Zac and the Dream Stealers

July 9, 2012
MacKenzie's debut is an entertaining, if somewhat slight portal fantasy with some nifty hooks. When the entire world starts suffering from sleep deprivation due to nightmares, 11-year-old Zac suspects that his grandmother's nightly disappearances might be related. He follows her, and ends up in the world of Nocturne, where Granny and her fellow Knights of Nod fight the Dream Stealers. Zac is quickly drawn into the conflict, making allies and fighting monsters that include goblins and were-wolves. The transition from the "real" world to the land of Nocturne lacks dramatic tension; there's little sense of Zac's life before it's disrupted, while the large cast and shifting points of view mean that few characters have a chance to fully develop. Younger readers will enjoy the action, though, as well as the cleverly detailed world-building (Nocturne residents have access to any of the wacky items dreaming humansâknown as Wakelingsâcan conjure). Despite slim characterizations and a plot that boils down to a struggle between forces of good and evil, MacKenzie finds fertile territory in the creative space between wake and sleep. Ages 8â12.

May 1, 2012
Heavy turmoil in the land of Nod. Zac Wonder lives in the Waking World, which is suddenly plagued by an epidemic of bad dreams. When his beloved, feisty guardian, Granny Wonder, is summoned to a crisis simultaneously emerging in the land of Nocturne, Zac goes along too. There they find that dark-magic Dream Stealers are afoot, greedily zapping the nightmares of Wakelings to seize more power. In a refreshing twist on customary gender and age roles, Granny turns out to be one of the Knights of Nod, a "good" magician, who wants to save the day. Fast paced and full of cartoonish collisions with werewolves and vampires, the plot takes a while to get into gear. But Zac and Granny are endearing, as is Rumpous Tinn, Grandmaster of the Knights of Nod, who keeps useful devices in his beard. Scottish novelist MacKenzie, in his U.S. debut, dedicates this story "to grandparents everywhere," filling it with magic, potions and metaphors about dreaming and wakefulness. By story's end, a mystical Trinity, of which Zac may be a member, seems capable of saving the world, as the main characters meet up in a church, and suddenly it's Christmas. For middle-grade lovers of fantasy who are missing Harry Potter and are willing to make do with a more superficial plot and minimal character development. Grab your Granny and fasten your seatbelt. (Fantasy. 8-12)

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July 1, 2012

Gr 4-7-A plague of nightmares is keeping the whole world awake, including Zac Wonder. His grandmother is acting very strange, so he follows her into Nocturne, the world of dreams, where the war that is being waged by the Dream Stealers and their allies-the vampires, werewolves, and goblins-is spilling over into the Waking World. Fighting the good fight are the Knights of Nod, led by Grandmaster Rumpous Tinn, who, unfortunately, has been kidnapped by the Dream Stealers. Fortunately, the remaining Knights, including Granny Wonder, are there to take up the slack. Unfortunately, one of them is a traitor. Fortunately, a group of talented and brave kids is there to help, including Noelle, who has the ability to become invisible; twins Tom (think Loyal Sidekick Ron Weasley) and Tilly, and (briefly) a mysterious Vampire boy. Oh, and Zac, who of course turns out to be magically gifted himself. Yes, this will seem very familiar, but readers who like the more fanciful aspects of Harry Potter will appreciate the magical world of Nocturne, which is described in loving detail, and the quick-paced adventure. Buy where middle-grade fantasy fans are still going through H.P. withdrawal.-Mara Alpert, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2012
Grades 3-6 Your secret headquarters is a pub? asks Zac, the hero of this series opener, And the Dream Stealers have never found it? If it's not obvious from the dialogue, Zac is a nascent Harry Pottertype thrust into a world of hidden magic and evildoers. Other parallels include not only newfound friends ready to join the fight against a crew of power-hungry nasties, but also an avuncular, white-bearded mentor called Tinn, who leads the Knights of Nod and sees in Zac the special powers that were foretold by a seer and are needed in the battle to keep safe the land of Nocturnethe realm of human dreams. The real action kicks off when the Dream Stealers begin to twist dreams into sleep-stealing nightmares and kidnap Tinn. If the world created by Scotland-based MacKenzie seems a bit derivative, it's nevertheless fun and action-packed, and it will keep young readers amused as they puzzle out exactly how Zac and friends will escape from, say, a pack of werewolves or a village taken over by wily vampires. More to come, perhaps?(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)