Reading a sequel to a novel you love is like watching the newest episode of your favourite TV show. Likewise, in Kit Alloway’s newest novel, “Dreamfever,” readers get an opportunity to reunite with their favorite characters as the team attempts to stop Josh’s evil grandfather from destroying the Universe. (Read my review of the previous novel, as well.)
I think the thing that I liked the most about “Dreamfever” was that the author writes the story in such a way that the reader doesn’t get lost in the Dream Walker theory. The first page of the novel is a list of all the characters and how they are connected to one another. Honestly, I’d forgotten all the other characters besides Josh and Will and I was grateful that I could always look back and see who is who. I also liked the fact that Whim acts like the readers’ thoughts and is always asking questions about things relating to “the Dream” that wouldn’t make sense to readers. His character also adds well needed comedic relief when everything felt too serious. Another thing I admired about how the author weaved this story is that she didn’t restrict the narrative to only two characters this time. Instead, she allows more than four characters to tell their perspectives on the events that begin to unfold once it’s revealed that Mirren is the long lost Dream Walker princess.
Kit Alloway also takes the time to develop each character so that, by the end of this episode, readers feel a deeper connection to the Dream Walkers. It was hard to read about Josh’s moral struggle and how it eroded her relationship with Will. She finds it hard to ignore the thoughts that plague her after she receives Feodor’s memories and the nightmares that keep her up nearly every night. However, I still felt upset about the way Will handles the problems with their relationship. He quickly jumps to the assumption that Josh is in love with Feodor and that she enjoys how powerful she feels. While Josh behaves as if Feodor isn’t the guy who tried to kill her, Will’s suspicions and his inability to cope with the Dream Walker society’s secrets cause him to have a lapse in judgement. In what might be the best part of the novel, Will does “veil dust” which is akin to cocaine and has the worst trip imaginable. Luckily for him, this trip doesn’t leave him eternally insane like many Dream Walkers before him. Instead, the trip reveals Peregrine’s (Josh’s evil grandfather) master plan and his accomplices.
Other than Josh and Will’s deteriorating relationship, the novel focused on Princess Mirren’s attempt to rise back to power, Whim’s betrayal, using more of Haley’s psychic powers and the details behind the realm of “Death.” I more than enjoyed reading about the world Kit Alloway has crafted and, with the way that “Dreamfever” ended, I eagerly look forward to the next sequel in the “Dreamfire” series.
Rating: 9/10
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin (February 23, 2016)
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Series: The Dream Walker Trilogy (Book 2)
Length: 320 pages
Source: ARC
Genre: Sci-Fi, YA Fiction
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Completed: February 2016
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