Awoken (The Lucidites #1)
by Sarah Noffke
Release Date: 11/24/14
312 pages
Summary from Goodreads:
Around the world humans are hallucinating after sleepless nights.
In a sterile, underground institute the forecasters keep reporting the same
events.
And in the backwoods of Texas, a sixteen-year-old girl is about to be caught up
in a fierce, ethereal battle.
Meet Roya Stark. She drowns every night in her dreams, spends her hours reading
classic literature to avoid her family’s ridicule, and is prone to
premonitions—which are becoming more frequent. And now her dreams are filled
with strangers offering to reveal what she has always wanted to know: Who is
she? That’s the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out. But will
Roya live to regret learning the truth?
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“I cannot
grant you any more time,” Shuman says. “I need your answer.”
I scan the
surface of the water, looking for nothing in particular. She can wait for my answer. She will.
I push my
fingers into my eyes and inhale deeply. This duel is inevitable. Zhuang and his
challenger’s futures are intertwined. Any attempt to evade the other person
will only bring the two together. And somehow I was elected by people I don’t
know, for a danger I only recently knew existed. Still none of this makes
sense, which is why I know I have to rely on instinct. It’s all I have left.
“Fine,” I say a bit pathetically. “I’ll do it.”
A smile would
be nice, or maybe a “good for you.” Instead Shuman, who appears to be all
business, all the time, begins spouting instructions. “Your next step is to
find the Lucidite Institute. Since you are relatively new to dream traveling
there are many risks you face.”
No big surprises there.
Shuman
continues, “You must dream travel to the Institute while fully submerged in water.”
Um, what? “Are you serious? I’ll drown.”
“There is
that risk, yes, but the only way to enter the Institute is through water. To
travel there you must return to your body and then immerse yourself in water. I
advise you to know you are one with
it. It is through this knowledge that you overcome the fear of drowning and
focus on the higher task of dream traveling. If you remain calm and focus
properly then you will travel and arrive at the Institute. If you are
unsuccessful, then yes, you will drown.”
“Oh, is that
all? Sounds like a piece of cake.” I’m wondering now if I made the right
decision.
Shuman
narrows her eyes, but doesn’t respond otherwise.
I rub my
temples as an overwhelming pressure erupts behind my eyes. “This is all so
strange, it sounds like a recurring dream I’ve been…” My words fall away as the
inevitable truth dawns on me. “You put those dreams in my head, didn’t you?” I
accuse, staring at her rigid persona.
“The
Lucidites are responsible, yes,” she says, her tone matter-of-fact.
“What! That’s
insane! That’s awful. Night after night I dreamed I was drowning myself. Do you
know how horrifying that is?”
“You should
be grateful. We have prepared you for the journey you are about to take. Your
subconscious mind has already practiced much of what you are going to do.”
“Grateful!?”
I shake my head in disbelief. “I thought I was losing my mind. I didn’t sleep
well for weeks. No. I’m not the least bit grateful. You invaded my
subconscious,” I spew, more frustrated now than frightened.
Shuman takes
a long inhale and says, “Everything that has been done was to protect you and
the future.”
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Sarah Noffke
writes YA sci-fi fantasy and is the author of The Lucidites
Series. She’s been everything from a corporate manager to a hippie.
Her taste for adventure has taken her all over the world. If you can’t find her
at the gym, then she’s probably at the frozen yogurt shop. If you can’t find
her there then she probably doesn’t want to be found. She is a self-proclaimed
hermit, with spontaneous urges to socialize during full moons and when Mercury
is in retrograde. Sarah lives in Southern California with her family.
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Such an amazing cover & a unique story line. Love that.
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