Book Dreaming is just that. It’s a feature I’m going to use to highlight those books that make you dreamy or possibly just end up making you dream about them. It could be anything from newly released books to one’s that are already out that I can’t get out of my head to those I can’t seem to get my hands on soon enough!

Today’s Book Dreaming pick? The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann. I’m a big fan of Lisa McMann’s writing. Having read all of her YA books my favorite would have to be either Cryer’s Cross or the first book in the Wake series, Wake. Not too long ago I heard rumors of a middle grade book she had in the works and I’m excited to say it’s coming very soon! On August 30th of this year The Unwanteds will be released by Aladdin publishing and I can hardly wait. I’ve received a review copy and it’s taking every bit of will power I have to not stop everything and dig into it. It’s touted as “The Hunger Games meets Harry Potter” by Kirkus Reviews and to me that sounds like the perfect blend! Take a look at the synopsis…

Every year in Quill, thirteen-year-olds are sorted into categories: the strong, intelligent Wanteds go to university, and the artistic Unwanteds are sent to their deaths.

Thirteen-year-old Alex tries his hardest to be stoic when his fate is announced as Unwanted, even while leaving behind his twin, Aaron, a Wanted. Upon arrival at the destination where he expected to be eliminated, however, Alex discovers a stunning secret—behind the mirage of the “death farm” there is instead a place called Artime.

In Artime, each child is taught to cultivate their creative abilities and learn how to use them magically, weaving spells through paintbrushes and musical instruments. Everything Alex has ever known changes before his eyes, and it’s a wondrous transformation.

But it’s a rare, unique occurence for twins to be separated between Wanted and Unwanted, and as Alex and Aaron’s bond stretches across their separation, a threat arises for the survival of Artime that will pit brother against brother in an ultimate, magical battle.

Now you tell me, are you ready for a middle grade book from Lisa McMann? More specifically, a middle grade dystopian fantasy book?

Pre-order The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann at the following spots:
Amazon
Powell’s Books
Indiebound
Barnes & Noble
Goodreads

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Cryer’s Cross by Lisa McMann

Published by Simon Pulse (An Imprint of Simon & Schuster)

Pages: 240

Ages: Young Adult

Publishers Summary: The small town of Cryer’s Cross is rocked by tragedy when an unassuming freshman disappears without a trace. Kendall Fletcher wasn’t that friendly with the missing girl, but the angst wreaks havoc on her OCD-addled brain.

When a second student goes missing—someone close to Kendall’s heart—the community is in an uproar. Caught in a downward spiral of fear and anxiety, Kendall’s not sure she can hold it together. When she starts hearing the voices of the missing, calling out to her and pleading for help, she fears she’s losing her grip on reality. But when she finds messages scratched in a desk at school—messages that could only be from the missing student who used to sit there—Kendall decides that crazy or not, she’d never forgive herself if she didn’t act on her suspicions.

Something’s not right in Cryer’s Cross—and Kendall’s about to find out just how far the townspeople will go to keep their secrets buried.

A brain riddled with the accumulation of things. Things that need to be ordered, numbered, checked off and categorized. When Kendall steps out of her bed each morning it’s an endless stream of tasks that need to be accomplished, not because they require it, but because she is plagued by obsessive compulsive disorder. When one of her classmates in a school that lists less than three dozen students total goes missing it’s enough to send her into a panic. And when Kendall loses another, more significant friend, she begins to wonder if she’s losing her mind when messages appear on a now-empty desk. Only time and a dark secret revealed will help Kendall, and will potentially uncover the secrets of Cryer’s Cross.

As some of you may already know, I’m a fan of Lisa McMann’s Wake Trilogy (well, except the last one) and so when I heard about this new addition to her library I really wanted to pick it up. Thankfully I was able to review a Galley copy from Simon & Schuster! Well, this was above and beyond what I would have expected. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy or don’t still enjoy her first series, but this was just so much more. In Cryer’s Cross it seemed the writing was more developed, the characters seemed deeper, the plot was better executed and overall it was a fantastic read. Albeit, a bit creepy, but I still really enjoyed this one.

What I loved…first off, Kendall. How can you not love a fellow OCD girl, and a teen at that? Granted I’m not anywhere near as bad as Kendall gets, but I’ve had my fair share of experiences worrying about things left undone (ie. stove left on, curling iron, etc.). Also, I’m a huge task list person, sometimes to a fault. I can’t move forward until things are checked off of my list, it’s almost paralyzing unfortunately. Again, though, I’m not anywhere near as bad as Kendall, but it was so nice to see how developed her character was in this regard in such a short period of time. And though Kendall had this disability I liked that she wasn’t overcome by it, she was still independent, she still took charge and didn’t rely on others to “take care of her.” An incredibly refreshing female lead character, especially for a YA “horror” novel.

In addition to Kendall, the others in the cast of characters were excellent as well. Although, I was of course saddened by one of the losses in the story, it still made perfect sense in the scheme of things. What I did enjoy though was how well connected Kendall became to Jacian, a new member of her town and high school. Initially they aren’t drawn to each other in the slightest, but it’s nice to see how their relationship progresses without being the “main” theme of the story, more of the background.

This was an incredibly gripping story. Cryer’s Cross is by far, in my opinion, Lisa McMann’s best work to date. If you aren’t easily creeped out, and love a great mystery with a bit of paranormal thrown in to make it extra interesting than you definitely need to read this. McMann’s storytelling is tight and the characters are incredibly true to life. Cryer’s Cross will keep you at night until you finish the very last page and then leave you begging for more.

The1stdaughter Recommends: Ages 16 and up. Teen paranormal-horror fans will absolutely love this new YA novel by Lisa McMann. Be warned, it’s definitely not a story for bedtime reading.

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Gone by Lisa McMann

Published by Simon Pulse

Ages: Young Adult

Pages: 224

Summary from Goodreads: 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….

“For readers of Lisa McMann’s Wake Triology, Gone was a book we were all anxiously waiting for.  The story of a girl who has an incredible ability to help others in a most unusual way and unfortunately for her, a detrimental side effect. A heart wrenching love story with a devastating choice. And of course, McMann’s writing is another of the many reasons readers fell in love with Janie & Cabel‘s story. For those reasons I actually had my book on pre-order for some time and have been waiting until I could find a solid block of time to read it straight through. Well, I completed it today…

“Where to start? The good…Everything seems to be wrapped up tightly in a nice little package. It’s nice to get to the end of a series and feel some closure and to a certain extent I do. There were also some wonderful additions to this book that you didn’t get in the others, like glimpses into some of the less prominent characters lives and some new to the series. But overall, it was her writing that I really loved again.

“And now, for the not so good…Am I the only person who really gets bugged when about a quarter to a third of a way through the book you already know what’s going to happen? I’d be really surprised if I was. In all honesty I felt like this was written to be written. I know that Lisa McMann has mentioned on her site and on Amazon that it was a grueling process to write this last book. I don’t want to diminish the time and work she put into this, but other than the writing style I was a little disappointed. Where was Cabel? And the plot seemed to just float along, never really peaking with the exception of one major event that had already been eluded to numerous times.

“All in all, it was a decent wrap up to a wonderful beginning. I’m not upset that I took the time to read it, on the contrary, it was nice to spend some time again with Janie’s character and get to know her mom just a bit better. But overall a disappointing end to what started off so well, in my humble opinion.”

The1stdaughter Recommends: Ages 16/17. There’s at least one scene that’s a bit mature for younger audiences.

For the Comments: What do you think? Have you ever read a series where the end fell a little flat? How did you feel about it (torn/ok)? Did you read this one and feel I’m wrong? Let me know! I’d love to hear what you think about it!

This book was purchased for our home library.
Purchasing products by clicking through the links in this post will provide us a modest commission through our affiliate relationship with Amazon.com.

Recommend Me is a weekly event hosted by Kate at The Neverending Shelf. All you have to do to participate is share a book that you loved reading for whatever reason. It can be something you read yesterday or years ago.

My choice for this week:

Wake and Fade by Lisa McMann

Published by Simon Pulse

Publishers Summary for Wake:

Other books you may be interested in:

Gone by Lisa McMann (The 3rd and final book in the series.)

For the comments: If you could walk in and out of other people’s dreams would you and why?

These books were purchased for our home library.
Purchasing products by clicking through the links in this post will provide us a modest commission through our affiliate relationship with Amazon.com.