This review can also be found on A Thousand Lives Lived, check it out for more reviews! *2.5 star rating* The thing is, I've tried to hold off writing this review for a while, keep on rescheduling it and moving it along, but it's time to let my thoughts overtake everything that I've ever known about dystopia and throw it away. Jokes, jokes, it was April Fool's Day, and I'm only kidding about wanting to let go dystopian novels. That's just a part of it, and the genre is made up of so many better novels that are able to capture readers' hearts and spin them into a world where the impossible happens in the future. In this case, Katie Kacvinsky has given us a complete other situation that no other author has done before... at least from what I've seen and read of.Yes, using damn computers to do everything. And isn't it already ironic at the moment that everyone's classified as lazy because of the time we spend on the internet doing random things and playing virtual video games? How did the future evolute to something like this? *wonders* Okay, but I'm honestly not trying to go theoretical here, as it's a novel that's not too believable, either. Don't expect yourself to be dreaming about Maddie and Justin falling in love tonight. It's not going to happen, at least, it won't ever happen to me. That's the main subject point here: everything is done virtually with computers and technology. The funny thing is that Maddie's dad is super rich and he had invented virtual school where children are supposedly learning better from computers and e-lessons and interacting socially with people, all in the course of the online thing. And now, he's complaining about Maddie doing too much and exposing his information out to the general public. It's HIS FAULT. *feels like can argue for centuries on this matter* So now, Maddie's trying to be rebellious and goes out and meets Justin, a guy who she's planning to study with, actually in the real world. She lies that she's going to soccer practice when she's actually going to see him... and well, you get the story. They fall in love."Online we were all equal. Social status wasn't important. Money and looks and jobs and clothes almost become obsolete. So who cares what my real name is? It's just a label, like a particular brand of person. Who cares who sits behind it when we only meet in waves of space?"You see, Maddie was definitely unlike her father. She was kick-ass and awesome, though her insecurity and stupidity (when she's trying to make decisions) was weak and strange compared to that of other protagonists in a manipulative dystopian-world novel. And really, you don't want me to get to the subject of Justin. Let's just say that I hated their connection and didn't support them together... I felt that he only used Maddie and that there were some weak feelings because HE JUST FELT like he had to kiss her because it seemed right. MANIPULATIVE? Yes, just like her father."You're a spectator. People are becoming spectators of their own lives instead of living them. But the best part is getting the game. That's when it's all worth it."And hey, I'd absolutely recommend to take an extra precaution before reading, as you'll need time to get through this. The plot is very slow-paced and I must say that although Kacvinsky is a great and strong author, her message wasn't as clear and I didn't like her characters. The only great thing was the concept and some of the action scenes that took Maddie against her own will. That was unexpected, I kept telling myself. *gives a round of applause*This book truly has awaken me into seeing the true side of diverse dystopia and something that no author has ever done. I haven't seen something like this, though there were such weak characters in the plot that I almost DNF-ed this, but I felt bad since there were already a few that I have lately. Will this awaken you? Hopefully, but this will be better for you than for me.

"Let's just say there's only so much of life that can be taught by pushing a bunch of buttons and looking at a screen.""But technology can be like a drug if you don't keep it in check. After a while it gets in your system and you're addicted. You get to a point where you can't live without it and that's when the drug controls you."Quotes of the bookQuotes are sentences that inspires you which gives you the urge to imprint them in your mind. Frankly, I've never felt that kind of urge, maybe it's because I haven't read the right quote. Shockingly, when I was reading Awaken, I bookmarked a lot of pages with my brain which eventually I couldn't keep up with the explosive memory. If I'm given a highlighter, Awaken will literally turn yellow in my hands. Every sentence in the book I feel like is a fragile bubble that I need to cherish forever. Thank you Ms Kacvinsky, you've given me more than just a book there, it's a gift, the best gift a human can possibly received.PlotThis is our future... You don't ever need to change from your pjs to graduate from high school. Everything you are able to list can be done by your computer e.g. going to school, doing sports, having dates, attending concerts, visiting other countries, go clubbing etc. One touch of your finger or one command from your mouth can help you to live your life. Maddie is the famous heiress of the founder of this life, his dad is the principal of digital school, basically the "president" of the country. Living under commands and orders, being planted with tracking devices is the life of Maddie, to keep Maddie from unleashing her rebellious side. Maddie's rebellious side had almost destroyed her family 2 years ago: holding a revolt against her own father's life-of-work. To amend the hole in her family, the only thing she can do is to give up the only thing that defines us, freedom, the freedom to have judgement, the freedom to be herself, the freedom to enjoy life, it's a word that Maddie is not able to afford, it's a word that Maddie doesn't Didn'tdare to let her mind wander to. Until she meets Justin. Justin is the infamous heir of the founder of anti-this-life, his parents are the revolts in the society, refusing to let computers to control people's mind and cutting them off from the society. Travelling to different countries on a 24-hour basis to hold revolts, persuading people to join his side, rescuing kids that are being sent to detention centre for not taking digital school even if life-risking is necessary, never take a day off in 10 years is the life of Justin. To fight for what he wants, he has to give up everything he has, his life, his emotions, his time, his love. Myself is a word that never crosses Justin's mind, all he ever cares is his job to save more people from being digital's slave. People count on him, responsibilities and burdens are placed on him without words. Justin will risk everything to follow the footsteps of his parents.In order for Justin to reach his goal, he needs to keep contact with the mysterious santa claus 2 years ago, who handed him the confidential information which successfully led Justin to hold an influential revolt. But this mysterious santa claus disappeared right after the revolt, like vanished forever. After 2 years of tracking, there he finds, Maddie, the heiress of his enemy is his hero. Before persuading Maddie to join his side, he has discovered Maddie is no longer the same girl with the burning fire in her heart 2 years ago, she has straightened out, she has been brain-washed, but it's a challenge that Justin is willing to take. Because behind these camouflage, the girl on fire is still burning brightly there, and it's Justin's job to offer her the world.FIghting against digital world, learn to be human again, learn to live and learn to feel is what the book about. These are knowledge that every single human being needs to acquire. MessageMost of the teenagers nowadays locked themselves up in their rooms and flirt with their smartphones and laptops. Experiencing life with a few pushes of buttons; glance the world with a few mis-clicks of google news; communicate with friends with a bunch of messages; laugh out loud with caps lock HAHAHAHHAHHAA. Is that what life is? Is that what human are made for? Is that what the world has offered? We hide ourselves to cut off the world from us, we don't socialize, we don't communicate, we don't see, we don't live.Just walk on the street and see it yourself, everyone is busy with their heads down, everyone is too absorbed in their digital bubble to notice anything around. Have you ever count how many streetlights are there when you walk back home?Have you ever greet and smile at a random stranger just because you feel like it?Have you ever notice the name tag of the staff when you're waiting for your coffee at Starbucks?None of these thoughts have ever existed in your mind, because you never chin up and look around you.Life is too short to be wasted on a digital world that doesn't even exists.Go out and make new friends! Go explore the world and stop being a slave! Go and be surrounded by people! Go out and feel the sun and joy! Go out and test your limits! Go out and dance til dawn!OUR GENERATION IS BEING BRAINWASHED BY THESE DIGITAL VIRUS!OUR HUMAN SPECIES WILL EXTINCT AND REPLACE BY ROBOT BRAINS!MyselfI am not proud of myself. Just like every other teen, I was a digital slave, I used to gladly sacrifice my time for Pet Society or Club Penguin. I was addicted to computer when I first touched it, I was high! I felt success, happiness, comfort, and mostly NUMB. It was my escape from the real world, I didn't want to face my complicated life, my life was too messed up, which can be concluded into one word: puberty. I chose to escape, I chose to hide myself and cut off from the world... before I got rescued. I am grateful that I was rescued. I realised I couldn't live such life, I need to use my life to make the most of it. That's when I awake. Choosing to feel numb and escape from problems is always the easy way, you don't need to fight, you just need to convince yourself not to care. It is easy, fast, convenient, but that's not right. You can do better! You can fight! Don't back down! Choose the challenging path! Not the easy one!From then on, I cut myself off from internet, I get up with my legs and push myself out of my room and get out to live.But the sun rises and reality kicks in, it's not that easy, drugs always find a way to get back to you... A few months ago, I turned back into the girl who cares about how many FB friends I have, how many likes I have on my FB dp, how many likes I have on my ig, how many likes I lost in the competition with other pretty girls. I lived my life again in this digital world. I was consumed, exploited by this digital world. My mind was clear, I knew I couldn't do this, but my body didn't follow. I became that pathetic girl. Now, my friend, I am on my roller coaster that is going up after the sprint down i just had. I don't use smart phones, I notice random little things around me when I walk and this is the only thing that I'm proud of myself. Who knows when I'm going to fall again? But I know, if my mind and will is clear and strong, then I'm not afraid of falling. Falling is a part of life, as long as you know the way to get back up and have hope, then mistakes and fears are only hallucinations. My friend, selfishly, I want to keep Awaken all to myself, but I know, this book is the best gift I can share with you, that's why, if I have a chance to choose a book for the world to read, Awaken will do it.Awaken has given me my life back.My deepest gratitude is given to Ms Kacvinsky. Katie Kacvinsky

3.5/4 starsAwaken had been on my computer for quite some time up until this point. I'd started it two or three times but for one reason or another was never able to go beyond the first couple of paragraphs. I'm glad to say I finally sat down and read this properly. It was definitely worth it, although I'm still not sure what rating this truly deserves.The year is 2060 and technology has taken over. Hardly anyone goes out anymore. Instead, they go to school, work, the beach, anywhere they want, all from the safety of their own homes. Why wouldn't they, when anything outside can be virtually replicated, able to be experienced without stepping a foot outside the front door? Madeline Freeman, however, wants more. And when online studymate Justin Solvi insists on them meeting face to face, she can hardly believe it. She is shocked when she discovers his motive for seeking her out...not to mention confused when he opens her eyes to the lie her life is, and to everything she's missed out on.This isn't quite like other dystopias I've read. Generally you have a regimental government exercising total control over society, or a set societal hierarchy in which a particular group is considered an outcast, illegal, inferior. At least, that's what I've come across. In Awaken, Katie Kacvinsky provides a different take on dystopia, focusing more on how technology dominates. While there is a controlling government, it is not as high on the extreme scale. Having said that, dystopia also means a society in which a key problem is causing it to be dysfunctional, and there are certainly problems here. The world Kacvinsky has created is frighteningly possible. Today, each day brings with it a newer, faster, (supposedly) better piece of technology. And with these developments, we become lazier and dependent; we demand instant gratification, and that is exactly what this book points out. Here, people have lost the ability to actually live life. It always strikes me as ironic that, despite these societies being set in the future, they are far more backward in some way than we are today. The author has crafted this well, although I would have liked to see some more world-building: there were times when it felt very current.I liked Maddie well enough. She was a little self-contradictory - she doesn't like her dad controlling her, yet when offered the chance to make a change, is more comfortable with following a determined path. But at the same time, she is strong. Strong enough to know what was wrong with her life at 15 and act on it; strong enough to step out of her comfort zone and meet Justin two years later. I also couldn't help but share in her sadness. Her dad, inventor of the digital school and consequent millionairre, is the very definition of controlling tyrant. While I understood the distrust he had for his daughter (someone's daughter stealing their secret files and giving them to the opposition is bound to do that to a person), what I couldn't understand was how potent, almost toxic, that distrust was two years on. What father, however unforgiving, bugs his daughter and has her followed? What father checks and triple checks every aspect of his daughter's life, all the way down to the number of people in her study group?The relationship between Justin and Maddie was incredibly well-paced. I thought Maddie was too quick to let Justin get under her skin, but that was balanced by the distance he put between them. I liked that his character was consistent - it's obvious that he does actually care for Maddie, but he warns her it can't happen between them, and lives by his word. When he eventually gives in, the relationship between them is sweet. I loved how he was always taking the time to give Maddie new experiences. Her reactions to these I particularly enjoyed because it gave me a whole new appreciation for life. Everything we take for granted - from the colours around us, to fire, to to the grass beneath our feet - she appreciates and respects. Even a scratched, creaky wooden floor. As ridiculous as it sounds, what we see as flawed, something beneath our notice except to be annoyed about, she saw as a sign of history. I loved seeing things from a new, fresh perspective.Overall, Awaken was an engaging read. Even though it perhaps wasn't what I was expecting, I still enjoyed it. There were sizable chunks where perhaps not much happened, yet Kacvinsky managed to pull it off and keep me reading nevertheless. I'm definitely looking forward to the second one.This review is also posted on my blog.

The first thing that attracted me to Awaken was the coveras it is for me with most books. The more I stare at this cover, the more I understand what it represents. You cant jar nature; you cant put plants or animals in a box and expect them to live. Really, thats not living at all, now is it? But thats exactly whats happening in Awaken. Maddie, the lead character, is used to being inside, going to school via the internet, holing away and being someone shes not online. Shes an avatar. A picture. Anything she wants to beand everything shes not. She yearns for something different and attempts to achieve it when she betrays her family at a young age. Now shes restricted and left to live in her technological world, play her technological games, and communicate throughyou guessed ittechnology. Awaken, to me, represents what our world will become when people start to fear leaving their houses and decide to stay indoors. In this remarkable novel we might actually see our own lives jump off the pages. Is this what were becoming? To not truly know what it is to feel someone else, to let someone hold you, or for you to hold another? Its almost scary.Let me explain Awaken to you quickly, because Im pretty sure all of my blog readers will be interested in this. Since Im a full time author, I find the majority of my time glued to the computer for one reason or the other. This book actually made me feel incredibly guilty that Im not living my life outside of it. Its not completely true, but as Justin, the male lead character who convinces Maddie its okay to go outside her house and see other people, talk to them face to face, touch them, be with them, I feel that I too must spend more time in reality. Maddies father is a powerful man. Famous, beloved, the creator of Digital School. So imagine how he feels when he finds that his daughter is seeking a connection outside of his carefully constructed online world? He eventually becomes fed up with his daughter whos spending too much time with that boy Justin who teaches her the opposite of how he lives his whole life. So, as any clueless father, he sends her away. Fortunately, Justin intercepts her and now Maddie must go off the grid. No technology. No email. No phone. No traveling. But then she soon learns that she didnt need any of that now that shes been awakened. Or maybe its just Justins soft lips?Oh yes. On top of an intense storyline, we have a romance to remember. Justin and Maddies relationship is slow goingonly because they are both so caught up in their own world they miss the point of what Justinand soon Maddiespreaching is all about: connecting. But when both of them (mainly Justin) finally gives in, I swear I swooned, almost falling off the couch and gripping my Nook like it was really Justin. It was freakin . . . fantastical. Magical. Stunning. Brilliant. I saw stars, fireworks, rainbows exploding from my Nook. I dont know how Katie did it, but she had me. Almost as if she super-glued my eyeballs to the screen.Katie is a very talented and gifted author. Her way with words, thoughts, and dialog all make this book much more than a twisted tale of what the future might hold. Shes spun this world as if weaving a golden plotintricately, and masterfully, crafting this story with such dazzling radiance I thought sparks would shoot from my body when I got excited! Awaken is shiny in its simplistic naturethough each word seems to be deliberately placed, like setting up your chess pieces before you call out check mate. Her characters, Maddie and Justin, pop off the pages. Or maybe it was I who had been sucked into the book? Either way, I couldnt stop reading once I started. I devoured this book and was actually disappointed to find out the release date is in May and its only December. Now Ill only have to wait that much longer to find out what happens next.

Katie Kacvinskys debut novel, Awaken, takes the reader to the year 2060, when every aspect of life has become digitalized. People hardly go out anymore; they have confined themselves to their homes after tragic incidents in the past and live through their computer, socializing only in online communities. Young people even go to school online. Madeline is one of them, yet different. Since a rebellion and betrayal against her father, the founder of digital school, Maddie has been kept under constant supervision. Now she has left her past behind, concentrating on schoolwork and her future. But that changes when she meets Justin - a boy who challenges her views and introduces her to a completely new and different way of life. Maddie is torn: Should she follow Justin and betray her father again for what she believes in? Or should she continue to play the role of the obedient daughter for her familys sake?This premise sounded extremely intriguing to me and combined with the gorgeous cover (yeah, I know, please don't judge me) made me look forward to reading the book. Now Im very sorry to say that I didnt enjoy it as much as I expected to and was actually not far from putting it away unfinished two or three times. Positive things first, though: Kacvinskys writing definitely had a great flow (Ive learned that this isnt to be taken for granted) and there were some beautiful quotes I wrote down to remember.At the beginning I liked Madeline, the main character, a lot, too. She is intelligent and not afraid to take matters in her own hands or take risks. I liked how she wasnt waiting for her crush, Justin, to make the first move but actually approached him on her own. Later on, though, he became the absolute centre of her world and her moping around got on my nerves. Additionally, Maddie often only seemed to be the pawn in someone elses plan, and was too passive to really be considered the book's heroine.I found the idea of the world Kacvinsky takes the reader to fascinating. I can really imagine that a world like this might be our near future, but sadly the details and explanations were extremely fuzzy, especially on the technical level. Also, the view of the future seemed almost too optimistic for me in some ways. Not once did the situation feel threatening to me. (Just an example: All nuclear weapons have been put down, weapons with bullets are illegal and the police only use tranquilizers.) Also, some of the things that were labelled "bad" actually weren't in my opinion. Digital school, for instance: I agree that it is important that pupils have the possibility to interact personally, but to present it as a huge threat to personal freedom? Altogether, not convincing.In the end, though, what I liked least about the novel was strongly connected with Justin, the love interest: First of all, I couldnt really feel any chemistry between him and Maddie, or understand why she was attracted to him in the first place. And secondly, he was so preachy. Seriously, every time he and Maddie met, he only talked about the dangers of computers, about how bad it was that people lived only through those devices and how society had become too dependent on them. His ramblings actually made him unattractive to me. I only thought: Okay now, I got it, you dont have to beat me over the head with your views, Im not totally dumb! To make things worse, he also had this I'm-not-good-enough-and-too-dangerous-for-you attitude and combined with You-are-too-precious-and-important-to-take-part-in-anything-dangerous he really annoyed me.All in all, this book just wasnt anything to be excited about. It focuses a lot on romance, and this romance fell flat for me because I didnt like Justin. I also would have loved to see more development in Maddies relationship with her family, but that aspect was almost completely abandoned after the first half. Additionally, the world building lacked the vivid details I look for in this genre. As there are a lot of dystopian YA books coming out at the moment, I certainly would not recommend Awaken first.Thanks a lot to Netgalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for giving me the opportunity to read this early version.