Scan barcode
A review by cassieyorke
Time to Wake by K. Thomas
5.0
Time to Wake is a feel-good novel. Plain and simple. You can be having a sad day, you can feel crushed under the weight of existential dread, you can be lonely or hurting, and Thomas's characters will have you smiling before you know it. Time to Wake gets a lot of things right, but for me, I feel like where this lovely little debut really shines is in its unflinching authenticity. And this gets into why I love indie books so much - you find authenticity and truth of spirit that's often lacking in big-box novels from fancy New York publishers. K. Thomas clearly knows what loneliness is; she knows it intimately. You can see it just between the lines. But instead of unloading her hurt on you, she - and her characters - shrug it off and show you their brave side. They immediately set about weaving a lovely tale firmly grounded in heartfelt friendship. Senlis and Katie, my favorite characters, are the friends I've always wanted. They're earnest and sweet, and they don't have a fake bone in their bodies. They give selflessly, they give with full hearts, and they're always looking out for each other.
Thomas accomplishes another task that I myself found difficult as a writer - delivering a high-stakes adventure with low emotional risk for you as the reader. Those aren't easy to write. This author knows what it is to hurt, as do her characters, but she's brave enough to shine all the light of a fun narrative on you, allowing you to hang out with her colorful cast for a little while and asking little in return. And while you're hanging out with these rich, heartfelt personalities, she's quietly unfurling those high stakes around you so that when she brings you into the story's inevitable sense of peril, you aren't dreading it. It all goes seamlessly, with minimal reader worry. It's a story with its heart in the right place.
The world needs more writers like K. Thomas.
Thomas accomplishes another task that I myself found difficult as a writer - delivering a high-stakes adventure with low emotional risk for you as the reader. Those aren't easy to write. This author knows what it is to hurt, as do her characters, but she's brave enough to shine all the light of a fun narrative on you, allowing you to hang out with her colorful cast for a little while and asking little in return. And while you're hanging out with these rich, heartfelt personalities, she's quietly unfurling those high stakes around you so that when she brings you into the story's inevitable sense of peril, you aren't dreading it. It all goes seamlessly, with minimal reader worry. It's a story with its heart in the right place.
The world needs more writers like K. Thomas.