Wake
Lisa McMann
 The book begins with multiple flashbacks,all leading to Janie’s extraordinary powers and where she stands in the present day. Janie Hannagan is an independent, 17-year-old senior at Fieldridge High School, living at home with her alcoholic mother and trying to find ways to fund her future college education. What makes Janie so different from her peers is that she has the involuntary ability to witness others' dreams. Janie discovered this ability at 8 years old, when she was able to witness a businessman’s dream of him giving a presentation in his underwear. From that day on, she is somewhat cursed by the long struggle and suffering of being part of others’ dreams and nightmares. By taking part in others’ dreams, she can see their fears and/or desires. This leads to Janie finding out the secrets of the people around her, but she cannot reveal them because they might think she is crazy. Whenever someone falls asleep within a certain distance of Janie, she automatically becomes paralyzed and blinded, and is sucked into the other person’s dream. People within the dream she enters usually ask her for help, but she is unable to know what to do. All these incidents become a problem for Janie, especially towards her junior and senior years, because most of the time she cannot control the situation. Her peers, especially Cabel, become suspicious of her strange behavior. While most of her classmates have dreams typical of adolescent anxieties, Cabel,a mysterious loner, has frighteningly morbid dreams that Janie cannot come to terms with. After several encounters, Janie and Cabel fall for each other on a class trip to Canada, during which time Cabel becomes aware of Janie's strange powers. Although Cabel helps Janie protect her secret, they are unable to maintain a close relationship due to peer pressures, secrecy, and Cabel's growing reputation as a drug dealer to the wealthy.. Even as Janie and Cabel grow apart, their desire for each other increases. As Cabel seems to fall away from Janie and into the drug trade, Janie realizes things are not always as they seem, and she can learn to use her powers to help others and even serve the community. With the help of Miss Stubin at the Heather Home, Janie discovers that she is a dream catcher and has the power to help others resolve the dreams which are haunting them. The climax of the story comes as Cabel, along with a number of other Fieldridge students and parents, are imprisoned on narcotics charges. Janie witnesses a dream that helps the police and allows her to free her friends.