Awake

by Natasha Preston

[Beth C.]

What if your whole life was a lie? The only thing that is truth just might be exactly what you can’t remember. An interesting premise for a book that was unable to live up to it.
It is VERY rare that I read a book and have a hard time finding SOMETHING to like. Unfortunately, this is one such book. The characters were cliché and annoying, their romance a tad bit on the overplayed part. The dialogue was extremely simplistic, and the plot failed to hold even the slightest bit of tension. Simply put – this is a span of time that I will never get back.
The characters, Scarlett and Noah, are high-school teens who meet at the beginning of the book. Their soul-blazing romance happens at lightning speed. His extreme interest in her goes unquestioned. There is little in the book that fleshes them out as actual people. Frankly, I wasn’t a fan of the Twilight books, but “Awake” doesn’t hold a candle to those.
The dialogue sounds like something my 8-year-old daughter would come up with when playing with her dolls. I couldn’t find an age range on this particular book, but the writing is for a much younger audience than the subject matter would be appropriate for. I tend to like YA adult book – often more than standard novels – because the authors have to be more honest and creative for that age range much of the time. That did not hold true here.
The plot was…not really much of a plot. There was little doubt throughout the book about what was going to happen and everyone’s primary motivations. I hate spoilers because I know that *someone* will read this and love it, but suffice to say – the good are good, the bad are bad, and never shall there be any grey.
I don’t like to write a review that is so negative, but…I try to be as honest as possible in the hopes that it will help someone else. So basically, the bottom line is this: If you are already a fan of the author’s work, then you will probably like this. If you have not read anything else by her, well…I wouldn’t start with this one.