There's a lot about this book to love. It's adorable, thoughtful, with original magic and world-building. The style is reminiscent of Lemony Snicket and J.K. Rowling, which is very unusual for Lisa and was pretty well executed. I loved the social commentary that created the world. Also the giant animals are really really awesome, and Lisa built a nice little twist into the ending. For all of this, she earned herself three stars. 
 But two substantial problems kept me from giving this book any more. Most important are the completely flat characters. Alex is the only person who seems to grow or change at all, and Mr. Today is the only character I really cared about. Even in the dangerous scenes, I didn't care one bit if any of them lived or died because they never felt real. Without caring for the characters, it's hard for me to care about anything in the story at all. 
 Secondly, the world was, for me, completely unbelievable. I cannot see an entire society of mothers and fathers acting this way. There would be serious unrest, even if it was just underground, if you took children that age from their parents, regardless of their "Wanted" status. And siblings wouldn't just dismiss each other out of hand. I understand that the author is making a point, and a good one, but that doesn't mean you have to sacrifice plausibility in your narrative. 
 Having read all of Lisa's books, including her upcoming release Dead to You, I can say with confidence that it's themes like we see in Dead to You and Wake that allow Lisa to really shine. When she's using that almost stream-of-consciousness narration, dealing with hard-hitting real life themes, that's when I love her most. I appreciate where she was going with this story, and certainly where the story came from, but it turned out far from her best work. 
 Still looking forward to her next one, though!