Wake by Amanda Hocking

     This is a YA or Young Adult novel. It's also the first in the Watersong trilogy.
     
     The teaser for this book is really what caught my interest. A supernatural creature book that wasn't teenager vampires, werewolves, or witches. I won't spoil it, but I was pretty sure I knew what the creatures were, and I was right.
     I expected more from this book. It was disappointing to me. I have read several other YA supernatural stories, and not all from authors I love. This one lacked the essential balance between the normal human world and supernatural world. Ninety percent of this tale felt like I reading a normal teen type story, nothing out of the ordinary. The balance doesn't have to be fifty-fifty but does need enough supernatural stuff in it to move the story along into the paranormal.
     Beside this, I had a few issues with the story. Things that seemed to not fit, and make the story a bit more sluggish. For one, I have no problem with an omnipotent narrator, but what is wrong with saying her Dad left for work, instead of Brian left for work. It took me a few times before I adjusted to using his name instead of Dad or father. It was a little confusing at first.
     Secondly, your a creature that has lived for centuries and you can't risk being discovered, but you can't dispose of a dead body? Thirdly: What was the purpose of having the brain injured mother in the book? To me her character just wasn't needed. A simple sentence or two could have filled in necessary facts. Number four: Teenagers have gone missing and you let your child go out alone after dark. Finally, number five: Why would any adult let their daughter going swimming, not only alone, but at night, in the bay, where she could drown, or get attacked by a shark? Seriously? I know he feels guilty about not being around as much as he is needed, and about Gemma, not having a Mom, but there is a difference in being a responsible adult, and being a little too hands off.
     This story could have been so much more, but in my opinion, fell way short of the mark. A few changes to the story and it could have been a much better teen tale, without anything paranormal in it. I will not be reading the other books.