In a world where select people can enter "The Place" and find dreams of every kind to share with others for a fee, a fifteen-year-old girl is training to be a dreamhunter when her father disappears, leaving her to carry on his mysterious mission. Laura comes from a world similar to our own except for one difference: it is next to the Place, an unfathomable land that fosters dreams of every kind and is inaccessible to all but a select few, the Dreamhunters. These are individuals with special gifts: the ability to catch larger-than-life dreams and relay them to audiences in the magnificent dream palace, the Rainbow Opera. People travel from all around to experience the benefits of the hunters' unique visions. Now fifteen-year-old Laura and her cousin Rose, daughters of Dreamhunters, are eligible to test themselves at the Place and find out whether they qualify for the passage. But nothing can prepare them for what they are about to discover. For within the Place lies a horrific secret kept hidden by corrupt members of the government. And when Laura's father, the man who discovered the Place, disappears, she realizes that this secret has the power to destroy everyone she loves . . . In the midst of a fascinating landscape, Laura's dreamy childhood is ending and a nightmare beginning. This rich novel, filled with beauty, danger, politics, and intrigue, comes to a powerful crescendo, leaving readers clamoring for Book Two.
This was a different sort of book, I think mostly because it's Australian. I'd read books by Australian authors before and really enjoyed them. Both were by [a:Melina Marchetta|47104|Melina Marchetta|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1277655889p2/47104.jpg] and I wanted to try out some other Australian authors.
The first thing I noticed in this book was how apparent the cultural differences are. Word choice and sentence structure were just enough askew that I had to concentrate here and there to sort it out. It also didn't have nearly as much romance as a typical American YA novel, and for this story I liked it that way. Though I could have used more emotion. The writing is sparse and dry and noticeably distanced from the characters. The story talks about them and describes them without ever really becoming immersed in their world.
But it didn't feel like a weak story because of that, it just seemed different. The author is obviously a very good writer, just in a way slightly different than what I'm used to reading.
The thing I really liked was the whole concept of dreamhunters and the way the shared dreams and how that effected their whole society. I liked the mystery through most of it, though was disappointed in the reveal which was poignant enough for a distant story but not intricate at all.
Overall, it wasn't what I'm used to but I think it was good and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.
