Poet Anderson ...Of Nightmares

October 5, 2015
Former Blink-182 lead vocalist DeLonge teams up with Young (The Remedy) for a trilogy opener in which factions battle for control of the Dream and Waking worlds. In his everyday life, Jonas Anderson is dealing with the aftermath of a car accident that left his brother in a coma; in another world, he's Poet Anderson, a "Lucid Dreamer" capable of controlling the dream state around him and caught in a struggle between the Dream Walkers, who act as guardians, and the Night Stalkers, soulless tools of the malevolent REM. As this first book unfolds, Poet works to master his abilities, understand the scope of the brewing war, and attempt to save his brother's life. The ambitious story is filled with well-worn tropes, and the core romance happens with the speed of dream logic. The stylistic visuals, which work well in a tie-in animated short film, Poet Anderson: The Dream Walker, lack the same impact on the page. The storytelling is solid, and the setting is intriguing, but the novel suffers from thin character development and overfamiliar elements. Ages 12âup.

December 1, 2015

Gr 10 Up-Jonas Anderson's parents died in a plane accident, and his brother was forced to quit school so he could support him. The brothers have been in a horrifying car accident. Jonas has survived, but Alan is hospitalized in a deep coma and will not wake up. Jonas follows through on the job his brother was about to start at the Eden, which is the same hotel where his parents used to work. The teen realizes things are not what they seem at the hotel, but he's distracted with visiting his brother, attending a new high school, and adjusting to his job. The siblings have inherited the ability to visit dreams from their mother; before Alan's accident, they were searching for a deeply hidden dream city that Alan insists exists. Jonas continues his visits to the Dream World, hoping he will run into his brother. One evening, he is attacked by a massive, petrifying creature. A Dream Walker named Jarabec comes to Jonas's rescue and becomes his mentor. Soon, Jonas encounters Night Terrors and murderous Dream Walkers; if he dies in the dream world, he also dies in the waking world. Like a teen Blade Runner, this book has nonstop action with dramatic, heart-pounding escapes from the evil clutches of the Night Terrors, Dream Stealers, and REM-a Dream Walker hoping to steal Jonas's soul. The protagonist falls in love with a beautiful Lucid Dreamer he first meets at school, and this light romantic plot thread lends more layers to this electric read. VERDICT An epic and sizzling tale of a teen hero struggling to find his destiny.-Julie Shatterly, W. A. Bess Elementary School, Gastonia, NC

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