Dream Boy by Mary Crockett and Madelyn Rosenberg {review}

Dream Boy
by Mary Crockett & Madelyn Rosenberg
♦publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
♦release date: July 1st, 2014
♦paperback, 336 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦source: from publisher for honest review

Annabelle Manning feels like she’s doing time at her high school in Chilton, Virginia. She has her friends at her lunchtime table of nobodies. What she doesn’t have are possibilities. Or a date for Homecoming. Things get more interesting at night, when she spends time with the boy of her dreams. But the blue-eyed boy with the fairytale smile is just that—a dream. Until the Friday afternoon he walks into her chemistry class.

One of friends suspects he’s an alien. Another is pretty sure it’s all one big case of deja vu. While Annabelle doesn’t know what to think, she’s willing to believe that the charming Martin Zirkle may just be her dream come true. But as Annabelle discovers the truth behind dreams—where they come from and what they mean—she is forced to face a dark reality she had not expected. More than just Martin has arrived in Chilton. As Annabelle learns, if dreams can come true, so can nightmares.

Review:  With a surprisingly humorous voice and an intriguing take on blurring dreams and reality, Dream Boy makes a stunning double-debut for these authors. The idea of dreams coming to life may sound familiar to some, both in books and movies, but they’ve managed to give us a world and a group of characters that is all at once funny, thrilling, and imaginative. 

When the boy she has spent countless nights dreaming about comes waltzing into her classroom one day, Annabelle is shocked, confused, and starts to question her own sanity.  She is even more thrown for a loop when he reveals that he is, in fact, that same boy. I can’t say much more without spoiling the curious workings of this world, but things take a frightening turn when she begins to dream of a creepy little girl who threatens to come through as well and kill her.  

Annabelle and her friends were completely relatable and real, feeling much like a normal crew you might encounter at any high school.  I love that she felt comfortable enough with her two friends to tell them what was happening, even though she feared they’d think she was certifiable. I love even more that they stayed by her, whether they believed her or not.  The Dream Boy himself, Josh, later known as Martin, was amusing and mysterious. He almost seemed as flabbergasted at his own presence in the real world as Annabelle was, though he played it cooler.  I would have actually enjoyed just a little more build-up of Annabelle's draw to "Josh" within her dreams to give his sudden appearance in her real life a little more impact.  Will is a charmer, and poor guy, so hopelessly stuck in the friend zone despite his obvious affection for Annabelle.  I loved the easy way they had between them. His playfulness and useless geeky knowledge had me completely endeared to him.

There were twists and turns that came as complete shocks, and even those that may have been a little predictable, but in the best way…meaning at one point I screamed out "I knew it!"  And then caught myself grinning with sheer delight at the turn the story had taken.   If a book can pull that kind of reaction from me, I’d say it’s proof-positive just how invested in the story and characters I am.  There were small story points that seemed just a little muddied, like the story behind the bottle tree and its connection to dreams. Still, what little flaws there were in these pages were mostly overlooked in the name of a fun, surprising, and well-told story.

 Find Mary Crockett online:  Website  •  Twitter  •  Facebook

Find Madelyn Rosenberg online: Website  •  Twitter  •  Facebook

Purchase Dream Boy:  BN.com  •  BookDepository  •  Indiebound