Awakening (Chasing Yesterday Series #1) by Robin Wasserman

Publishers Weekly

The first title in Wasserman's Chasing Yesterday series puts a supernatural spin on a classic amnesia storyline. A girl awakens in the aftermath of a powerful explosion, with only the shadowy memory of a man standing over her body. She is taken to a hospital to recover from her extensive injuries; when her doctors discover she has no memories of who she is, she christens herself JD-short for Jane Doe. Because her family cannot be located, JD is taken to a juvenile hall, where she befriends an orphan named Daniel. JD is plagued by nightmares both when she sleeps and often during the day (in one she is in a grassy meadow and a helicopter crashes in front of her), and several strange incidents hint that she has a vast reserve of power within her that erupts when she's threatened. A woman claiming to be JD's mother eventually comes for her, but JD has no memory of her mother or her former home, and she clings to her self-created identity. Her mother takes her to see Dr. Styron, a psychotherapist, in an attempt to recover her memory, and while he says that she is making progress, JD's distrust of both him and her mother only increases. Ultimately, JD decides to flee her mother and Dr. Styron, convinced that they are not who they claim to be. A thrilling climax will likely whet readers' appetites for the next installment. Ages 8-up. (May)

Children's Literature

In the first few pages of Awakening, anyone reading it can sense how JD must have felt to wake up in a strange world where she did not know anyone or have a clue about what was going on around her. Visions of terror, nightmares, and sounds that frighten visit JD's dreams all through the night. She awakes to a pounding headache, griped with fear, to find that her hands are held down in leather cuffs. JD soon realizes that she is in a hospital and is cuffed to keep her from falling out of the bed. After the cuffs are taken away JD looks around and spots a mirror. Slowly she gets out of bed and walks over to see a stranger starring back at her. JD knows that the stranger must be her because as she touches her face the girl in the mirror touches hers. The first time her lunch tray is delivered she looks down and sees macaroni and cheese and wonders "Do I like macaroni and cheese?" Day by day JD battles the panic that threatens to take over as she searches to find out who she is and wonders if there is anyone out there that could be trusted to help her find the way back to the girl she was. While reading this story of suspense and mystery I soon found that I could not wait to see what was waiting around the next corner.

VOYA

A teenager wakes up just yards away from a mysterious industrial accident that destroys three city blocks. Although she is seriously injured and has amnesia, she should be dead. In the weeks that follow, she heals slowly, first in the hospital and then in a rather violent residential treatment facility, but she does not recover her memory. Her sleep, however, is troubled by horrific dreams in which a mysterious doctor conducts experiments on her, forcing her to do awful and impossible things. As Jane Doe, or J.D., she receives national news attention. Then a woman shows up, claiming to be her mother, and J.D. goes "home" to a house she cannot remember and begins psychiatric treatment with an old family friend, who unnervingly looks exactly like the monstrous doctor of her nightmares. Although she tries hard to fit in, J.D. cannot quite accept her past life as her mother presents it. With the aid of Daniel, her only friend from the treatment facility, she sets out to discover the truth and the nature of her secret powers. Although the basic premise here is not particularly original, Wasserman is a very good writer. Her characters are well developed and believable, her plot is suspenseful, and her backgrounds, particularly the treatment facility, are nicely detailed. This novel will carry teen readers along very happily and will leave them anxious to read the next volume in the series.

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