Fade, by Lisa McMann, is the second in a planned trilogy, following the excellent first novel Wake. We’ve returned to Janie, and Caleb, and the struggles they face to root out the wrongs that go on under the surface at their suburban high school. Caleb and Janie still struggle with the baggage they have acquired growing up and neither Janie’s talents nor Caleb’s strengths can serve as magic solutions to the issues they face every day. Fade flits lightly through its story, spinning out and sustaining the suspense while never losing the dreamlike feel that is so important for the atmosphere and the ethereal nature of Janie’s dream catching.

We begin with Janie and Caleb and their next assignment. Someone has called into the local tip line, called in twice, with garbled messages implying that some of the teachers at Fieldridge High are taking advantage of the power they have over their students. The evidence they have to go on is slim, and Janie’s need to help, and the strain her dream-catching puts on her system, will place her in considerable danger before the case is solved. Janie is also still struggling with a balance between taking care of herself and caring for others, especially because some answers to the mystery of dream catching are within her reach, but there are moments of safety and solace, even for Janie:

Takes her feast to the living room again and sits down. Turns the TV back on. She’s feeling much better. Her hands have stopped shaking. She swallows the last drops of milk and feels it sloshing around in her belly. She smiles, contented.

McMann does an excellent job with Janie and Caleb. The issues they struggle with, and the relationship they have, feel realistic and important. Both have chaotic histories and the kind of struggles outside of school that make school itself a haven. Unfortunately for both of them, Fieldridge High is hiding a number of secrets, and the dreams and relationships that are Janie and Caleb’s specialities are what will, ultimately, put them in danger.

Caleb takes a secondary role in this investigation, and he struggles less with what is going on at Fieldridge than what is going on with Janie. His bravery in the last book, his willingness to let Janie into his life, has finally given him something worth fighting for and something his afraid to lose. This relationship is central to the book, and McMann’s spare prose allows it to feel intense without intruding into the private world that Janie and Caleb are building for themselves.

Fade feels less like the middle of a trilogy than an important chapter in Janie and Caleb’s lives. It sets up their continued partnership but doesn’t shy away from addressing the sorts of issues that could come up with such an intense relationship. Janie’s search for the truth and repercussions, behind her talents adds depth to the backstory, and these two, and their captain, are always worth rooting for.

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