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action, angst, book review, dream catching, fiction, high school, life, lisa mcmann, love, paranormal, readers, romance, stories, writing, YA
Gone
by Lisa McMann
genre: paranormal, YA
Are you fascinated by dreams? I am, so when I heard about the final book in the Dream-Catcher series I had to read it!
Summary
(Taken from Goodreads)
The conclusion of the paranormal teen series, Wake. Janie is spending her summer with Cabel, but deep down she’s panicking about how she’s going to survive her future when getting sucked into other people’s dreams starts to take its toll.
Review
I have recently read both Wake and Fade by Lisa McMann. I enjoyed Wake and loved Fade but I was sadly disappointed by Gone. The pacing was fast paced as per usual, which was good. But there was no point to having a fast paced book if the plot seemed pointless. I disliked the major plot (WARNING SPOILERS) where Janie’s father is introduced in a coma. I liked the idea as a subplot, but not as the main plot. Why did the whole book have to be about her choosing between being a hermit or living a life with Cabel? I wanted one more mission as an agent that would have produced fireworks for a finale but no… this seemed truly anticlimatic.
The romance between Cabel and Janie totally died. Their relationship only served to introduce and finish the book. There was barely any interaction in the middle because Janie just ‘didn’t want to talk to him because she needed space’. It felt like a cop out on the authors behalf. I also lost my ability to relate to Janie. She was nearly always miserable. I understood that she had a difficult choice to face, I think that idea shouldn’t have been discarded but I didn’t like that the whole book focused on it.
I think ultimately, the book felt like a bunch of characterisation sub plots that for some reason, took the limelight. This felt like a filler book rather than a finale. If they were going to introduce Janie’s dad, why couldn’t we learn so much more about Janie’s mother? As soon as I heard about his appearance, I thought it was going to turn into an epic family adventure into the family’s past but the family past was summed up in 2 sentences.
I’ll give it 2 stars instead of 5 because it wasn’t a terrible read but it was far from good. The focus of the book wasn’t on what I was hoping. The satisfaction of the ending didn’t exist. It is possible that my expectations had risen too high due to the success of book 2. I do not recommend this novel. Read the first two but don’t bother with the third. Sadly, this is another series that didn’t reach its full potential. Anyone else have any dream-based novels? 🙂
2 out of 5 stars
This book is for you if:
- Quick, YA reads.
- You love characterisation and family drama.
This book is not for you if:
- You need an action-based plot.
- Like in-depth explanations of family history.
- You dislike reading about angsty teens.
– Ermisenda Alvarez
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Ermilia 
I love that you did a review on this book because I also read the first two and loved the heck out of them, but when I got to this one it was a huge disappointment and I didn’t even finish reading it. It was a library book so it just sat in my room collecting dust until I had to return it. I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who felt that way ;]
I’m glad you also felt my disappointment. I just hate when a series doesn’t reach its full potential, and this one had so much! 😦 Ah well, onto other books. 🙂 Thanks for commenting, authormercedes!
I totally agree. I finally finished the book after checking it out a few times from the library.
As much as I liked the series and the way the books were going, the last book made no sense.
It was a true let-down. We all knew she was supposed to made s decision. By really, what decision did she make? Not sure I understood. She chose to continue to see Cabel because that seemed better than suffering Henry’s fate. There wasn’t even any proof that that was the cause of his brain issue. My problem with the book was the lack of evidence and depth. All and any evidence Janie gained was circumstantial. She barely even had a chance to talk to him. My point: why bring in Henry if you didn’t intend to truly indulge in his life and or Dorothea?
Definitely, Eliteleo. I agree. I wanted so much more of Henry and Dorothea, what was the point of including them if we weren’t going to get a full family history drama? Sigh… I’m glad I’m not the only one that was disappointed. Have you read a good series recently that is similar?
Well can anyone help with the book i read half of it but not all of it and i still dont understand can i have just a litte bit of help ?………