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The Awakened by Julian Cheek – Book Review
I was part of the blog tour for this book and shared an extract here. You can also find the synopsis on the original post.
I’ve now read the book so here are my thoughts.
Unfortunately I really struggled with this and came close to not finishing on a few occasions. But I don’t like reviewing without finishing. I’m sorry to say I won’t be continuing with the series though.
I have the utmost respect for those who have finished a book and put it out there especially as I’m still struggling with the editing part of the process myself.
The Awakened I’m sad to say I think would have benefited from further editing.
I really liked the premise and the synopsis sounded intriguing. Although I do feel that it really only describes the very end of the book (leading into the next) so I do feel it was a little misleading. There is a villain who is named and his deeds mentioned but he is also described as “He who must not be named.” Hmmm!
For me The Awakened was far too descriptive at the start with nothing really happening. I don’t think the stakes were set up quick enough. Seventeen year old Sam just keeps falling asleep in the real world and waking up in another strange world. He is constantly just putting that down to being a dream and comes across as quite naive.
Generally Sam didn’t sound like an authentic teenager and I didn’t feel he had enough agency in the story. He constantly refuses to accept what is happening as real. It reminded me a bit like Bastian at the end of The Neverending Story film but he was like this throughout and I did find myself rolling my eyes at him repeatedly.
What I found intriguing was the fact that his brother had recently died in the real world and I wish this had been explored more and that we were shown rather than told what he was feeling. I did wonder if that would play more into the other world but it seemed he died from Leukaemia.
The scenes back in the real world didn’t seem to add much to the story except to get him out of sticky situations. I was also confused as to why towards the end of the book we moved from Sam’s point of view to following others including a scene in Paris that read more like it fit in a horror/alien invasion film. It was so out of place with the rest of the book.
I didn’t really connect to Sam as a character but I did like Pania, a little girl in the other world and would be interested to see what becomes of her. There are characters called Padme that remind me of daemons from His Dark Materials and I’d like to have understood them a bit more. Sam’s Padme Babu was quite fun – given a bit more of an attitude I think he would have carried the story more.
I couldn’t follow the set up of the other world and feel having a map might have helped.
In summary I found the story confusing and felt it was trying to be too many things. It was full of ‘tell instead of show’, very repetitive and just generally needed more editing.
Disclaimer. I received a copy of this book for the purposes of an honest review.
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…Preceded by Chaos Vol -1 by M. Wheeler (Writer) and B. Bicknell (Illustrator) – Blog Tour Book Review
Summary:
…Preceded by Chaos is a graphic illustrated series, charting the dramatic past, present and future of a young emergency room doctor, as the stress of saving lives threatens to overwhelm him. Mitchell Weaver is a troubled young Emergency Medicine doctor, orbiting a world of high-stress, intense pressure. It’s a distinguished profession with the burden of a variety of particularly disturbing personal demons that he must battle in order to maintain the façade of sanity and control. The third instalment of the series, Volume -1, takes place before the first book in the series, Volume 0, before Mitchell’s attempt at sobriety and self-awareness. During this chapter Mitchell travels to Spain in an attempt to find a part of himself that his been lost. But ultimately, Mitchell’s trip to Barcelona may be an escape more than journey.
Author:
M. Wheeler has held an eclectic array of jobs – including working as a studio engineer and a teacher — before he entered medical school in his thirties. During his residency in New York City, he wrote the first three books which would eventually become the …Preceded by Chaos series. Wheeler travels extensively for his job but currently calls Miami, Florida, home.
Website: http://precededbychaos.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/precededbychaos
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PrecededByChaos/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/precededbychaos/
What I Thought:
I started this book thinking it was going to be a graphic novel. But as it says above it’s a graphic illustrated series so there are some illustrations but also lots of pages of text only. This is actually the third book in the series but is a prequel (I haven’t read the others).
I was drawn to the story of an emergency medicine doctor battling his demons and the cover illustration really demonstrates that concept. The sections that take place within the hospital were the ones I most enjoyed and it was during those that you felt the pressure on Mitchell. There are some quite verbally (and illustratingly) graphic depictions of drug use. The scene with the case of a young boy is realistic and upsetting and the language used definitely reflects the author’s experience as a medic.
I am assuming that the series title is based on the following quote: “All great changes are preceded by chaos” by Deepak Chopra,
and the summary for the next books describes how Mitchell aims to change and battle the addiction and demons that are affecting his life. He is left with a summons that means change is inevitable and this seems to link to an enigmatic case that is alluded to but not discussed in this volume.
The preceding chaos is definitely evident here and I have to admit to being a little confused about what was happening. The majority of the story takes place in Barcelona where he goes on holiday with a mate from work and lots of alcohol is consumed. The foreword is by a fictionalised character from the story who I’m not entirely sure actually exists or if we have a Jekyll and Hyde situation going on. The red eyed bull demon again could be a metaphorical representation of turmoil or a real inner demon.
Unfortunately I wasn’t drawn to Mitchell as a character and I didn’t feel women in the story were treated all that well. There was was a scene that featured a prostitute and a very unusual shopping list that I think I’d prefer to forget – so I’m not convinced I would read on to find out what happens but hopefully the character manages to turn his life around. Despite his irresponsible actions there is clear evidence that he cares for the patients and has become burdened by past events. I think the concept of mental health could be considered more explicitly. I think in this case it was more that my expectations of the story didn’t match what I got.
I believe the print copy I received was the final version and there were a few errors still present, and some of the text on the illustrations was blurred and difficult to read. I wonder if the kindle option makes this easier with the ability to zoom in.
The illustrations were all grayscale except for a couple that included a dash of red. Oddly one chapter was entirely presented in captioned illustration and I do think that the material would lend itself to being presented in this way as a graphic novel.
Do check out the other stops on the tour to see what everyone else thought.
I received my copy from Faye Rogers and the publishers for the purposes of honest review.
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Double Felix by Sally Harris – Blog Tour Book Review
Today’s Middle Grade book title is published by WackyBee Books and is a story that taps into the current push to gain a greater understanding of mental health, particularly in boys.
Synopsis
He skips every second step when he takes the stairs, taps door handles twice and positions objects in pairs. The problem has become so bad that Felix is on the verge of being expelled from school because the principal has had enough of trying to run the school around his very specific rules. Then Charlie Pye arrives and turns his world upside down. She’s grown up with very few rules. She eats cereal for lunch, calls a boat home, and has a very loose interpretation of school uniform. The question is, can Felix ever learn to be wrong when he is so obsessed with being right?
Author
Sally Harris grew up in rural Australia and after graduating from Cambridge with a degree in Children’s Literature, Sally has been busy writing and working as a primary teacher in both Australia and the UK. Her first book Diary of a Penguin-Napper, sold over 10,000 copies and her second book Ruby Marvellous, has inspired children all over the world to try their hand at cooking exploding finger buns! Sally loves animals, including penguins, but as she can’t have one of those as a pet, she has found that a dog is definitely the next best thing.
Illustrator
Maria Serrano was born in Murcia, Spain where she still lives and works. After completing her BA in Arts at Complutense University in Madrid, she went on to illustrate children’s books for several Spanish publishers, all of which are still available to buy at bookshops in Spain. In the UK she has worked with Oxford University Press, Pearson Education and Templar books amongst others. She is represented by the Plum Pudding agency.
What I Thought
We join Felix’s story when he is already reliant on rules and patterns and he is in the midst of those being challenged. It has got to a stage where it is affecting his daily life, his ability to deal with change and to engage with other children.
As well as being introduced to the new girl at school Charlie, Felix’s latest episode means that he is sent to see the school counsellor who starts to work with him on addressing his anxieties.
I loved how the story focused on the introduction of these new characters into Felix’s life and how they both help Felix, and those around him to see things differently. Felix’s difficulties are spoken about in every day language that children would understand and I love the analogy the counsellor comes up with of ‘Basil the Bully’. I think this would be a great book for any child experiencing anxiety to read to maybe start off a discussion with parents or school staff. Or indeed it would make a great classroom read to explore with children how we can support others who see the world differently.
Both Felix and Charlie are fun characters and I loved following their growing friendship. They felt very authentic to their age.
Author Sally very cleverly introduces common anxiety provoking incidents into Felix’s life – some that are everyday (playing with other children at break times) and others that are often out of anyone’s control (substitute teachers who don’t know you, medical problems affecting those we love). And these scenarios help him begin to see how to deal with the uncertainty that life throws at us.
The illustrations by Maria really bring the story and Felix’s thoughts to life and I particularly loved the Rool Boy comic which was an adorable way for Charlie to share her understanding with Felix.
The story comes across as very realistic with no quick fix, no perfect ending but a hopeful journey. Check out the structure of the contents page which also forms part of the story.
It is worth noting that the book is set in Australia and schools in the UK are set up differently. In fact children and adolescent mental health services are generally under too much demand and there is pressure for schools to focus on academic achievement. This means that when children with mental health or social learning challenges (such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Anxiety, Depression, ADHD etc) are achieving academically despite them having social and behavioural challenges they are not readily able to access additional support.
As an Occupational Therapist I see a huge potential role for OTs to be employed within schools addressing this more generally. Charlie even introduces Felix to an occupation that she thinks will help his anxiety. I sense a future fabulous OT in that character. One of my OT friends is exploring a PhD on this topic and I’ll definitely share this book with her, and also with friends who might have children experiencing similar challenges.
Today is the start of the blog tour. Do check out the other stops for reviews and author content.
kirstyes 