By Ryan La Sala
What It’s About
Kane seems to have ran away from home, stolen a car, and blown up his town’s precious historical site, the mill. The police are trying to press charges. His sister, Sophia, is trying to aid his fragile mental health. And he is trying to figure out what the heck happened; not just since the crash, but the entire summer before. He remembers none of his motivations for being at the scene, what happened during the crash, or even any of the objects from his own bedroom.
Something is chasing him, hunting him. With the help of a fabulous Queen, (think more fabulous, less Elizabeth) he discovers that dreams can become all too real. Kane seems to need more and more help from people to battle in these dreams. People that he has to trust on faith, because no matter what they claim, he can’t remember a thing about them.
And maybe that was the point. Maybe he is protecting all of them from his memory, because what he did could be horrible. Dream, nightmare, life and world-alteringly horrible.
I really enjoyed this book. I know other people have said the dream bits can be confusing, but once I got through the first one, my mind was able to acclimate to the world of East Amity, CT and the book in which it lives. So much so that I had to stay up until 2am to finish. Hey, time flies when you are reading fun…
I also thought at one point, “is EVERYone gay in this book?” And then I realized, that is the point. How many books have I read where everyone is heterosexually paired off in the end? TOO MANY. So yeah, almost everyone is a little gay in this book, and just like in life, it makes it pretty fabulous. Happy LGBTQ+ to you!
Soundtrack
Forgive me, this is a bit stereotypical, but all I could think about as I read the book…
- “The Cure” by Lady Gaga – I think this works with each relationship we uncover in this book. Each person brings something that is missing to their partner.
- “Coconut Oil” by Lizzo – Poesy’s theme song
- “Never Really Over” by Katy Perry for Kane and his love interest
Pros & Cons & Potential Spoilers
Pros
- Good pacing, rich fantasy world, lovable characters
- Great LGBTQ+ perspectives
- Good look at how we can make our own dreams into nightmares
- Lots of strong female characters, and a Dreadmare…trust me, you’ll love it
Cons
- Confusing at first, though I was able to recover quickly
- Predictable “bad guy”
- I felt I wanted more to be made of the crash site and the person “killed” there…less random chance and more deeper meaning