what's to come is way darker than she'd feared...

With Fade, Lisa McMann has achieved yet another Bestseller. And it's easy to see why. Diction choice is highly selective and effective - no extra words are wasted here. The choppy, fragmented sentences give a feeling of action, of things happening quickly, of being drawn in and carried along with the events as they're taking place.

Fade is written in present tense - not altogether shocking, a lot of books nowadays are - but it's third person present tense. And that blew me away. Somehow, despite that, McMann manages to captivate the audience's attention and offer a sense of immediacy with the characters. Double the accomplishment.

You know a writer's got skill when they recognize the rules, and bend those rules to their will - while still maintaining an effective narrative. Fragmented sentences from a unique perspective tell an enthralling tale in Fade. Characterization of Janie and Cabel was brilliantly done; a sense of immediacy was maintained throughout the majority of the novel. Although there were moments of hindrance due to the tense, these were minor and negligible. Captain is a well rounded, likeable mentor.

The suspense in Fade is simply masterful; so thick and viscous. Although there are certain aspects of the plot twists that could be predicted by more observant readers clearly watching out for foreshadowing, that doesn't really lessen the impact. The wait for vision to return, the loss of feeling in limbs...

It's all there; you just have to be willing to see it.

Plot was fast and action packed - and Janie is a very strong female protag; always a plus. It deals with real issues with credible characters, only adding to the realism. Fade is a suspenseful, chilling ride. Fade. Fantastic.

*Gone, the third book in the trilogy, is scheduled for release by Simon Pulse in February 2010.