Genre: YA Paranormal, Fantasy, Romance
ASIN: B00RLU24YC
Published: September 22nd 2015 by HarperTeen
Series: none
Length: 336 pages
Source: eARC from publisher via Edelweiss
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?
Thank you to Edelweiss and HarperCollins for the book in exchange for an honest review.
Dea is able to walk in dreams as a source of energy. The downside is that she is not allowed to be seen or to mess with dreams. Dea’s new neighbor, Connor, has nightmares about his past, and when Dea walks in his dream, she accidentally draws out monsters. To add onto that, her mother is missing. This novel focuses on Dea’s journey as she tries to find her mother and help stop Connor’s monsters.
What I loved about this book was the beautiful relationship between Dea and her two friends, especially Connor. Dea is unfortunately not used to having friends, so she really tries hard to make Connor like her. I also love the theme of the fragility between reality and fantasy and of the fact that everyone has nightmares. Everyone has something to hide. I loved the pure reality and the transparency of the theme is so prevalent in the novel. Additionally, there’s so many creepy things in this book that when I was reading it, I actually got scared. Just a teensy-weensy bit. Ooh, and also, there’s a great plot twist at the end.
What I didn’t love about this book was that it was sometimes hard to follow. I know I got confused in several sections, so I had to reread. There were also bits that I skipped because Dea’s internal mumblings were a bit boring.
Despite everything, DREAMLAND is a unique and interesting fantasy that focuses on Dea’s struggle to make things right.
Have you read this? What are your thoughts?
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