I'm not invisible. I have desires. I want to be touched and held and told that I'm worth something. I am not pitiful. I am better than you can imagine. I have talents. I have successes and failures. I love my life. I sometimes feel dissatisfied with the world. I come from a place of love, not death. I am special. I matter. I can be the most interesting person in the room. I can blend in and that's okay. I'm somebody. I'm a nobody. I feel deeply and I want to be allowed to show it. I don't want More...

First I MUST start this review off by saying I HAVE NEVER read a book that had so many things tie in to one thing. Abria has done a PHENOMENAL job of weaving a story of love,loss and secrets. Where decisions are made and consequences are suffered. I was so emotional reading this book because I had just finished another book that dealt with Cancer and loss.

Jem was a very interesting character for me because he was a snarky little thing. He was angry and confused and hurt and scared all in one and More...

The book had my emotions going up and down

There are not many books that i finish and then after, feel emotionally exhausted. i can probably count the ones that do, on one hand.

love, humour, sex, self harm, euthanasia, dying, grieving, drugs

'Wake' not only has a gritty storyline but it is witty, moving and beautifully written. the different perspectives of the same days of the week provide different perspectives of the main characters 'Jem' and 'Willa'.

What i love about both characters is t More...

We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival. - Winston Churchill


in her desire to start a new life, Willa Kirk goes back to her hometown of Smith Falls, Ontario to live with her older brother Frank. she meets Jem Harper who is on remission from cancer and as their relationship progresses, their lives and of those around them will never be the same.
author Abria Mattina's novel is certainly a hefty one and it deals with a lot of subject matter - disease, More...

I was not sure what to expect when I first started reading this book and please do not judge a book by its cover! Many of us do, myself includedand I have found many GREAT books that I would not have really paid much attention to just by the cover. This one included!

Willa and Jem have a lot in common, but they share a lot of differences also. They get placed together as project partners in Sociology class and neither are too thrilled about it. I loved their bantering back & forth during thei More...

Brilliant.

This was a highly emotional read that allows you to get inside the head of a cancer patient in remission and in the head of a young girl with demons from her past that she has to overcome.

The course that their relationship takes is full of highs and lows...At times you'll be laughing, enjoying the dry humor and banter of Jem and Willa, and other times your eyes will water because you can actually feel Jem's loneliness and desperation for a friend, or anyone who can understand him.

This More...

WAKE is a raw and unflinchingly honest presentation of the lives of two people (and their families) affected in two different ways by cancer; one 'surviving' and one who lost someone they loved. Gradually, the two find one another and learn from each other as you watch them grow (and fall), overcoming their challenges together. It is by no means easy and at times it seems like every step forward is a massive leap back, but that's the thing about this book- it doesn't lie or sugarcoat.

One of my More...

One of the main things I loved about Wake is that it's just so achingly real. Abria has tackled a gritty topic here, and portrays the hardships of life after cancer in such a realistically moving way. Every time I read this book (and I have read this book many many times!) I still feel such an emotional connection to it, and it still carries such an emotional punch. It's just so easy to become invested in these characters and you truly care about their situation.

None of the characters in the bo More...

~We only crave peace when we don't have it. When it's shattered by the chaos of that thing called life.~

WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW!

WOW!!

I wasn't expecting to be as emotionally invested in Willa and Jems story as I was. I was held by the first few chapters & couldn't let go. It was a constant up & down for me, & my heart broke...for both of them. This was real & dark. It was so gripping and moving that everyone needs to experience this.

This Book put me through the ringer!

Yes is w More...

Overall Feedback: When I first started to check this book out the page number scared me. I mean over 700 pages in one book, but I took the chance and you should too. I agree with other reviews of this particular novel that it could have been cut down a bit if some of the narrative were taken out or maybe the author could seperate it into two distinct novels but I have to say that the story overall keeps the readers attention enough to get through all 759 pages of writing. Also while looking into More...

This review was originally posted on Books Down My Pillow
There are stories that I love as those that are about diseases, of course, I do not enjoy reading about the life of someone who is sick, but how they handle their changes. This is an issue that strikes a chord in me, because I know what it is to have a chronic disease, which causes it ,and how can you get to hate you because of this. Something very similar happens in this story, Jem recently had a battle against cancer and is now in remiss More...

I did not enjoy this book... not at all.

The author claims a degree in English Literature, yet consistently breaks the I/me rule. This is one of the easiest and common rules of grammar, and if a published author delivers a work with this mistake I find it unforgivible. Was there even a proof reader or editor involved? It is just unacceptable for I to see this error. (see how annoying that is?)

Then there is the problem of the characters and their sad drama. Willa is a damaged smartass living with More...

Wow, Wake was absolutely fantastic. This incredibly engaging and totally addicting book kept me reading long into the early morning hours. It is a beautifully written, compelling, emotional and sometimes humorous story of two very damaged souls who fall in love in the midst of illness and tragedy.

Jem Harper is in cancer remission. He has been at this school since his cancer was first discovered and has no friends. He is lonely and miserable, tired and sick. He is no longer the popular, gorgeous More...

Loved this book. Same sort of feel as The Sea of Tranquillity.
To begin with a cliché this book was an emotional rollercoaster with highs and lows, laughter and tears however I loved every minute of it. Due to the length it took me two days to read however if I didn't have to work I would have forgone sleep to read it in one sitting.

It follows two characters Jem and Willa who are both as messed up as each other for different reasons and the relationship that develops between them is so sweet and More...

I want to say first, that I really enjoyed reading this truly amazing novel, and am glad to have read it!

To me, I saw this story to have messages of self-acceptance, loving yourself (even when you think it's impossible and not an option), and forgiveness. There are so many stirred up emotions, when we first meet Jem Harper and Willa Kirk in a high school classroom, in Smith Falls, Ontario. Jem has recently had a battle of cancer, and is now in recovery mode. Willa was sent to live with her twent More...

I've wanted to write a review for this book since I finished it but first, I had to take a deep breathe, stop crying and let some time pass before I could even think straight.

This book took me by surprise, twisted my guts and changed me.

I've never been that emotional after reading and while reading a book.
Abria Mattina created a masterpiece, a book that I will encourage my children to read.
It's painfully honest and simple. It tells it all without it been too much or too little. You just don't g More...

Originally reviewed for the Wake Blog Tour on Sept. 2, 2012:


Review of Wake by Abria Mattina
An incredibly complex novel, the first adjective that comes to mind to describe “Wake” is-simply wonderful. I totally loved this book; each and every time a character revealed an emotional denouement, or a clue to personality, or a bit of backstory, I would think “Okay, that must be as deep as we’ll go with this individual,” but oh, how blissfully wrong that was! Ms. Mattina deftly and accurately demonstra More...

Wake was a fabulous read for me. It gripped me from early on. There are 4 things that stood out for me that made this story different from all other books out there involving two teenagers who are messed up. I will be the first to admit that some of these differences people will not like, they won’t work for everyone, but they worked great for me.
1. I was always wondering if this book would have a happy ending or not. Jem, the hero, is in remission from cancer, it is very early days. I was frequ More...

If you are looking for a book that makes you experience every emotion (sometimes all at once), a book that is completely original, and a book that will keep you encased in Willa and Jem's world long after the final page.... Then read this book NOW!

Willa is an angry 18 year old girl who is sent away to live with her brother. Willa is undergoing many personal demons; including grieving the death of her sister Tessa, who had terminal cancer. Jem is also 18 and is also angry. Jem is in remission. No More...

I really enjoyed this book. It's a story of love, loss, and letting people get close to us when we need it. It's quite long (according to Goodreads.com, it's 727 pages) but it's worth the journey.

The characters definitely stand out for me in this book. Jem has had a lot of upsets recently in his life. Recently declared cancer-free, he's still dealing with the news. Even if the cancer is gone, he certainly doesn't look like he did before he had cancer. He struggles with still feeling sick with th More...

If you are looking for a book that is truly unique, utterly realistic, that will make you laugh at loud, and cringe in equal measure, then this book is for you. Wake is likely the most realistic book I have ever read. I was completely immersed in the lives of Mattina's characters, and they felt so real. I almost forgot I was reading about fictional people.

Wake tells the story of two damaged people as they slowly heal, regress, and heal again. Wake takes place over six months and the reader is tr More...

What an incredible story. Willa Kirk is a girl returning back home to Smith Falls after leaving for St. John's and she winds up in class next to Cancer Boy Jem Harper. Willa having her own dark secrets having to do with her sister, thought she was making a clean break when she is connecting to Jem Harper who's in remission and still fighting through a transplant from his sister.

This was a raw look at what it can look like from a teen's point of view. We see the anger and sacredness of Jem Harper More...

This book was fantastic!!!! Seriously, it was so good, if I could give it more than 5 stars, I definitely would. In fact, I’ve already gotten one friend to purchase a copy for himself, and I am anxiously waiting to hear his thoughts on it. Don’t let the high page count scare you off! It almost scared me off, I’ll admit it. I kept delaying reading this book. Funny how something like that can scare you. BUT I made a huge mistake in waiting. Honestly, I don’t think the cover or the blurb do the con More...

Being a teenager is difficult. Being a teenager trying to start over is double hard. Willa Kirk is only 18 years old but is trying to restart her life in her old hometown in the middle of her senior year at high school. Jem Harper is trying to deal with the stigma of being known as the "cancer guy." All he wants is to get better and get through the school year. These two teens are the heart and soul of Wake by Abria Mattina.

There's some typical teenage angst in Wake but not much of it is because More...

Wow, Wake was... wow. Insanely long, but not long. Sometimes books seem to drag on and on and you're just thinking When will this end? even if they are not long you still fell like they're huge. Wake was actually long, but I just wanted more and more and more. Books are small chapters of the characters lives. Wake was many chapters for Willa and Jem and I loved it and I could easily read another book about them.



I got to know the characters inside and out completely. Their points of view, their p More...

Abria Mattina had a great courage choosing this subject, but she also shows that she can tell this story, also in its more difficult parts, without false pity, never in a banal way. The main characters' stories are revealed step by step, because there are things that can't be said to everyone and anytime, but only out of trust (and trust is a delicate thing to earn and to keep). This story made me cry and think and even laugh in the same page. There's a lot of dark humor, that I can compare to D More...

This book was the first independent book I ever read and the reason I fell in love with this kind of books. The writing is so fresh and the story is OH SO BEAUTIFUL!! All the conflicts and feelings just were so real, so true that you could feel all the fear, longing and loneliness and also the love starting to grow. I recommend this book to all my friends even though it is not as famous as my other 5 star books. The mix of characters is incredible, I ADORE Elise, really, she is the cherry in my More...

Having gone through such trials and tribulations at such a young age is tough stuff. Jem Harper is in remission from cancer and his only friend in this new town is his little sister Elise. That is, until Willa Kirk walks into his life and turns his world upside down. Both coming to terms with who they are and living life as best as they could, both Willa and Jem find themselves in the mist of teenage problems as well as life's problems weighing on their teenage shoulders.

Wow. Where to start? Wa More...

I received a copy of this book from the author for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review, and all conclusions are my responsibility. While this book is often tagged as a YA contemporary romance, or a YA story: I don’t think those simplistic categorizations are complete. Yes, there is romance and there are teenagers as the primary protagonists in the story – but it is so much deeper and more all-encompassing than just tagging it with a Contemporary Romance label.

This st More...