Awake (Book II in the Asleep trilogy) by Wendy Raven McNair 2010Rating: 3/5
IQ "Why is it so hard for you to believe that sp. beings are descended from celestial beings? The same God who created earthbounds in his own image created us as well. If God has the power to fashion beings from earth dust, surely it's no great leap to fashion Sp. beings from star dust." Cyrus, pg. 255
Awake is the second book in the Asleep trilogy. There will be some small spoilers in this review (spoiler from the first book only). Since learning that Micah's heart contains a deadly shard, Adisa has been trying to remove but her inability to do so will drive her to desperate measures. In addition, while Adisa does not question her love of Micah, she does question their future. Will they live in the Sp. world or on Earth? Meanwhile, Victor is still pursuing Adisa in the hopes of fulfilling a prophecy that says their marriage will save Micah's life.
Adisa is starting to get on my nerves. She is so NAIVE. As I read more and more, I'm feeling less and less tolerant of naive characters. I don't mind Adisa being naive about the Sp. world, that's understandable, she wouldn't know anything about superbeings (they are different from superheroes). There is a scene in which sixteen year old Adisa is left with her best friend, Avery (who is a guy). She freaks out completely and starts crying. It was a complete overreaction and I sincerely hope no sixteen year old girl ever reacts that way when they have to share a room with their best friend, who just happens to be a guy. There was no romantic awkwardness in their relationship, no sexual tension, they are clearly just friends so her reaction was puzzling. Another scene really bothered me and that was when Adisa was kidnapped by Micah. They love each other and sure Micah claims it's for her own protection and yes Adisa is tempted to forgive him, but the whole time, I was bothered by the whole thing. Kidnapping someone you love is NOT OK. But Micah gets a pass because he is not human, so it's all good. Um no, not convincing enough for me. I know love is hard, but if someone kidnaps you, you need to leave them. Victor does that in the first book and Adisa hates him for it. Victor has noble intentions and so does Micah and yet Adisa only forgives Micah. I also didn't like the talk of God and superbeings. It jarred me and didn't seem to fit with where the story was going. In general, I was ticked off by the whole plot. On the back of the book, a reference is made to "disappearing superbeing children" but that is hardly mentioned in the book. There is one or two scenes but I expected it to play a much more crucial role than it did.
While I didn't like the plot, I did like seeing Adisa grow. Yes she is still naive but she is becoming even more independent and she is less dependent on Micah for answers. We are getting to know Micah better as well and it's nice to learn more about the story of Adisa's birth. I also liked that she is less focused on talking up her own good points (as in the first book when she bizarrely referenced her good manners several times). Plus the writing is snappy and some good points are brought up in the plot, they are just never expanded on. I would love to learn more about the difference between superbeings and superheroes, I think it's a great idea and I want more! The story is never boring and while at times the history lessons can be overbearing, they are still interesting.
Awake reads like a sequel. It is mostly setting up for the final book in the series but it can be read as a stand alone because there is a slightly significant plot. I believe in the third book all plot ends will be tied up and with it we will hopefully learn more about the secondary characters who currently lead very secretive lives. I felt the author used a rather convenient trick to speed up the plot and while it works, I didn't find it satisfactory. In fact, the entire new world created is extremely confusing, but that allows the reader to better understand Adisa's confusion. The world created by the author is highly imaginative and enjoyable, especially if you've ever dreamed of being a superhero. Even better is the message that everyone is super in their own special way and (as cliche as it sounds, it works) it's the ordinary people who do extraordinary things.
Disclosure: Received two copies. One for review and one to giveaway. A new winner will be announced tomorrow.
Never heard of this series before.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about naive characters getting on your nerves. I understand trying to make the protagonist innocent and sweet but some authors take it a bit too far, resulting in a rather annoying, childish, and boring character that's difficult to like.