Published by: HarperTeen, May 2nd 2017
Genre: YA, Horror, Science Fiction
Pages: 288
Format: Ebook
Source: HarperTeen, via Edelweiss
Cata Cordova suffers from such debilitating insomnia that she agreed to take part in an experimental new procedure. She thought things couldn’t get any worse...but she was terribly wrong.
Soon after the experiment begins, there’s a malfunction with the lab equipment, and Cata and six other teen patients are plunged into a shared dreamworld with no memory of how they got there. Even worse, they come to the chilling realization that they are trapped in a place where their worst nightmares have come to life. Hunted by creatures from their darkest imaginations and tormented by secrets they’d rather keep buried, Cata and the others will be forced to band together to face their biggest fears. And if they can’t find a way to defeat their dreams, they will never wake up.
Cata Cordova suffers from such debilitating insomnia that she agreed to take part in an experimental new procedure. She thought things couldn’t get any worse...but she was terribly wrong.
Soon after the experiment begins, there’s a malfunction with the lab equipment, and Cata and six other teen patients are plunged into a shared dreamworld with no memory of how they got there. Even worse, they come to the chilling realization that they are trapped in a place where their worst nightmares have come to life. Hunted by creatures from their darkest imaginations and tormented by secrets they’d rather keep buried, Cata and the others will be forced to band together to face their biggest fears. And if they can’t find a way to defeat their dreams, they will never wake up.
This book is stand-out, gripping, utterly terrifying AWESOMENESS - but couldn't it have been a stand alone? For some reason I got it in my head that this wasn't the first of a series and that end left me disappointed; I wanted a solution. But I'm 100% gonna read the next book, no doubt about it.
I love how this is split into what's happening with the dreamers (i.e straight up horror) and the sci-fi experiment that put them in the nightmares in the first place. I had no expectations when it came to this book, so it was a total surprise when it blew me away. Eerie, creeping, dark fiction - I love this stuff. It reminded me in tone of A Drop of Night, which I ADORED, and I really want to read more sci-fi/fantasy horror - Dreamfall made me thirsty for more of the genre.
The other thing the book does amazingly, as well as the creepy, unsettlingness of the story, is the way the characters interact, keep secrets, and face their fears. There's inclusion of abuse survivors, a neuroatypical character, POC characters (one of whom is a pretty awesome scientist), and people suffering with insomnia, obviously, along with other sleep disorders. This all affects the way they keep secrets, and manifest their dreams in different ways. Plus, the monsters in their dreams are Messed Up which made reading them even better...
My only issue is Cata, a main character, sees another character without a hat (when they've always worn a hat before) and is suddenly like, oh she's a girl. This whole thing made me feel uncomfortable, especially the switch from the He pronoun (which the character in question raised no issue with, so was obviously okay with applying to them) to the She pronoun without any conversation, just a decision from Cata because a person suddenly appeared female. But other than that? Utterly dark, scary deliciousness. I want more!!!
Characters ★★★★★
Setting/world ★★★★★
Writing ★★★★★
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