Review: Wake by Abria Mattina

Wake

By: Abria Mattina

Pub. Date: September 22, 2011

Publisher: Primrose Publications

Pages: 727

Source: Author

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.

Wake is one of those stories that will have you laughing and crying all at the same time. I couldn't get enough of the story, the writing and the characters. Wake is a beautiful story about love and loss and leaves you with an ending that will put a smile on your face.

The story is told through multiple points of views, but the majority of it is of Jem's and Willa's. The different views were very realistic and I felt every emotion that the characters felt. Since there was so many different views, the reader really gets a sense of what is going on.

My favorite part of Wake was the characters. Jem has cancer and wants nothing more then to have his life go back to the way it was before the big C. But that is hard when everyone treats you like you are sick. Even though he is in remission, the medicine still makes him sick and scared, but he hides it so well and wants everyone to think that he is ok. Enter Willa who treats him like she would have treated anyone, and Jem is able to open up and move past the cancer. 

I really enjoyed the dynamic between Jem and Willa. They both helped each other to move on from the pain in their pasts and I was happy for that. I also loved their bantering back and fourth. It was very entertaining, especially in such a serious kind of book.

I would highly recommend Wake. It is a long book, but it goes pretty quickly. It is so much more then a coming of age story and I think people of all ages will find it interesting and enjoyable.