Review: Wake

Posted by Nina L. on 12:00 PM in 5-star, Abria Mattina, contemporary, favorite, review, romance, YA,

Author: Abria Mattina

Release date: September 22, 2011

Publisher: Primrose Publications

Series: N/A

Age Group: Young Adult

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository 

Add to your library: Goodreads

Eighteen isn’t too young to run your life into the ground, but it’s not too old to fix it, either. The desire for change drives Willa Kirk from St. John’s, Newfoundland back to hometown of Smiths Falls, Ontario, away from her mistakes and the place where her sister died. She’s looking for a place to settle and rebuild, but Jem Harper just wants to get out of town, back to the life he knew before cancer. By letting the tragedies in their lives define them, they are both dying a little more every day. Welcome to the wake. (via Goodreads)

I received an e-copy of this from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Wake is painfully long. Not that it was dragging or boring. It was painful in a way because of the characters and the story itself. The more I read, the more my heart ached for them. The more the story went on, the more I realize that it was truly a magnificent work of literature. The plot, the character development, and the writing style made me feel and realize  that this is such a reality. That this really happens in real life. It is such a reflection of the people who lost someone from cancer, the people who fought with a loved one who had cancer and the person who had battled out cancer. See? Cancer's such a bitch.

I can totally end my review with that paragraph alone. But no, I won't. I loved this too much that I'm gonna gush about it. Sorry, friends. Sometimes, the best thing you can do for a book you really love is to gush about it so others will know how it made your mind go crazy. Or that's just me.

I love everything about Wake. The fact that it's long. I actually believed that it is far by the longest book I've ever read to date. Even if it was long, I was never bored. I wonder how Abria did that. I mean, she never once drag me along the story. I was always in the story, together with the characters. See? I'm with them. It was told from multi-POVs. But I wasn't bothered.  I was able to know them. All. It was written in a way that made me feel I'm with them all along. I got to know them deeply. They're my friends. Oh man, I think I'm getting delusional right now. But whatever, that was how it affected me. That's why my heart ached a lot because Jem, Willa, Elise, Frank and Eric have their own struggles and baggage.

I won't end this without saying how much I love Jem and Willa's romance. Definitely not an insta-romance! The development of their love was really there. You will really feel it. I swear. It was oh-so swoony. They had their ups and downs. Both of them were able to grow and accept each other despite their struggles. I just, I don't know. It was really the love that you know you'll have forever you know? It was totally worth fighting for. What am I saying exactly?

Metaphor. I love that thing. And I don't know if I'm just getting crazy but there are a lot of it in here. Even the title. It's really catching for me. 

Oh, there was a part in here where I thought I'll die because I don't know if that character will actually last through. You know that moment when you know how cancer can kill you any minute? And you don't really have that strength to actually be positive because you don't really know what'll happen? The dread of that tempted me to peek at the ending. Haha. But I didn't. Because in real life, I cannot do that. I have to be on that moment. I certainly hoped for the best and prepared for the worst. Funny thing though? I know this was written already but I kept on thinking that it wasn't. That it was just actually happening.

Alright. Time to end this gushing. There are a lot of things that were tackled in here. Everything that surrounds cancer will be here. This is actually my first time to read about someone who has gotten through cancer already. Well, Augustus from TFIOS  was cancer-free but he still died in the end. Pft. This one is all about getting through the life after that cancer already. It really is hard, you know.

Wake is an exceptionally beautiful novel that will catch your heart, mind and soul. It's long but not in the dragging way. You'll definitely fall in love with it. Especially with how Jem and Willa got through those storms. Life lessons are totally present here. But most especially, Wake is something that must be read by everyone because it'll totally open your eyes to a lot of things.

P.S. Can't wait to read Love Among Pigeons.

  About the Author 

Abria Mattina works in marketing and book production. She holds a Certificate in Publishing from the New York University Summer Publishing Institute and a degree in English Literature and Psychology from the University of Ottawa. When she isn’t writing she enjoys travelling, eclectic books, blogging, and baking. She lives with her fiance, Daniel.

Her debut novel, WAKE, is about the struggle to redefine life after experiencing cancer and caring for an ill loved one.

* Currently available for interviews, promo spots, contests, and reviews. Just ask.

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