Soon after her father’s funeral, a grieving Bethany is sent to stay with her uncle’s family over the summer holidays.
In Camomile House she is always second place to her brilliant and beautiful cousin Poppy.
But then a mysterious third cousin arrives. Rivalaun is a stranger to them all.
The three cousins share secrets, lies and dreams as they try to unravel the riddle of their parents' past and the obscure prophecies of their own future.
This is a story of magic, myths and mystery told from overlapping perspectives as the cousins forge their way to the heart of dream…
"This clever and ambitious novel leads the reader from a recognisable world, give or take a bit of magic, into a dreamscape littered with mythological, psychological and literary allusions... A book for literary readers, they will enjoy, and perhaps feel challenged by its allegorical resonance and by the stanzas at the beginning of each chapter, drawn from a galaxy of British and Irish poets." Books for Keeps
Rhiannon Lassiter began writing when she was still at school. The first agent to see her work encouraged her to finish Hex, which was accepted when she was nineteen by the first publisher to read it (Macmillan).
Rhiannon graduated from Oxford University and has written eight best selling novels, several short stories and one non-fiction title for children and teenagers. She has edited an anthology of poetry and prose. Alongside her writing she works with her mother, the well known author Mary Hoffman, editing the children's review magazine, Armadillo.
This is possibly one of the most confusing books I've ever read. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it, but considering I am older than the age the book is aimed at, I think it was far too confusing. I remember trying to read it when I was about 10 and not understanding a word. Luckily I did at least get the main gist of the story this time round 8 years later. It was a good concept, but I felt more could be done to show how Bethany and Rivalaun's lives changed after their adventure.
Three cousins, Bethany who is mourning the death of her father, Poppy who feels her parents have lied to her and kept secrets and Rivalaun who is newly arrived from travelling other worlds with his father. Together yet divided they face the Dream World, shown in a painting by Bethany’s father, and tackle the quest it provides them.
An excellent and complex YA book enjoyed by this 66 year old reader. Each chapter is headed by a piece of classic poetry and the world the cousins must face is described in vivid detail, as is the relationships between them.
Dreamwalker ist ein typisches Kinder-Abenteuerbuch. Es liest sich flott, bietet aber nichts weiter als einen Zeitvertreib. Den Schreibstil fand ich an vielen Stellen nicht ausgereift. Es wirkte oft unstimmig und die wörtliche Rede klang gestelzt. Möglich, dass das an der Übersetzung liegt, aber ich bezweifle, dass die Dialoge im Original sinniger herüberkommen. Die kamen mir nämlich thematisch die meiste Zeit komplett aus der Luft gegriffen vor und ich habe ganz oft nicht verstanden, wie die Figuren denn jetzt bitte darauf gekommen sind.
Was mich sehr irritiert hat, war dass die drei Hauptpersonen alle Cousins sind (zwei Mädchen, ein Junge) und es werden immer wieder Andeutungen in Bezug auf gutes Aussehen und Verliebtheit gemacht. Dabei scheint niemand auch nur eine Sekunde zu denken „Oh Gott, was fühle ich denn da? Er ist doch mein Cousin!“. Seltsam.
This book was terribly confusing at times, and I really hope you weren't supposed to like Poppy, or even feel sympathy for her. I despised her so much, and hated reading from her POV. Such a bitchy female. But the concept of the book was good, I guess. I wouldn't read it again, though.