Awaken By Katie Kacvinsky

Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky
Release Date: May 23, 2011
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin for Children's Books
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 352
 

Summary: In the year 2060, everything is done digitally. Kids no longer go to schools. They stay home and take classes online. Adults work from home, too. Even dating is no longer done in person. Why walk on a real beach when you can stroll down a digitally remastered one instead? No bad weather, no seagulls, nothing real to ruin a perfectly fine time.

Though she's grown up in this digital world, something about being cut off from everyone doesn't sit right with seventeen-year-old Madeline. Her favorite activity--the only one she does off line--is soccer. She likes the physicality of it and the comradery with the other girls.

Then she meets Justin. He, too, prefers life off line. It's all he talks about. He even takes her out to a real coffee shop and an underground club. Maybe it's his attentiveness, or the physical closeness of actually being with someone, or just that he's very good looking, Maddie is definitely drawn to him. But there's also something very aloof about him, like perhaps he's hiding something.

When Maddie uncovers the truth, she's faced with the question: What's more important, fighting for what you believe in or love?

My Thoughts: Wow, I can't believe how much I love these books that are based on what the world could be like. We are introduced to Maddie whose dad controls the online education system. Maddie never has a reason to leave home, she can do everything online and just with a simple click. She goes to school online, she shops online, she takes a chatwalk online, she does everything digitally. Maddie is intelligent, likable, beautiful but she's also brave. Just a few years ago, she tried to take down her father. She doesn't really believe in everything he believes in and she wants to see the outside world a bit more.

She than meets Justin. Justin is not exactly who she thinks he is. She finally agrees to meet him in a tutoring session after a few months of talking online. Justin starts off being her friend but she notices that theres more to him and his motives. Yes, he does like like her but he also needs her help taking down her father.

Maddie starts to rebel and hangs out more and more with Justin. She longs for him. She starts falling in love with him. Justin is so aloof, he isn't very emotional. He has to keep to himself a lot to avoid getting his feelings torn since he travels so much.

Its also surprising who his parents end up being! To say the least, I loved Awaken. It was like nothing I have ever read before. It was beautiful. It was emotional. My favorite scene was at the club where Maddie put her arms around Justin. The whole scene was beautiful.

Overall: Awaken is a book you should definitely read this year! You never know, the future may end up just like this!

Cover: Love It! Its really radiant!

What I'd Give It: