Release Date: September 22, 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen
Rated: YA 14+
Format: eGalley
Source: Edelweiss
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Odea Donahue has been able to travel through people’s dreams since she was six years old. Her mother taught her the three rules of walking:
Never interfere.
Never be seen.
Never walk the same person’s dream more than once.
Dea has never questioned her mother, not about the rules, not about the clocks or the mirrors, not about moving from place to place to be one step ahead of the unseen monsters that Dea’s mother is certain are right behind them.
Then a mysterious new boy, Connor, comes to town, and Dea finally starts to feel normal. As Connor breaks down the walls that she’s had up for so long, he gets closer to learning her secret. For the first time she wonders if that’s so bad. But when Dea breaks the rules, the boundary between worlds begins to deteriorate. How can she know what’s real and what’s not?
Never interfere.
Never be seen.
Never walk the same person’s dream more than once.
Dea has never questioned her mother, not about the rules, not about the clocks or the mirrors, not about moving from place to place to be one step ahead of the unseen monsters that Dea’s mother is certain are right behind them.
Then a mysterious new boy, Connor, comes to town, and Dea finally starts to feel normal. As Connor breaks down the walls that she’s had up for so long, he gets closer to learning her secret. For the first time she wonders if that’s so bad. But when Dea breaks the rules, the boundary between worlds begins to deteriorate. How can she know what’s real and what’s not?
Dreamland was a book I got around to reading last year, but unfortunately never got around to posting the review for it. It was a really interesting idea, first of all. I don't think I've come across dream-walkers too much in young adult fiction, other than Lisa McMann's Dream Catcher series. And when I mean dream-walker, I mean entering the world of dreams, not so much as just dreaming something and then it actually happening. Anyway, this was such an original concept and the descriptions were breathtaking. I mean, the dream sequences? It was so vivid, I could really see it clearly. There was a fantasy element to this one too, not just a paranormal one, which made this one so much better, in my opinion.
I will say, however, that I kind of hated the insta-love(ish) romance that starts off the book. I mean, I'm glad it took longer than other I-just-met-him-and-immediately-felt-a-connection-with-him-omg-we're-in-love relationships that can be found in YA, but damn–that was a short time to fall for each other. Other than this though, I liked the two characters, Dea and Connor. Both were genuine characters that I could root for throughout the novel.
There was a pretty cool twist that I did not see coming, which has to do with the aforementioned fantasy element. I wanted so much more of the dreamworld that was presented then though. Imagine the world-building possibilities! I feel like that where the book took a slight turn for me, because I'm a sucker for high fantasy and when you drop an entire world in there without exploring it then it makes me sad. Along with this I did have mixed feelings at the book's ending, but it did make sense. I like that the author chose to go in a certain direction, because it was not predictable and it didn't end all cleaned up nice and tidy, which was a change from most books.
I'm hoping that there's another book coming out about the dreamworld, because I would absolutely be down to read that. Paranormal, fantasy, and a great mystery element to it as well, Dreamland was such an amazing concept. Robert L. Anderson's debut is magical and dark, with beautiful descriptions and suspense that keeps you on your toes–definitely give this one a read.
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Sounds like a really cool concept. Boo for instalove, though. That can often ruin a book for me.
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction