I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Dreamology by Lucy Keating Published by HarperCollins ISBN: 9780062380005
on April 12th 2016
Genres: Young Adult, Love & Romance
Pages: 336
My rating:
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Synopsis
Vibrantly offbeat and utterly original, Lucy Keating’s debut novel combines the unconventional romance of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind with the sweetness and heart of Jenny Han.
For as long as Alice can remember, she has dreamed of Max. Together, they have traveled the world and fallen deliriously, hopelessly in love. Max is the boy of her dreams—and only her dreams. Because he doesn’t exist.
But when Alice walks into class on her first day at a new school, there he is. Real Max is nothing like Dream Max. He’s stubborn and complicated. And he has a whole life Alice isn’t a part of. Getting to know each other in reality isn’t as perfect as Alice always hoped.
Alarmingly, when their dreams start to bleed into their waking hours, the pair realize that they might have to put an end to a lifetime of dreaming about each other. But when you fall in love in your dreams, can reality ever be enough?
Phew, what can I say about this book? This is one of the few times I’ve read some reviews before diving into the books, and I have to admit they led me to do it with a lot of excitement for it. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why I enjoyed it so much.
Contemporaries are such fickle creatures. Sometimes you love them, and sometimes you hate them with the force of a thousand suns. The ones I love, I adore, and Dreamology, is a dream come true.
Alice and Max are flawed, hopeful, and real
A story is nothing without good characters. Alice, who has been dreaming about Max for as long as she can remember definitely sounded as someone I could meet any day. The author made sure to include all these details that rounded her personality; her most obvious trait being that she’s literally and metaphorically, a dreamer. Even when she’s awake, she loves the magic of it.
Max, in the other hand, or at least, real world Max, he isn’t. He’s left all that behind, in order to have his feet firm on the ground. But then Alice comes along, with the dreams, and the questions, and the uncertainty, because the two have led lives that they don’t take part in.
Regardless, they want to fix things and try to make everything work.
Oliver and Sophie?
Oliver used to be Max’s best friend, and Sophie is Alice’s current one. They’re a constant throughout the book, and even though at first some issues with Oliver seemed to be too neatly wrapped up, overall, I liked how involved they were in the story. You know how sometimes supporting characters are less supporting, and more like a plot device to give the characters people who like them? This was not the case, and I think it’s worth mentioning that I love Oliver <3
Wouldn’t it be fun if dreams came true?
For reasons explained in the book, Alice’s and Max’s dreams begin bleeding into their real lives. One second they’re standing, and the next they’re levitating; Alice’s dog is riding motorcycles… You get the drift. They start losing their grip on reality. Since this was a light read, I get why this side wasn’t explored too much. This isn’t a book about teenagers going insane. (Pss, read A Madness So Discreet and then we can talk about madness 😉 ) But still, I loved how it was described.
Honestly, the going insane part had a lot of potential, and it’s something the author should totally explore, maybe some day. I’m so psyched about it.
Reality vs Fantasy
In the same vein, the book’s plot got me thinking about this reality vs fantasy battle in Alice’s mind. I couldn’t help comparing her reluctance to give up her dreams to us readers using our books to escape reality. Alice realizes she relies on her dreams to make her world brighter, like patio lights :3 And I loved how relatable was that, in my own way. I read because I can stop being me and be so much more, save the world in a million ways, and just plain experience it in a million more. I wouldn’t want to give it up either. Of course, her dreams bleeding into her reality is alarming, because then how she would be able to tell when she’s sleeping or awake? But this comparison made the conflict less black and white, which, whether intentional by the author or not, made the book even more amazing.
[divider]
You should read Dreamology if
- You’re a sucker for romance
- You like contemporaries where teenagers don’t sound like creepy adults
- You dream a lot
- You sleep a lot
- You’re not yet tired of the name Max as a love interest
I really LOVED this book!! The dreams were so innovative and fun. I loved the romance between Max and Alice, and they were both such fun and interesting characters. Keating’s writing is fun, and I hope she writes more!! Great review 🙂
Rachel recently posted this awesome thing…Mini Reviews: A Diversity of Genres
Totally! Here’s to hoping she writes many more books! I loved the dynamics between all the characters as well. She nailed the realistic and relatable part. 🙂 Thanks for dropping by!
i’ve heard a lot about this book lately, i’m glad you liked it 😀
AHAHA ME though honestly – sleep a lot, check. – dream a lot, check. xD 😀
But this sounds so AWESOME Pam – I REALLY WANT TO READ IT NOW!! 😀
Geraldine @ Corralling Books recently posted this awesome thing…This or That Book Tag!
YAY Soon, Geraldine, soon!
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