Book Review: Wide Awake

Wide Awake by Shelly Crane
March 22. 2013
202 pages
Genre: Young Adult
Source: Personal ebook purchase 

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Goodreads Summary:

A girl.
A coma.
A life she can't remember.

When Emma Walker wakes up in the hospital with no knowledge of how she got there, she learns that she's been in a coma for six months. Strangers show up and claim to be her parents, but she can't remember them. She can't remember anyone. Not her friends, not even her boyfriend. Even though she can't remember, everyone wants her to just pick up where she left off, but what she learns about the 'old her' makes her start to wish she'd never woken up. Her boyfriend breaks up with the new girl he's dating to be with her, her parents want her to start planning for college, her friends want their leader back, and her physical therapist with the hazel eyes keeps his distance to save his position at the hospital.

Will she ever feel like she recognizes the girl in the mirror?

My Review:

I enjoyed reading this story of Emma, who wakes up from being in a coma for 6 months and discovers she remembers nothing of her past, who she is, or anyone around her. She opens her eyes to the first sight of Mason and his hazel eyes staring down at her - Mason her therapist. Throughout the story, I appreciated the place Emma found herself in. She didn't know who she was, didn't know anyone, but also didn't necessarily want to be who she was before. She didn't really know who she was before at first, but she had enough sense about her to know that she wanted to be who she was at that moment and figure things out for herself. I enjoyed her journey to self-discovery and the journey that those around her had to take as they adjusted to the "new Emma" while not getting the "old Emma" they were used to back. Her bumps in the road were interesting, and some were quite unexpected for me. I thought things would go one way, and then they went another. Some things I figured out on my own, and others I found out about right alongside Emma. I really liked Emma and could empathize with her journey.

Mason was a breath of fresh air. I loved his character, his commitments, his integrity, and his protectiveness. He had many great qualities that I could see why Emma would be drawn to him. I also appreciated the pacing of their relationship. They didn't rush things and they respected each others boundaries. I liked that they seemed to be able to sense the needs of the other person, which enhanced the nature of their relationship. They truly felt like a team, and it was easy for me to envision a future for them.

The pacing of the story was very good. I didn't feel like there were any dull or lagging moments. There was suspense thrown and mystery thrown in there, and Ms. Crane kept things very interesting. I also loved the random facts. I read this book quickly and was sad when I found it to be over. I really enjoyed getting to know Emma and Mason and would enjoy other books about them, or perhaps a book about Milo, with a bit of Emma and Mason thrown in there.

One things that kept this from being a 5 star book for me was that it took me longer to feel the connection between Emma and Mason. They seemed to be drawn to each other rather quickly, but I had a hard time pinpointing how their attraction would have developed to soon. I felt there was something missing - perhaps I needed more dialogue/conversation between the two of them in the beginning. As the book progressed and by the end, I felt their connection more, particularly with some of the insights from Mason, though even then I would have liked more times of them getting to know each other's interests, etc., and not limited to their commiserating about their commonalities and respecting each other's characters, and the drama around Emma. Though there were certainly some nice moments between them (dragonflies!). Perhaps I'm not making any sense, but there was a little something missing. But I still loved Emma and Mason. And I still love Shelly Crane and am a huge fan, even if this isn't my favorite book by her. It's still great and very Shelly Crane :)

4 STARS