Gone

February 1, 2010
Gr 9 Up-Janie Hannagan is inadvertently and unwillingly drawn into other people's dreams and nightmares. In "Fade" (S & S, 2009), she uses her unique abilities to apprehend criminals. In contrast, "Gone" is a more personal story about Janie's attempts to come to terms with her troubled family and with the ways that dream catching will affect the rest of her life. Faced with an alcoholic and irresponsible mother, the teen finds some solace in her relationship with her boyfriend but then, unexpectedly, the father she's never known enters her life. Henry Feingold is suffering from a mysterious brain disorder. When Janie is drawn into his unconscious and continuous nightmare, she discovers that he, too, is a dream catcher, and she struggles to use her power to help him find release. As she finds out more about him, Janie faces a choiceuse her abilities for the benefit of others and become blind and crippled in her '20s like her mentor, or isolate herself from other human beings, as her father did, to avoid entering their dreams. This is a fast-paced read, written in flashbacks and sentence fragments that suggest the dream state. Janie is a strong, appealing character, and the depictions of her emotional turmoil and her painful dilemma are absolutely believable. This book would make an interesting choice for a book-discussion group. However, it is necessary to have read "Wake" and "Fade" to understand everything that is occurring."Kathleen E. Gruver, Burlington County Library, Westampton, NJ"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2010
Grades 8-11 Dream-catcher Janie must decide her fate: continue living in society and helping the police but eventually become blind and crippled, or isolate herself completely. The choice becomes even more difficult when her father, in a coma and on the brink of death, comes into her life for the first time and reveals important information to Janie through his dreams. Cabel remains a steadfast and loving companion, and Janies mother, a barely functioning alcoholic, plays a greater role in this volume. The popular trilogy, begun with Wake (2008) and Fade (2009), ends on a hopeful yet open note that will likely have fans clamoring for McManns next effort.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)