Bianca
Written on Apr 21, 2016
Vibrantly offbeat and utterly original, Lucy Keating's debut novel combines the unconventional romance of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind with the sweetness and heart of Jenny Han.
For as long as Alice can remember, she has dreamed of Max. Together, they have traveled the world and fallen deliriously, hopelessly in love. Max is the boy of her dreams--and only her dreams. Because he doesn't exist.
But when Alice walks into class on her first day at a new school, there he is. Real Max is nothing like Dream Max. He's stubborn and complicated. And he has a whole life Alice isn't a part of. Getting to know each other in reality isn't as perfect as Alice always hoped.
Alarmingly, when their dreams start to bleed into their waking hours, the pair realize that they might have to put an end to a lifetime of dreaming about each other. But when you fall in love in your dreams, can reality ever be enough?
--ALA Booklist
- ISBN10 1504697243
- ISBN13 9781504697248
- Publish Date 12 April 2016
- Publish Status Active
- Publisher HarperCollins Publishers Inc
- Imprint HarperCollins
- Edition Library Edition
- Format Audiobook (CD)
- Duration 7 hours and 48 minutes
- Language English
Reviews
shannonmiz
Written on Apr 17, 2016
This book is so sweet! I really don't have a bad thing to say about it. I loved the characters of Alice and Max, who have been dreaming together since forever- but they only met each other now, when Alice moves and starts to attend Max's school. At first I worried that the whole thing would seem really farfetched, but it didn't as the story went on. The side characters were every bit as fabulous and fleshed out, which really added a lot to the story- it wasn't only Alice and Max, it was Alice's life. And yes, the romance is the star of this book, and I adored it so much. I could almost feel the love and the pain and the trepidation that Alice was going through, realizing the person of her dreams existed in real life after all these years, and then trying to navigate her new reality.
Bottom Line: Dreamology made me happy (and yes, had me shedding some tears) and definitely was full of swoony moments! I absolutely recommend picking this one up!
reveriesociety_
Written on Mar 16, 2016
Phew, what can I say about this book? This is one of the few times I've read some reviews before diving into the books, and I have to admit they led me to do it with a lot of excitement for it. Maybe that's one of the reasons why I enjoyed it so much.
Contemporaries are such fickle creatures. Sometimes you love them, and sometimes you hate them with the force of a thousand suns. The ones I love, I adore, and Dreamology, is a dream come true.
Alice and Max are flawed, hopeful, and real
A story is nothing without good characters. Alice, who has been dreaming about Max for as long as she can remember definitely sounded as someone I could meet any day. The author made sure to include all these details that rounded her personality; her most obvious trait being that she's literally and metaphorically, a dreamer. Even when she's awake, she loves the magic of it.
Max, in the other hand, or at least, real world Max, he isn't. He's left all that behind, in order to have his feet firm on the ground. But then Alice comes along, with the dreams, and the questions, and the uncertainty, because the two have led lives that they don't take part in.
Regardless, they want to fix things and try to make everything work.
Oliver and Sophie?
Oliver used to be Max's best friend, and Sophie is Alice's current one. They're a constant throughout the book, and even though at first some issues with Oliver seemed to be too neatly wrapped up, overall, I liked how involved they were in the story. You know how sometimes supporting characters are less supporting, and more like a plot device to give the characters people who like them? This was not the case, and I think it's worth mentioning that I love Oliver <3
Wouldn't it be fun if dreams came true?
For reasons explained in the book, Alice's and Max's dreams begin bleeding into their real lives. One second they're standing, and the next they're levitating; Alice's dog is riding motorcycles... You get the drift. They start losing their grip on reality. Since this was a light read, I get why this side wasn't explored too much. This isn't a book about teenagers going insane. (Pss, read A Madness So Discreet and then we can talk about madness ;) ) But still, I loved how it was described.
Honestly, the going insane part had a lot of potential, and it's something the author should totally explore, maybe some day. I'm so psyched about it.
Reality vs Fantasy
In the same vein, the book's plot got me thinking about this reality vs fantasy battle in Alice's mind. I couldn't help comparing her reluctance to give up her dreams to us readers using our books to escape reality. Alice realizes she relies on her dreams to make her world brighter, like patio lights :3 And I loved how relatable was that, in my own way. I read because I can stop being me and be so much more, save the world in a million ways, and just plain experience it in a million more. I wouldn't want to give it up either. Of course, her dreams bleeding into her reality is alarming, because then how she would be able to tell when she's sleeping or awake? But this comparison made the conflict less black and white, which, whether intentional by the author or not, made the book even more amazing.
You should read Dreamology if
- You're a sucker for romance
- You like contemporaries where teenagers don't sound like creepy adults
- You dream a lot
- You sleep a lot
- You're not yet tired of the name Max as a love interest
whisperingchapters
Written on Mar 3, 2016
Alice and Max both had very bad nightmares when they were kids that were triggered by a loss of someone close to them. Then suddenly, they start dreaming about each other—dreams that are adventures of them together. Alice thinks Max isn't real until she moves to a new school and she sees him there. From then on, Alice starts to wonder how these dreams came about with the help of a few friends who make the story extremely enjoyable and fun.
Every night with Max, for as long as I can remember, has been a dream. Because Max is the boy of my dreams...and only my dreams. Because he doesn't actually exist.
Alice and Max were so cute together in their dreams. In real life, they were cute too! Yes, Max was kind of a nice jerk (weird but trust me, it fits) at the beginning but when he stated his reasons, I'm pretty sure I said, "Awwww!" Their friendship/relationship was so sweet. The reader can actually feel the attraction they have towards one another but it's very PG...actually, it's very G so that's why it made the story so cute. At times, the characters felt very young for their age, which would throw me off. I mean, Alice and her best friend Sophie made imaginary clones of each other so they wouldn't miss one another when they were away. For a second, I thought I was reading a Middle Grade novel or even younger. It was cute but weird for high school girls.
The dreams were weird for me. I know they are dreams so they are supposed to be weird, which in a way made this story realistic but they were so weird! I felt like I was imagining a movie in my head. Even with the weirdness, it was very entertaining! I really liked the scientific approach this novel took concerning the brain and the dreams. I felt a bit smart while reading and then dumb in other parts but this made the validity of the dreams and the explanation more believable in the story.
At times, I didn't feel that this story was fantasy. I had to look on Goodreads to check if it was really fantasy because the story was very close to being contemporary. I think this made me enjoy the story even more, the fact that it had such a huge realism aspect to it with a hint of fantasy.
Overall, this was a cute and unique story. I'd say it's more for the younger audience but very enjoyable :)
I received an eARC from the publisher for free in exchange for an honest review.