Review: Those That Wake

Author: Jesse Karp
Pages: 336
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Source: Library
Synopsis: New York City’s spirit has been crushed. People walk the streets with their heads down, withdrawing from one another and into the cold comfort of technology. Teenagers Mal and Laura have grown up in this reality. They’ve never met. Seemingly, they never will. 


But on the same day Mal learns his brother has disappeared, Laura discovers her parents have forgotten her. Both begin a search for their families that leads them to the same truth: someone or something has wiped the teens from the memories of every person they have ever known. Thrown together, Mal and Laura must find common ground as they attempt to reclaim their pasts.

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Those That Wake has the appearance of a book about zombies but, you should know, it isn't. The book is instead about helplessness and fighting it.

To be honest, after finishing the last page my reaction was "What happened?" I was thoroughly confused. I couldn't really grasp the concept Jesse Karp was using so many things had me puzzled. I read one passage three or four times and still didn't understand what was going on. Maybe someone else will understand or there could have been better explanations. You had to pay very very close attention to understand what was going on and I honestly wasn't willing to put that much effort in a book I had hoped would entertain me.

The characters... What can I say? I didn't actively like any of them. I thought they ranged from "I hate them" to "normal." I just couldn't seem to connect with them or what they did. For example, the "romance." It didn't make sense. It wasn't needed. Does all it take for love to appear is a girl to see a guy? There wasn't any foreplay. No one ever questioned their feelings. They just felt protective from the start. I couldn't understand it.

The world building wasn't really amazing. I couldn't tell if this world was supposed to be a near future or an advanced future. They referenced 9/11 so it could be near but based on how people were so technologically advanced I really don't know. We were told people never looked up from screens. Besides a few events, I couldn't really picture the New York in Those That Wake.

You may have gotten the impression I wasn't too impressed by Those That Wake,but there were good things. A lot of cool stuff happened like Laura being forgotten and having to deal with that. The characters' backgrounds were also interesting. Those That Wake make you want to stop using the Internet and testing all the time and instead look around the world. It also raises awareness of media's influences.

This book wasn't the book for me. I couldn't get into it, I didn't find myself liking the characters, the plot confused me... Definitely not for me. I'm sure someone else may enjoy this book. If Sci-fi with conspiracies against media and corporations is your thing, you'll probably like this. 2 stars,

**