Wake Trilogy by Lisa McMann

Once again I read a whole series before reviewing any of the books. Mostly I did this because I am often behind in my posting. This time, I couldn't wait to read all three books in the Wake trilogy, so I basically checked out all three (ok, I bought the first one) and read them all...almost in one sitting.

Wake is the first book in the series. In Wake, we learn that Janie has a unique gift. Or curse. She, against her will, gets pulled into the dreams of the people around her. So when people fall asleep and start dreaming, often Janie is right there with them. Experiencing their dreams...or nightmares. Sometimes she can pull herself out, but not often. She starts noticing Cabel and realizes she's been in his nightmares before. His especially are scary.

When she realizes something big is happening in Cabel's life, she has a decision to make--help him or stay away from him.

And without giving the ending away of Wake, I can't talk about Fade or Gone. Just that Janie's powers grow as well as her ability to control them. And she has to make a life-altering decision before the series is over.

What I liked most about the series was the characters. Janie and Cabel are well-written and realistic. Janie's abilities are odd, yes, but fit into the storyline and come across as believable. Fade especially has been hard to get out of my head, but that's because the situation Janie finds herself in is so disturbing. Highly recommended, but perhaps for older teens.

Lark by Tracey Porter

Lark was kidnapped, raped, then left tied to a tree to die. Nyetta, a young girl Lark use to baby-sit, sees Lark's ghost now. Lark only has so much time before the tree traps her soul. In order to be free, someone has to acknowledge her wounds and what happened to her--Lark has chosen Nyetta for this 'honor'.

Eve was Lark's best friend, and she is also haunted, but by her own guilt. They had a fight and couldn't work past it.

The three of them are lost and not sure where to turn. Lark's time is running out but Nyetta can't do what she wants. And Eve is tormented by her guilt and knows she needs to do something.

Short and sweet, but serious. The story is told in alternative voice and very well-done. Each character, while not fully formed, has a strong enough voice it keeps the pages turning. Emotional but not overkill.

Leverage by Joshua Cohen

One of the most absolute hardest books I've read and couldn't put down, all at the same time. Danny is a sophomore and a gymnast. He's actually pretty good, and hopes that a gymnastics scholarship is his ticket to college and away. He's pretty scrawny (a good thing for gymnasts), gets along with his teammates, and loves his sport.

Kurt is a senior football player and a pretty big guy. He's been in the foster care system for a while, and as a survivor of child sexual abuse, he's especially had a hard time after his best friend was killed. He's determined never to be a victim again, and takes the coach's "vitamins" to help with that goal.

What the two of these guys are witness to is horrendous. Three of Kurt's teammates gang-raping a freshman teammate of Danny's. Both too scared to talk about it, they have to decide whether to stay victims, or find the courage to stand up to bullies.

The story is told in Danny and Kurt's alternating voices. Like I said, this was a hard book to get through. The rape scene could have been described in more detail, but it could have been described in less. The author did a fantastic job of hitting just the right notes with both characters and the horrible, horrible action they witness. Everyone should read this book.

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney

Alex wakes up in a strange boy's bed, a bad taste in her mouth, and without any of her clothes. She can't remember how she got that way. She makes her way back to her room across Themis' campus, determined to forget everything.

But her roommate T.S. has a different idea. She believes Alex was raped and wants her to go to the Mockingbirds to turn Carter in. The Mockingbirds is a student-run justice force to police bad behavior.

While Alex decides to talk with the Mockingbirds, she has doubts about what really happened in Carter's bed. And when he tells all his friends about her and their "great" time together, she starts avoiding him at all costs. This event has completely changed her life, and thanks to the Mockingbirds, it's about to change Carter's as well.

Then Carter and his friends get pushy about her silence. And have no problem smearing her to anyone who will listen. Especially at the Mockingbirds' trial.

While I agree with the reviewers that it seems implausible the adults at Themis have absolutely no idea what's going on, I can fully believe they'd turn a blind eye to misbehavior and misconduct.

The real story here is Alex's coping with being date raped, her acceptance of what happened to her, and the beginning of the healing process. Alex spends much of the book in agony that she asked for what happened, she can only remember bits and pieces, and she worries about Carter not being found guilty. I found the character and story to ring true with what I know, and thought it was just amazing. Well worth reading.