Gone by Lisa McMann - Review

Synopsis via goodreads:

Janie thought she knew what her future held. And she thought she’d made her peace with it. But she can’t handle dragging Cabel down with her.

She knows he will stay with her, despite what she sees in his dreams. He’s amazing. And she’s a train wreck. Janie sees only one way to give him the life he deserves: She has to disappear. And it’s going to kill them both.

Then a stranger enters her life — and everything unravels. The future Janie once faced now has an ominous twist, and her choices are more dire than she’d ever thought possible. She alone must decide between the lesser of two evils. And time is running out. . . .

Sadly, I read both Wake and Fade before I started blogging – so I can't link to my reviews of them. Though, I can tell you I enjoyed them both. Part of what makes both Wake, Fade and now Gone so good is the author behind them. Lisa McMann is an amazing writer, who drew me into all of her books with the first sentence, and kept me strapped to my seat until the book(s) last page was read.

Gone, was, for me, much different from Wake and Fade, with in the pages of both Wake and Fade there's a mystery to be solved – and while Gone does have that element – the mystery here is centered around Janie, and who she is, rather than what she can do.

To me Gone almost seemed like a companion novel, not really the ending to the series – though most every question I had was answered, I guess I just kinda wish we might get to see more of Janie and Cabel someday – they are such dynamic characters. Does that even make sense?

Lets see if I can explain -

Where Wake and Fade leave you wondering about Janie's family, Gone answers those questions, finally. Lisa finally brings us into Janie's world as she uncovers the secrets behind why she is the way she is. Gone is much more Janie centered, she, though out most of the novel is alone, with her thoughts – and her dreams.

Her and Cabel are not "on assignment" and the book is not as, pulse pounding as Wake and Fade were (especially Fade), yet I don't mean to say it was boring, with nothing going on. There's plenty here to keep you flipping pages! I just don't want to say to much!

Lisa McMann has a way with words – and I LOVE the way she tells a story, though honestly – I can say I flipped back and forth a couple times to see the space of time, which could be distracting, but honestly it did not bother me – and most people probably would not bother (I am occasionally anal about such things).

I think the thing that makes Lisa stand out as an author is the way she creates her characters, extremely lovable, yet strong and confident. Though Janie did have her issues in Gone, and at times I wish she would just stop brooding, she in the end, returned to her strong roots!

I love how even when your kind of "sick of a character" Lisa still throws in really awesome reason's to love them, weather it be in strong dialog, witty banter or a dynamic choice – it's all there!

Bottom Line – If you can almost, forget that you read Wake and Fade – and go into reading this book like it's a stand alone, with the same characters – like a companion book might be – I think you will like Gone, if you can't – it's tough to get around the differences. (Though you will need to read Wake and Fade before picking up Gone, there's not much back story in Gone, and I think you would be lost.) I for one, was able to almost forget about Wake and Fade, since it had been so long since I read them, and I enjoyed it – though I do wish there was at least one more, book in the series, I am going to miss Janie and Cabel. I give this one a 5 mushrooms..I really liked it!

Lisa McMann is an author that I am going to be watching, I cant wait to see what she comes up with next!

Gone (Dream Catcher #3)
Written by: Lisa McMann
224 Pages
Published: Febuary 9, 2010
Publiser: Simon Pulse