Man, I really wanted to love this one but it ended up feeling kinda sweaty to me? I love the Code Name Verity Cinematic Universe but for me to have three characters from the CNVCU independently end up in the same tiny town felt implausible, even though I was happy to see them. In her author's notes at the end Wein notes that some of what this story was based on involved a recovered piece of radar equipment from a German plane but she felt that writing about the radar equipment would require too much detail to explain its importance so she wrote it about an enigma machine instead, but to me it ended up feeling hard to swallow because the enigma machines were SO important that it was like......this is a lot for one 15-year-old girl to stumble upon?!

That SAID I still enjoyed this--Wein's research and eye for historical detail is sharp, and I really loved Louisa as a new main character, and I love a historical fiction that shows that people of color like...lived in England in WWII and can be in this kind of historical fiction story in addition to the usual Civil War and civil rights movement stories.

It's possible I'm overrating this because I read it right after [b:Marked|30183|Marked (House of Night, #1)|P.C. Cast|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1317067002l/30183._SX50_.jpg|30573], which I HATED SO BAD. In contrast, at least this appeared to have been touched by an editor at some point. I can also see why these 2 are packaged in one volume now, since the Awakening ends on SUCH a cliffhanger that it doesn't even feel like an actual ending. This, like the others, is definite teen dream material--the most popular girl in school in the middle of a vampire love triangle, swoon! It actually felt like enjoyable escapism rather than embarrassing fantasy. I actually might read the next one. Or maybe watch the TV show. Is it in Netflix? Let me check. Oh, it is! I liked this book enough that I would try watching the show on Netflix Instant, but if it were only on DVDs I wouldn't waste my 1 Netflix disc on it. I trust that that is a meaningful review comment.

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LMAO I COMPLETELY FORGOT I HAD READ THIS BEFORE, look I read it so long ago that my review differentiates between "Netflix Instant" and my "Netflix discs"!!! an adorable time capsule.

In 2020 I finally got around to watching the show on Netflix (instant). Also recording a podcast about it.

https://www.frowl.org/worstbestsellers/episode-162-the-awakening-vampire-diaries-1/

This book was a lot of fun and fits in perfectly with the Rick Riordan Presents line--I'd definitely feel comfortable that any kid who liked Percy Jackson would also like this story steeped in Mesopotamian mythology. I liked the side character Daoud, an actor who is frustrated that the only roles he's offered are terrorists--he's a funny, vain character but also a good way to gently open the eyes of young white readers to think a bit about stereotypes in media, while validating some of the experiences and frustrations of brown readers.

I do have one quibble:

Spoiler

the reveal that Daoud and Sik's late older brother, Mohammad, had actually been a gay couple rather than the platonic friendship the family had assumed, was actually so vague that I think a lot of kids might miss it? I know Rick Riordan has had openly queer characters and relationships in his books so I don't think this is a case of the author trying to sneak something in past a disapproving publisher. Why not just have them say "boyfriends" or "dating" or "in a relationship" or something?? Maybe (hopefully) they'll dig a bit more into that in the inevitable sequel.

this book fucking SLAPS. I love this worldbuilding, I love Ellie, I love the allegory for colonialism, I love the GHOST DINOSAURS and the VAMPIRES? Why does this cover make it look like it's like a Serious Book. I guess they're ghost dogs but just looking at the cover I had assumed it was about like sled dogs in the snow?? I D K and I know you're not supposed to judge books by the cover but we all do it, and this book does NOT have a fun cover IMO! But it is very fun!! I want you to know that it is fun and great!!!!!!!!

Gorgeous and moving, a survival story in multiple senses of the word.

Having an #ownvoices book with a deaf narrator was really interesting, and I appreciated her author's note where she explained the difficulties of translating the flow of ASL into writing. This is a great historical novel with a lot of details about daily life that will appeal to a lot of readers, plus a scary adventure/survival plot. Will appeal to a ton of readers! (Again: more appealing than the cover suggests, probably!)

ugh @ other GR reviewers complaining about this being tropey...that's a feature not a bug!! Ughhh

anyway I read this all in one afternoon. Love the worldbuilding, love the characters, hate the cliffhanger ending! (But it is a real ending not like SOME series books that end so abruptly.)

I think what I loved most about this mystery is how very real and achievable it felt. A lot of mysteries for younger readers rely on pretty improbable clues/scenarios (which is fine! That's engaging and interesting) but this felt like exactly the amount of detective work that a 12-year-old with internet access and the ability to sneak off to the Harvard campus (and later get in trouble by getting home late due to MBTA issues) could do. Similarly, when she gets her "internship" at the bakery and is disappointed because she has to just fold boxes because the owner doesn't trust her to actually make cupcakes is like...yeah, you're twelve, that sounds right.

Also Zoe's level of naivete + righteousness is, again, perfect.

This is a really fun, relatable book that also serves as a good introduction for how fucked up the American justice system is.

This kind of allegorical magical realism just like isn't my cup of tea. This seems like it would be a good classroom read to talk about literary devices but I'm not sure how appealing it would be for a tween just looking for a book to read, tbh. I kind of feel like it's not realistic enough to serve as a compelling adventure story but it's also not fantasy-y enough to serve as a compelling fantasy? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

This is such a lovely bittersweet coming of age story! Lily is a really relatable narrator as she tries to figure out what her own personal strengths and weaknesses are, and here I thought the ambiguous nature of the supernatural elements/hallucinations worked really well.