This book made me uncomfortable. The bare bones plot is that in the future everything is digital--school, interaction, everything. You could never leave your house and still live a full 'life' in fact. Our MC Maddie is the daughter of the inventor of DS (Digital School), a fact she tries to hide. She meets a charismatic young man named Justin through an online course, they meet in person and suddenly everything goes to heck.

Kacvinsky tries to portray Justin and his group as the 'right' side (or at least, the lesser of two evils) and Maddie's dad's side as the 'Big Bad'. The thing is, the deeper we got into the world Justin was dragging Maddie into the more it began to feel like a cult. His cohorts felt like terrorists. Any good their ideals and beliefs may have had was buried under a fanatical belief that the entire world is completely wrong in every way. There was no gray area--either you believed as they did or you were part of the problem.

Not that Maddie's father is much better--he goes from being a controlling, emotionally negligent (if not abusive) father to a controlling, manipulative psychopath. Maddie herself is either very gullible or way too willing to let things go because Justin is 'gorgeous'. In the beginning of the book especially she comes off as wishy-washy; if I had money for the number of times Maddie had thought 'Why am I trusting Justin so much? I don't know anything about him!' but proceeded to do everything he said anyhow, I'd be rich! Then she decides, after Justin explicitly says 'Don't rely on me too much', she can't live without him. Its that kind of back and forth characterization that frustrated me the most.

Why it made me feel uncomfortable however...neither side of the argument appealed to me. They were both so fanatical and 'absolute' that I couldn't see either side of the equation, couldn't relate or grasp the reason why a compromise could not be met. All digital life isn't a great thing, but some of what Maddie's father accomplished was worth thinking about. Free education avail to everyone? That should be worth thinking about at least...

At first I emphasized with Maddie--I live a very 'digital' life. I'm such a socially anxious and awkward person its easier for me. But as the book wore on (and trust me, it wears on you) I began to feel more and more alienated. ( )

(Actually 3.5 stars) ( )

Now that I've read this book the cover makes so much more sense! Wow. I'm pretty sure that about sums up how I feel about Awaken, unless you'll permit me to say FREAKIN' WOW! Yup. That's more accurate.

I think what most drew me in about the world that Katie Kacvinsky builds is how close to home it hits. In Maddie's world, everyone is trapped behind computer screens. Constantly plugged in, because that is the best way to stay "safe". For a long time Maddie has seen this as the norm, and a happy existence. Then Justin enters her life and everything is thrown upside down. Don't think that the irony is lost on me that I'm sitting at a computer screen typing this review. Watching Maddie's life change, and her story unfold hit really close to home. It made me think about how much time I spend behind these devices. If she wasn't living, am I? Thank you Katie Kacvinsky for making me think about that.

Maddie is a character I fell into step with instantly. Her questioning attitude, her need to please her parents despite how she feels, her inability to voice her own opinion, it's all woven into a girl who has been trapped for too long. I felt for her. Then sweet, reserved, and life changing Justin comes onto the scene. The Maddie that exists after this happens is entirely different, and yet the same person at the same time. It's a metamorphosis of the best kind. I promise that if you fall in love with her in the beginning, you'll love her even more as you watch her be born all over again.

It also needs to be said that this is one of the sweetest and most frustrating romances I've read. Justin keeps to himself because that's how he has always been. Maddie used to, but Justin breaks her out of that and now the one person she wants she can't seem to have. Frustrating right? However lest you think that this is another book with a girl pining hopelessly after a boy, Maddie is different. It made my heart soar when one of the characters in the book explained to her that pining never did anyone an ounce of good (not her exact words but I'm paraphrasing here). She tells Maddie that we must learn to love ourselves and feel whole alone, before we can truly be invested in someone else. Are you floored? I was! Thank you to an author for finally saying that! Thank you for showing us a girl who knows she needs to learn to be alone! I'll end my slightly feminist rant here, but that made me fall in love with Awaken even more than I already had.

Point being, if you couldn't tell from my incoherent thoughts above, I completely adored this book. The message is clear, and I fully agree. Maddie and Justin teach us how important it is to get out there and really live, and to do it for yourself and no one else. Awaken crawled into my mind and made me think, and if a book can do that then I'm sold. Pure and honest love is all I have for this book. ( )

First of all, I love that this book included an online schooler. I did most of my high school over the internet, so I love reading about characters who do that as well. And this was only the second book I've ever found with an online schooled character so... big thumbs up for that.

But I don't completely understand how things became so isolated. Online schooling becoming a big thing because of safety -- I get that. Doing things online in general because of technological advances -- I get that, too. But getting to the point where you don't go to the beach or a cafe? That, I couldn't quite wrap my head around.

And maybe that's because I've spent a lot of my life doing things -- like going to school, making friends, and working -- online. The future portrayed in Awaken is probably not that far off from my own life... but I still know what chocolate cake tastes like.

I needed more of a reason for why Maddie's life was the way it was, and it kept on distracting me. I liked the school aspect, I liked the author's writing style, I thought Maddie was a compelling character, I just wanted more information. ( )

Mit "Die Rebellion der Maddie Freeman" hat die Autorin Katie Kacvinsky, eine sehr interessante Thematik aufgegriffen. Ein Funken Gegenwart steckt schon in der Geschichte, wenn man bedenkt, dass schon heutzutage kaum Jemand exisitert, der nicht auf Facebook oder Twitter vertreten ist. Social Networks sind der Treffpunkt für viele Jungendliche. Anstatt sich wie früher "Offline" zu treffen, trifft man sich beim Chatten oder Posten auf Facebook. In dem Buch ist das nicht anders. Am Anfang des Buches lernt man Maddie, ein 17jähriges Mädchen der Zukunft und ihren Alltag kennen. Ihr Vater ist der Direktor der Digital School, wobei der Unterricht nur Online stattfindet. Ihr Leben dreht sich nur um die digitale Welt und "Online" fühlt sie sich am wohlsten. Bis sie Justin in einem Chatroom kennenlernt, der sie dazu bewegt, sich mit ihm in einer Lerngruppe zu treffen.
Der Erzählstil der Autorin ist sehr fesselnd und verleitet dazu, mehr lesen zu wollen, um das Ende der Geschichte zu erfahren. ( )