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Dream Me
Zat is a dreamer from the distant future—a time when humans no longer dream and Earth is a desolate wasteland. He dreams of the beautiful Earth of the past, and a fiery-haired beauty named Babe. Against the wisdom of his peers, Zat decides to risk everything to travel back in time and live in Babe’s dreams…
Babe is the perpetual new girl in town. Her father's job frequently moves the family around the country, and Babe just longs for a place to call home. As she settles into the sleepy town of Sugar Dunes, Florida, Babe begins to have strange dreams of a green-eyed boy named Zat. Night after night, Babe shows Zat her world. But the dreams come at the cost of nearly crippling migraines every morning. Babe’s life outside of her dreams pales in comparison to her growing love for Zat and their time spent together.
But the more time Babe and Zat spend together in her dreams, the more Babe’s pain increases, and Zat begins to question the reality of his existence. How can he live a life with Babe, when all they have is her dreams?
Can a dream become a reality?
Babe is the perpetual new girl in town. Her father's job frequently moves the family around the country, and Babe just longs for a place to call home. As she settles into the sleepy town of Sugar Dunes, Florida, Babe begins to have strange dreams of a green-eyed boy named Zat. Night after night, Babe shows Zat her world. But the dreams come at the cost of nearly crippling migraines every morning. Babe’s life outside of her dreams pales in comparison to her growing love for Zat and their time spent together.
But the more time Babe and Zat spend together in her dreams, the more Babe’s pain increases, and Zat begins to question the reality of his existence. How can he live a life with Babe, when all they have is her dreams?
Can a dream become a reality?
175 pages, Paperback
First published July 11, 2017
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271 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 136 reviews
August 24, 2017
ARC received in exchange for an honest review.
2,5 STARS
I remember getting this book a long while ago and was really looking forward to it. The blurb sounded exciting and intriguing, so I thought why not give it a go. So now I finally read it and I hate to say it but I'm actually quite disappointed by the weak plot.
The way this story started left me totally confused since the author doesn't tell us exactly what's happening. You get a teenager in the present time that moved to a new town because of her father's job. And then you have a boy that still lives on Earth but not really, since the Earth that we know is dying and the people have mutated to some sort of lizard like creatures. Which btw. I loved, a great spin on the main character. But what bothered me is that we get this information almost near the end of the story. So all this time I was practically wondering what Zat is and what the actual plot is. And, yes, the plot is super weak. It's starts of fine but then you read and read, nothing really happens. She lives her normal life, makes friends, gets a job and only meets up with Zet in her dreams and that only for a short period of time. So we actually almost don't get to see him in the real world. And then all of a sudden, the story comes to it's end. And you're left even more confused, like that was it? Huh? I expected more.
2,5 STARS
I remember getting this book a long while ago and was really looking forward to it. The blurb sounded exciting and intriguing, so I thought why not give it a go. So now I finally read it and I hate to say it but I'm actually quite disappointed by the weak plot.
The way this story started left me totally confused since the author doesn't tell us exactly what's happening. You get a teenager in the present time that moved to a new town because of her father's job. And then you have a boy that still lives on Earth but not really, since the Earth that we know is dying and the people have mutated to some sort of lizard like creatures. Which btw. I loved, a great spin on the main character. But what bothered me is that we get this information almost near the end of the story. So all this time I was practically wondering what Zat is and what the actual plot is. And, yes, the plot is super weak. It's starts of fine but then you read and read, nothing really happens. She lives her normal life, makes friends, gets a job and only meets up with Zet in her dreams and that only for a short period of time. So we actually almost don't get to see him in the real world. And then all of a sudden, the story comes to it's end. And you're left even more confused, like that was it? Huh? I expected more.
Read
October 5, 2017DNF @ 15%
I’m not assigning a rating to this, as I didn’t get very far-- and as such, this review focuses more on why I decided not to continue, instead of an overview of the entire work.
The premise for this is really interesting, focusing on a girl and boy separated by past/future, who connect through dreams. But the writing style is very cluttered and filled with info-dumps.
Instead of giving any perception of the characters, the first few chapters are just stuffed with information. Both Babe’s world and Zat’s are just revealed in long rambling paragraphs. There are no sensory details, just historical facts, ramblings about Babe’s many moves or Zat explaining the intricacies of his society.
There’s also something really gimmicky about most of Babe’s backstory being revealed through blog posts and playing it off as “well my blog is just more like a diary I’m sharing.”
My main issue was the run-on-sentences. These paragraphs were incredibly long, broken up by parenthesis with useless information and multiple hyphens. It was just way too cluttered, and completely pulled me out of the story.
I received an ARC of this through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Amberjack Publishing for the opportunity!
I’m not assigning a rating to this, as I didn’t get very far-- and as such, this review focuses more on why I decided not to continue, instead of an overview of the entire work.
The premise for this is really interesting, focusing on a girl and boy separated by past/future, who connect through dreams. But the writing style is very cluttered and filled with info-dumps.
Instead of giving any perception of the characters, the first few chapters are just stuffed with information. Both Babe’s world and Zat’s are just revealed in long rambling paragraphs. There are no sensory details, just historical facts, ramblings about Babe’s many moves or Zat explaining the intricacies of his society.
There’s also something really gimmicky about most of Babe’s backstory being revealed through blog posts and playing it off as “well my blog is just more like a diary I’m sharing.”
My main issue was the run-on-sentences. These paragraphs were incredibly long, broken up by parenthesis with useless information and multiple hyphens. It was just way too cluttered, and completely pulled me out of the story.
I received an ARC of this through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Amberjack Publishing for the opportunity!
June 21, 2017
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my review
Dream Me had an interesting premise - humans in the distant future have developed the ability to travel back in time and live in the past through the dreams of people living at that time.
Zat is one of those people from the future, abandoned by his entire family and unable to live with his uncle anymore, he decides to travel back in time to live in the dreams of the main character, Babe. The story it told partly in writing, and partly though Babe's blog posts.
I pretty much had an issue with every aspect of this book that wasn't the premise First off, the worldbuilding around the sci-fi elements was so underdeveloped. The character literally says "I could explain this but it's complicated so I won't" what a cop out !! Worldbuilding is so important, especially when you're having a plot thats so completely outlandish and needs to be backed up by some kind of explanation.
The characters were really underdeveloped, Zat literally had no personality and didn't even feel like a real person and Babe had no complexity or depth so I just found them boring. Mai, Babe's best friend was also underdeveloped. I liked that she was Vietnamese but like with Zat and Babe - there was no complexity and depth.
I did like two things about the characters - I liked Mai and Babe's friendship, and I liked that Babe played tennis because diversity in hobbies is also I think I need to see more of in YA.
I was a little irritated by the judgement the characters cast upon other women - especially once instance in particular. Babe works at a tennis court where famous tennis players come to practice. She notices a female tennis champ entering, immediately she judges her outfit and makes an assumption on the woman
"Don’t all the beautiful girls in the movies turn out to be evil? Yeah, that must be it. She was probably despicable.
I found this pretty awful - one because actual women in tennis have been pretty outspoken about how much it annoys them people overlook their skill and prowess and focus on their outfits. And two, because it's such a poor women hating statement absolutely based on nothing and I'm sick of books vilifying women for NO REASON.
THE ROMANCE
So this is insta-love ... my least favourite. Zat is already in love with Babe when he chooses to enter her dreams, which is honestly kind of creepy anyway. Then upon meeting Zat one time (in a dream), Babe decides he's the one for her and breaks up with her boyfriend
"And yet the boy, Zat. His mystique is so seductive. I’m pretty sure I’ll follow him wherever he wants to go."
GIRL. YOU JUST MET HIM. AND IN A DREAM !! CALM DOWN !!
So I just found them ridiculously annoying and urgh. Plus, Zat is there all the time just lurking and I find it so weird. I find it so weird that he literally staked out where she'd be and tried to make her fall in love with him and I JUST DIDN'T LIKE THE ROMANCE IT WAS WEIRD
Other nonsense
There is a bit where the MC literally makes fun of Mai's last name because of it being Vietnamese and A PUBLISHER APPROVED OF THAT SCENE ?!
There is a creepy and unnecessary subplot of an old guy hitting on Babe at work but then don't worry because her dream boyfriend saves her from him and STOP THE DAMSEL IN DISTRESS and stop teaching people that a man will only back off if he's threatened by another man and not the GIRL HERSELF.
I just found it really boring and literally nothing happened except the characters whining over how mysterious Zat was and how she wanted to sleep and live in dream bliss with him.
I just flat out didn't like it okay luckily it was short but honestly even 185 pages seemed like too much.
June 18, 2017
The only way he could be with her was in her dreams. Zat was from a dark, distant future Earth and in the desolation of his world, people no longer dream, yet Zat does and his dreams are filled with a long ago Earth of beauty and a girl named Babe.
Babe’s dreams star a boy named Zat and every night they are together, but those dreams bring her migraines of excruciating pain. Babe finds she would rather be with Zat in a dream world than to live in reality without him. Must they choose between their special dreams and life without each other? Is there any way to bring their dreams to life?
DREAM ME by Kathryn Berla is a completely different take on young adult fantasy, a future where Earth is destroyed, yet the technology of that time allows a person’s consciousness to travel through time. What a fascinating concept that could fill pages of details and background, fleshing out this quick read with more depth.
Was the author’s intent to keep Zat less defined than Babe? If so, in a unique way, it fits the story, a boy of her dreams, a love that seems impossible and a girl who is forced to live in a real world that is constantly changing for her.
Great reading for young adults who don’t need the depth older readers will seek. Short chapters, and a good presentation that reads well and just may prove that dreams can come true.
I received an ARC edition from Amberjack Publishing in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Amberjack Publishing (July 11, 2017)
Publication Date: July 11, 2017
Genre: YA
Print Length: 270 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
For Reviews & More: http://tometender.blogspot.com
Babe’s dreams star a boy named Zat and every night they are together, but those dreams bring her migraines of excruciating pain. Babe finds she would rather be with Zat in a dream world than to live in reality without him. Must they choose between their special dreams and life without each other? Is there any way to bring their dreams to life?
DREAM ME by Kathryn Berla is a completely different take on young adult fantasy, a future where Earth is destroyed, yet the technology of that time allows a person’s consciousness to travel through time. What a fascinating concept that could fill pages of details and background, fleshing out this quick read with more depth.
Was the author’s intent to keep Zat less defined than Babe? If so, in a unique way, it fits the story, a boy of her dreams, a love that seems impossible and a girl who is forced to live in a real world that is constantly changing for her.
Great reading for young adults who don’t need the depth older readers will seek. Short chapters, and a good presentation that reads well and just may prove that dreams can come true.
I received an ARC edition from Amberjack Publishing in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Amberjack Publishing (July 11, 2017)
Publication Date: July 11, 2017
Genre: YA
Print Length: 270 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
For Reviews & More: http://tometender.blogspot.com
February 7, 2018
Life is but a dream.
This is one of those of books you just want to keep on reading beacuse it's so delightful, and the characters feel like they are your friends. But let me tell you beforehand, if you are a die-hard sci-fi lover than this might disappoint you. The core aspect this story revolves around is not delineated enough. You might come out this world, frustrated, deprived of answers, but if you like to weave your own theories, and become satisfied with your imagination, then should give this a try. Whatever little information was provided, it didn't bother me beacuse I am not that into this genre. I had nothing to lose or win. Also, if you're about to dive into this expecting a cheese fest, than I am sure your hopelessly romantic heart would be dissatisfied.
Now, I really love the format (Babe's blog post! How cool).
Babe is a charming, and likable protagonist. I felt our male protagonist lacked an air of gravitas, that didn't allow me to attach myself to him.
While reading, I was way too concerned about the friendship element, and I can happily say it was well executed.
And oh, I give this one star more for the writing style, I love the way she stringes words together, and I can read this book again for the delicious style alone. I would also recommend you check out her '12 hours in paradise' that's my personal favourite Kathryn Berla book.
This is one of those of books you just want to keep on reading beacuse it's so delightful, and the characters feel like they are your friends. But let me tell you beforehand, if you are a die-hard sci-fi lover than this might disappoint you. The core aspect this story revolves around is not delineated enough. You might come out this world, frustrated, deprived of answers, but if you like to weave your own theories, and become satisfied with your imagination, then should give this a try. Whatever little information was provided, it didn't bother me beacuse I am not that into this genre. I had nothing to lose or win. Also, if you're about to dive into this expecting a cheese fest, than I am sure your hopelessly romantic heart would be dissatisfied.
Now, I really love the format (Babe's blog post! How cool).
Babe is a charming, and likable protagonist. I felt our male protagonist lacked an air of gravitas, that didn't allow me to attach myself to him.
While reading, I was way too concerned about the friendship element, and I can happily say it was well executed.
And oh, I give this one star more for the writing style, I love the way she stringes words together, and I can read this book again for the delicious style alone. I would also recommend you check out her '12 hours in paradise' that's my personal favourite Kathryn Berla book.
July 3, 2017
Thanks to NetGalley for an uncorrected digital galley in exchange for an honest review.
Oh my goodness! I am not sure what to say about this book. How about the positives? Eye catching cover, I requested this YA sci-fi/new age book without really paying attention to the synopsis. I had absolutely no preconceived notions. The writing was beautiful, there were even some lovely sentences that I could see myself using to teach figurative language in the classroom. The two main protagonists Zat and Babe held names that I have never come across in fiction before. Although I do know a woman from my parents church that is named Babe (nickname for Bea).
But the storyline was all over the place for me and I didn't really "get" what it was all about. The world building wasn't really executed that well and I just couldn't care about the teen romance angst and the dream sequences began to get really boring.
Oh my goodness! I am not sure what to say about this book. How about the positives? Eye catching cover, I requested this YA sci-fi/new age book without really paying attention to the synopsis. I had absolutely no preconceived notions. The writing was beautiful, there were even some lovely sentences that I could see myself using to teach figurative language in the classroom. The two main protagonists Zat and Babe held names that I have never come across in fiction before. Although I do know a woman from my parents church that is named Babe (nickname for Bea).
But the storyline was all over the place for me and I didn't really "get" what it was all about. The world building wasn't really executed that well and I just couldn't care about the teen romance angst and the dream sequences began to get really boring.
October 5, 2017
Dream Me - Quite literally dreamy, highly imaginative and intriguing!
I was fascinated by the whole concept behind Kathryn Berla's Dream Me; a girl moves to a sleepy Florida town, then falls in love with the guy who keeps appearing in her dreams...most mysterious!
And I wasn't disappointed. In fact, in terms of writing style, it reminded me a lot of Christopher Pike (my YA fave!), with a similar haunting, drifting prose that was both down-to-earth and lyrical - a hard thing to pull off.
The setting was perhaps the strongest element of the book; the author managed to capture the stillness and the heat of Sugar Dunes, which complemented the dreamy feel of the book to perfection. There were also some stand-out characters there (loved Mai - she was wonderfully feisty), and the ending was not one I saw coming at all.
I'll be keeping my eyes out for other books from this author.
I was fascinated by the whole concept behind Kathryn Berla's Dream Me; a girl moves to a sleepy Florida town, then falls in love with the guy who keeps appearing in her dreams...most mysterious!
And I wasn't disappointed. In fact, in terms of writing style, it reminded me a lot of Christopher Pike (my YA fave!), with a similar haunting, drifting prose that was both down-to-earth and lyrical - a hard thing to pull off.
The setting was perhaps the strongest element of the book; the author managed to capture the stillness and the heat of Sugar Dunes, which complemented the dreamy feel of the book to perfection. There were also some stand-out characters there (loved Mai - she was wonderfully feisty), and the ending was not one I saw coming at all.
I'll be keeping my eyes out for other books from this author.
September 11, 2017
Find the full review at Blame Chocolate.
I received a copy courtesy of the publisher for an honest review. Thank you to Amberjack Publishing for the opportunity.
Being a “sci-fi” kind of romance, I expected way more from this. Sure, there wasn’t a lot to pack up in 175 pages but when you waste 50% of the book talking about Babe and her friends eating grilled fish or playing tennis, you get no excuse.
There were some really interesting concepts in this, but they were a) not explored enough and b) all pretty jumbled and not making much sense when put together. There was also a lot left to the imagination, which is usually fine but didn’t actually work here.
I was thoroughly bored and very simply put, uninterested in this story. It was so short yet it took me nearly a month to finish it just because I didn’t feel like picking it up. And when I did, it felt syrupy sluggish.
I really wanted to like Dream Me. It sounded so interesting and had such a pretty cover. But overall, I just can’t recommend it.
I received a copy courtesy of the publisher for an honest review. Thank you to Amberjack Publishing for the opportunity.
Being a “sci-fi” kind of romance, I expected way more from this. Sure, there wasn’t a lot to pack up in 175 pages but when you waste 50% of the book talking about Babe and her friends eating grilled fish or playing tennis, you get no excuse.
There were some really interesting concepts in this, but they were a) not explored enough and b) all pretty jumbled and not making much sense when put together. There was also a lot left to the imagination, which is usually fine but didn’t actually work here.
I was thoroughly bored and very simply put, uninterested in this story. It was so short yet it took me nearly a month to finish it just because I didn’t feel like picking it up. And when I did, it felt syrupy sluggish.
I really wanted to like Dream Me. It sounded so interesting and had such a pretty cover. But overall, I just can’t recommend it.
November 6, 2017
Babe is yet again the new girl, her dad and mom moving her to Florida as the newest golf pro at the Sugar Dunes country club. It's nothing new and at least she gets to be by the beach for her last year of school. Zat is the mysterious boy that invades her dreams from the distant future. Risking his life on the uncertain technology that projects his consciousness through time to past earth, he chooses Babe's dreams to occupy. As the summer comes to a close Babe finds her life taking some left turns...will Zat survive all the changes?
I love stories about dreams and post-apocalyptic earth so it was a no brainer to request this fusion love story. And I totally loved it! To be fair if you are not looking for romance this book is not for you. While Babe goes through all sorts of changes in her life she is unwaveringly bound to Zat. Okay warning is over, you have been forewarned!
Some might claim there is a startlingly strong insta-love between Babe and Zat. While I admit it appears like that I don't agree... Zat has vetted dreamers to choose who he wants to occupy and he chose Babe after falling for her through her dreams. To some it may seem creepy like a stalker (and in a way it is) but its not about the physical it's totally what he knows about Babe's mind and dreams. In essence he got to know her intimately more than most couples know and feel about one another. Since he come from an earth so at odds with our own I can see how this intimacy bridges differences that may be too extreme without it. From Babe's side of it she does say (very early on) she feels love while not understanding it. I believe this was to signify that her unconscious (basically her mind) had been aware of Zat and fallen for him too. This is probably a stretch for some readers. I however bought it and felt that the story followed this line of thought very well.
As for Zat's distant earth, there were enough details that I bought his world. The body's adaptations to the environment, their reliance on insects to eat and cactus to drink, the community society working together and pairing up due to practical matters were all touched on well enough that I could see his world. I loved meeting his uncle briefly and his talk about the other family members choosing the only other options besides the dream technology and death on earth - space travel with no known location in mind. In a way this background caused Zat to be a more accepting and loving human being for Babe.
While I felt this sci-fi aspect to Babe's very regular life was intriguing and a great element that worked well it wasn't the entire story and I liked that fusion nature to the book! We also have Mai, a Vietnamese girl Babe befriends at her family's fish market and LeGrand, the rich boy, golden child that lounges at the country club his father is on the board of directors for. These two add such a richness to her day to day life. She is able to talk to Mai as a best friend and LeGrand is able to confide about his own struggles to Babe. They both add a tiny bit of diversity. (I didn't mind the part about Mai's name, she called her Nuggins due to the conversation she and Mai had to show they were friends. I've actually heard from my Asian friends that this happens particularly to the more difficult names.) The book covers the summer before her senior year and the ups and downs of her new sleepy town plus the addicting meetings with Zat that she feels she must rush back to each night.
The plot is not the be all to end all. If you HATE books with really light plot I still think you should give this book a chance but be aware that it is not about the plot even though there is some real life stuff that constitutes plot and acts as markers for the passing of time. I liked this about the book! I liked the difficulties that she had to tackle. The other minor characters weren't there to add drama for drama's sake but made you wonder (Alonso, Maddy Lynn, Bing, Kay and Clyde). I really appreciated the secret island, the sexual harassment and the Friends Across the Bay tennis class.
Babe has such a natural and engaging narrative style that I was willing to just go along for the ride as her life totally changes due to her move to Sugar Dunes.
Zat's POV while more limited was a nice compliment to Babe even though it dropped off at the end abruptly. I loved Babe's blog journal posts and the comments at the end. The formatting of the book worked well and kept us from dwelling on potentially more boring parts of Babe's life.
The ending was fantastical but it was a satisfying conclusion to the entire dream experience. The real life drama was a nice balance to the romance climax. I liked how Babe realized what had happened, I thought it was executed well and her reactions were spot on. And her moment with Mai saying what needed to be said even if it was hard... now that is friendship. Really this book was all about the details. If I listed all of them then there wouldn't be incredible little nuggets of gold for you to run across... while the book had light plot in places this was a really creative melding of genres that I really enjoyed.
BOTTOM LINE: A fantastical sci-fi contemporary romance, slice of life fusion.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I love stories about dreams and post-apocalyptic earth so it was a no brainer to request this fusion love story. And I totally loved it! To be fair if you are not looking for romance this book is not for you. While Babe goes through all sorts of changes in her life she is unwaveringly bound to Zat. Okay warning is over, you have been forewarned!
Some might claim there is a startlingly strong insta-love between Babe and Zat. While I admit it appears like that I don't agree... Zat has vetted dreamers to choose who he wants to occupy and he chose Babe after falling for her through her dreams. To some it may seem creepy like a stalker (and in a way it is) but its not about the physical it's totally what he knows about Babe's mind and dreams. In essence he got to know her intimately more than most couples know and feel about one another. Since he come from an earth so at odds with our own I can see how this intimacy bridges differences that may be too extreme without it. From Babe's side of it she does say (very early on) she feels love while not understanding it. I believe this was to signify that her unconscious (basically her mind) had been aware of Zat and fallen for him too. This is probably a stretch for some readers. I however bought it and felt that the story followed this line of thought very well.
As for Zat's distant earth, there were enough details that I bought his world. The body's adaptations to the environment, their reliance on insects to eat and cactus to drink, the community society working together and pairing up due to practical matters were all touched on well enough that I could see his world. I loved meeting his uncle briefly and his talk about the other family members choosing the only other options besides the dream technology and death on earth - space travel with no known location in mind. In a way this background caused Zat to be a more accepting and loving human being for Babe.
While I felt this sci-fi aspect to Babe's very regular life was intriguing and a great element that worked well it wasn't the entire story and I liked that fusion nature to the book! We also have Mai, a Vietnamese girl Babe befriends at her family's fish market and LeGrand, the rich boy, golden child that lounges at the country club his father is on the board of directors for. These two add such a richness to her day to day life. She is able to talk to Mai as a best friend and LeGrand is able to confide about his own struggles to Babe. They both add a tiny bit of diversity. (I didn't mind the part about Mai's name, she called her Nuggins due to the conversation she and Mai had to show they were friends. I've actually heard from my Asian friends that this happens particularly to the more difficult names.) The book covers the summer before her senior year and the ups and downs of her new sleepy town plus the addicting meetings with Zat that she feels she must rush back to each night.
The plot is not the be all to end all. If you HATE books with really light plot I still think you should give this book a chance but be aware that it is not about the plot even though there is some real life stuff that constitutes plot and acts as markers for the passing of time. I liked this about the book! I liked the difficulties that she had to tackle. The other minor characters weren't there to add drama for drama's sake but made you wonder (Alonso, Maddy Lynn, Bing, Kay and Clyde). I really appreciated the secret island, the sexual harassment and the Friends Across the Bay tennis class.
Babe has such a natural and engaging narrative style that I was willing to just go along for the ride as her life totally changes due to her move to Sugar Dunes.
"So much for Skyping with Perry if I couldn’t fix it myself. I would’ve texted him but I’d already tried my cell phone and we were out of the service area. Just great. In the middle of a pine forest on a street named after a fish and I couldn’t even send a text."
Zat's POV while more limited was a nice compliment to Babe even though it dropped off at the end abruptly. I loved Babe's blog journal posts and the comments at the end. The formatting of the book worked well and kept us from dwelling on potentially more boring parts of Babe's life.
The ending was fantastical but it was a satisfying conclusion to the entire dream experience. The real life drama was a nice balance to the romance climax. I liked how Babe realized what had happened, I thought it was executed well and her reactions were spot on. And her moment with Mai saying what needed to be said even if it was hard... now that is friendship. Really this book was all about the details. If I listed all of them then there wouldn't be incredible little nuggets of gold for you to run across... while the book had light plot in places this was a really creative melding of genres that I really enjoyed.
BOTTOM LINE: A fantastical sci-fi contemporary romance, slice of life fusion.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
August 18, 2017
So Dream Me is someone's really interesting, yet bizarre idea. Unfortunately this idea appears to have been put in the hands of an amateur writer who decided to use every teen book cliche ever.
We have
- insta-love
- one setting is dystopian
- girl whose been moved away from her friends/boyfriend
- awkward teenage moments
- the beautiful boy everyone loves
- the popular girl
- a small town high school
This results in lines like:
"We were inseparable, until we were separated last week, just two days after my seventeenth birthday."
" "I'll always be right here." He reaches out and places the palm of his hand lightly against the contour of my cheek. My face flushes hot at his touch."
The first line above is about her back home boyfriend. The line below it is from her insta-love dream boy that has invaded her mind. Sadly that's not even the worst of it.
The worst of it is the writing format.
It's very cheap. It doesn't endear readers to your writing when you use an excuse for your weird/poor writing style. Dream Me is broken into two styles of storytelling. First is the generic, this is what is happening narrative (all well and good). Second is our lead gals blog posts (including comments). Except that the blog posts are written EXACTLY like the regular narrative. Including dialogue and third person perspective. And while Kathryn Bella has the lead gal explain away her weird writing it's just not good enough. No one actually writes blog posts like this!!!
Now I know why she chose blog posts and comments as it was apparent to me from the first time a comment shows up from "Dream me" what was likely going on. It was at this point I knew I was done with the book. While I read another 20 pages or so there was just no saving this book.
I'm willing to bet (and I did not skim ahead) I could spoil this ending without ever reading it; it's that obvious. At the end of the day however I don't even care enough to skim forward and find out.
To read this and more of my reviews visit my blog at Epic Reading
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
We have
- insta-love
- one setting is dystopian
- girl whose been moved away from her friends/boyfriend
- awkward teenage moments
- the beautiful boy everyone loves
- the popular girl
- a small town high school
This results in lines like:
"We were inseparable, until we were separated last week, just two days after my seventeenth birthday."
" "I'll always be right here." He reaches out and places the palm of his hand lightly against the contour of my cheek. My face flushes hot at his touch."
The first line above is about her back home boyfriend. The line below it is from her insta-love dream boy that has invaded her mind. Sadly that's not even the worst of it.
The worst of it is the writing format.
It's very cheap. It doesn't endear readers to your writing when you use an excuse for your weird/poor writing style. Dream Me is broken into two styles of storytelling. First is the generic, this is what is happening narrative (all well and good). Second is our lead gals blog posts (including comments). Except that the blog posts are written EXACTLY like the regular narrative. Including dialogue and third person perspective. And while Kathryn Bella has the lead gal explain away her weird writing it's just not good enough. No one actually writes blog posts like this!!!
Now I know why she chose blog posts and comments as it was apparent to me from the first time a comment shows up from "Dream me" what was likely going on. It was at this point I knew I was done with the book. While I read another 20 pages or so there was just no saving this book.
I'm willing to bet (and I did not skim ahead) I could spoil this ending without ever reading it; it's that obvious. At the end of the day however I don't even care enough to skim forward and find out.
To read this and more of my reviews visit my blog at Epic Reading
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
April 3, 2017
★||Actual Rating: 2.5 Stars||★
I received this book from the publisher on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Dream Me is a book that is a love story of sorts told through a science fiction point of view.
I'll start right off by saying that most of this book was confusing to me. I don't know what message was trying to be told and it irked me that I couldn't tell because I felt like I was missing out on some joke.
Here's what I did get. Zat was from a future Earth where the world and humans had evolved so much that even their appearance was changed. He was often referred to as a dreamer because even though people stopped dreaming ages ago, he was fascinated and obsessed with it, so much so that he was willing to live in and through someone else's dreams.
As much as Babe spoke throughout the book, I didn't much get the feel of her as a person. She was kind of the main character but I understood her through Zat's eyes. The way he spoke about her and expressed his feelings about and towards her helped me know her better.
Even though this book threw me for a loop, I can't deny that the author's writing is amazing. Maybe there wasn't much world building and certain points did seem either slightly forced or rushed but I wouldn't write her off as yet.
Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Wattpad
I received this book from the publisher on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Dream Me is a book that is a love story of sorts told through a science fiction point of view.
I'll start right off by saying that most of this book was confusing to me. I don't know what message was trying to be told and it irked me that I couldn't tell because I felt like I was missing out on some joke.
Here's what I did get. Zat was from a future Earth where the world and humans had evolved so much that even their appearance was changed. He was often referred to as a dreamer because even though people stopped dreaming ages ago, he was fascinated and obsessed with it, so much so that he was willing to live in and through someone else's dreams.
As much as Babe spoke throughout the book, I didn't much get the feel of her as a person. She was kind of the main character but I understood her through Zat's eyes. The way he spoke about her and expressed his feelings about and towards her helped me know her better.
Even though this book threw me for a loop, I can't deny that the author's writing is amazing. Maybe there wasn't much world building and certain points did seem either slightly forced or rushed but I wouldn't write her off as yet.
Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Wattpad
July 4, 2017
*2.5 Stars*
I was provided an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Babe is always moving. The story starts when she’s 17 and is moving to Florida. Her father is a pro golfer and got a job in a country club. She also works there in the Tennis shop.
Everything is going ok despite being far from her boyfriend until she starts having vivid dreams that leaves her with terrible headaches.
The writing style was ok, but the plot was super messy. It was like the two storylines had no relation to each other even though they concerned the same character. There was the dream plot and the reality plot…
We had no depth in the dream world… We only knew about it from her blog updates and it was always brushed over. We didn’t get to see how they fell for each other, how they connected and it made me not care. At all. I was mostly bored through it all and the only storyline I was interested in was resolved in a way that infuriated me…...
I was provided an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Babe is always moving. The story starts when she’s 17 and is moving to Florida. Her father is a pro golfer and got a job in a country club. She also works there in the Tennis shop.
Everything is going ok despite being far from her boyfriend until she starts having vivid dreams that leaves her with terrible headaches.
The writing style was ok, but the plot was super messy. It was like the two storylines had no relation to each other even though they concerned the same character. There was the dream plot and the reality plot…
We had no depth in the dream world… We only knew about it from her blog updates and it was always brushed over. We didn’t get to see how they fell for each other, how they connected and it made me not care. At all. I was mostly bored through it all and the only storyline I was interested in was resolved in a way that infuriated me…...
Read
December 9, 2017KIRKUS REVIEW
In this YA novel, a young man from Earth’s far future visits a present-day teen in her dreams, but soon their connection is threatened.
In a future era in which the Earth is dying, Zat plans a dangerous trip, time traveling to our present by projecting himself into the mind of a teenage girl while she sleeps. That girl, Babe, who’s 17 (roughly Zat’s age), is an adaptable, resourceful person thanks to her father’s job as golf pro, which has caused them to move from state to state—most recently, from California to the Florida Panhandle. Over the summer, Babe learns about another new town, makes some friends, and works in the country club’s tennis shop, and she also begins having recurring dreams of a boy with thick, wavy brown hair and green eyes, who eventually introduces himself as Zat. He seems strangely familiar, and they share a strong bond, making Zat a “dream guy” in every way—except for the crushing headaches Babe has the following day. To herself and on her blog, Babe wonders how Zat can feel “more real and more interesting than anyone…in real life.” But can he achieve corporeality after time travel? And will he have to abandon the trip—and his life—to save Babe from unbearable pain? Berla (12 Hours in Paradise, 2016, etc.) delivers a very entertaining romance with well-thought-out sci-fi elements—one that’s delightfully free of the clichés that so often haunt YA fiction. Both the story’s rich-kid and queen-bee characters defy convention; Babe’s friends have intriguing back stories, and the country-club setting gives the protagonist a chance to make perceptive comments about people and society. For example, while touring a palatial yacht, she remarks, “I knew money didn’t buy happiness, but it was unbelievable what it did buy.” Babe’s blog opens up the story via the sometimes-silly, sometimes-mysterious comments of her readers: one of them wishes she would focus on Florida sightseeing; another, called “DreamMe,” seems strangely knowledgeable about Babe’s situation. The final twist isn’t easy to see coming, and it gives the novel a satisfying, well-earned ending.
A thoughtful, engaging novel that combines genres well.
In this YA novel, a young man from Earth’s far future visits a present-day teen in her dreams, but soon their connection is threatened.
In a future era in which the Earth is dying, Zat plans a dangerous trip, time traveling to our present by projecting himself into the mind of a teenage girl while she sleeps. That girl, Babe, who’s 17 (roughly Zat’s age), is an adaptable, resourceful person thanks to her father’s job as golf pro, which has caused them to move from state to state—most recently, from California to the Florida Panhandle. Over the summer, Babe learns about another new town, makes some friends, and works in the country club’s tennis shop, and she also begins having recurring dreams of a boy with thick, wavy brown hair and green eyes, who eventually introduces himself as Zat. He seems strangely familiar, and they share a strong bond, making Zat a “dream guy” in every way—except for the crushing headaches Babe has the following day. To herself and on her blog, Babe wonders how Zat can feel “more real and more interesting than anyone…in real life.” But can he achieve corporeality after time travel? And will he have to abandon the trip—and his life—to save Babe from unbearable pain? Berla (12 Hours in Paradise, 2016, etc.) delivers a very entertaining romance with well-thought-out sci-fi elements—one that’s delightfully free of the clichés that so often haunt YA fiction. Both the story’s rich-kid and queen-bee characters defy convention; Babe’s friends have intriguing back stories, and the country-club setting gives the protagonist a chance to make perceptive comments about people and society. For example, while touring a palatial yacht, she remarks, “I knew money didn’t buy happiness, but it was unbelievable what it did buy.” Babe’s blog opens up the story via the sometimes-silly, sometimes-mysterious comments of her readers: one of them wishes she would focus on Florida sightseeing; another, called “DreamMe,” seems strangely knowledgeable about Babe’s situation. The final twist isn’t easy to see coming, and it gives the novel a satisfying, well-earned ending.
A thoughtful, engaging novel that combines genres well.
April 15, 2017
What a beautiful book!
As always, Kathryn Berla's writing is so good. Beautifully written and flowing so well. But no, I'm not jealous at all... (Totally am).
Her style is so unique and all of her own. You can tell someone is a good writer when you recognize their work based on their writing style alone.
There were many things I liked in this book, most of them subtle.
For example, I loved the criticism of misogyny flowing through the book. Babe is faced with a plight all girls/women have to deal with at least once in their lives: the unwanted and uncalled-for harassment from a member of the male gender.
Her situation is made worse by the fact that the man has power.
I just loved how this was presented in such a way one might even miss the criticism.
I also loved the questions raised about immigration. I loved that the book talked about important matters such as the Vietnam war.
So many important subjects just seeping through the pages in subtle ways.
I loved the diversity of the characters and how deep they were. Zat and Babe are strong and lovable.
This is a unique love story like nothing else I've ever read! Read it now! : )
As always, Kathryn Berla's writing is so good. Beautifully written and flowing so well. But no, I'm not jealous at all... (Totally am).
Her style is so unique and all of her own. You can tell someone is a good writer when you recognize their work based on their writing style alone.
There were many things I liked in this book, most of them subtle.
For example, I loved the criticism of misogyny flowing through the book. Babe is faced with a plight all girls/women have to deal with at least once in their lives: the unwanted and uncalled-for harassment from a member of the male gender.
Her situation is made worse by the fact that the man has power.
I just loved how this was presented in such a way one might even miss the criticism.
I also loved the questions raised about immigration. I loved that the book talked about important matters such as the Vietnam war.
So many important subjects just seeping through the pages in subtle ways.
I loved the diversity of the characters and how deep they were. Zat and Babe are strong and lovable.
This is a unique love story like nothing else I've ever read! Read it now! : )
August 11, 2017
I received this book in return for a honest review.
The ending alone is worth a extra star on it's own.
It's what saved it from being two stars for me.
I liked this book, I really did. It has a ton of potential. But I just felt like their was a lot of things missing.
What really got me was this was suppose to be a sci-fi book (not really a fan of those but I admit, the blurb really drew me in to this book) but there really wasn't anything sci-fi about it.... It was more like paranormal/supernatural.
Babe is new to town and starts dreaming of Zeb(?) Zed? Something like that ... they are both from earth yet... not? It's weird and confusing to me. I could go more into it but I don't want to ruin the book for anyone. Because it would be loaded with spoilers.
I had a lot of issues with this book though, sadly. I get she is new to the south, but for the 2 examples I am about to provide, you can understand why I rolled my eyes so hard
"Fire ant? What kind of strange creature was that?" Page 24
"It occurred to me that maybe women didn't shake hands in this part of the world. " Page 77
How does a person not know what a fire ant is or that women shake hands? "In this part of the world" Are. You. Serious.
We talk different, we are not from another freaking world. Also was not a fan of how the southerners were made to talk like they were ignorant. We would most likely say "y'all" before "yew". Just saying. I get most people may think "Well that is how Cajuns talk." ...... no, baby. No. They don't.
Loved how the main character was a vegetarian and started shoveling in meat. (That was sarcasm) Sorry. That is not how it works. She reminded me of those hipsters that say they are something just to "fit in" .... Guess I can understand that since she just came from Cali? I don't know.
I think the deal breaker for me was the sexual assault. Because it happened more than once, and when she took her anger (I saw it as anger, but whatever) out - she was told to leave work for a week. Then assault happens and finally they tell the guy to leave, but again- no one presses charges. Are you kidding me?! The next girl may not be so lucky of it being a forced kiss and ass grab. (No, I don't mean she was lucky that happened to her, I am just saying, the next time - BECAUSE THERE IS ALWAYS A NEXT TIME the next girl won't have that happen, she will most likely be raped.) what about previous victims. You know there have to be. She can't be his first.
Ugh! It just turns my freaking stomach and pisses me off!
Also, how she claims Mia as her best friend but makes fun if her last name every chance she gets. Yeah no. That got old quick.
I know I said I liked this book, I did. Those were just some issues I had with it. The story line was a good idea. I think it would make a great story. But I felt like we only saw the middle of the book. We weren't given much to work with and what we had didn't really matter.... if that makes sense.
The ending alone is worth a extra star on it's own.
It's what saved it from being two stars for me.
I liked this book, I really did. It has a ton of potential. But I just felt like their was a lot of things missing.
What really got me was this was suppose to be a sci-fi book (not really a fan of those but I admit, the blurb really drew me in to this book) but there really wasn't anything sci-fi about it.... It was more like paranormal/supernatural.
Babe is new to town and starts dreaming of Zeb(?) Zed? Something like that ... they are both from earth yet... not? It's weird and confusing to me. I could go more into it but I don't want to ruin the book for anyone. Because it would be loaded with spoilers.
I had a lot of issues with this book though, sadly. I get she is new to the south, but for the 2 examples I am about to provide, you can understand why I rolled my eyes so hard
"Fire ant? What kind of strange creature was that?" Page 24
"It occurred to me that maybe women didn't shake hands in this part of the world. " Page 77
How does a person not know what a fire ant is or that women shake hands? "In this part of the world" Are. You. Serious.
We talk different, we are not from another freaking world. Also was not a fan of how the southerners were made to talk like they were ignorant. We would most likely say "y'all" before "yew". Just saying. I get most people may think "Well that is how Cajuns talk." ...... no, baby. No. They don't.
Loved how the main character was a vegetarian and started shoveling in meat. (That was sarcasm) Sorry. That is not how it works. She reminded me of those hipsters that say they are something just to "fit in" .... Guess I can understand that since she just came from Cali? I don't know.
I think the deal breaker for me was the sexual assault. Because it happened more than once, and when she took her anger (I saw it as anger, but whatever) out - she was told to leave work for a week. Then assault happens and finally they tell the guy to leave, but again- no one presses charges. Are you kidding me?! The next girl may not be so lucky of it being a forced kiss and ass grab. (No, I don't mean she was lucky that happened to her, I am just saying, the next time - BECAUSE THERE IS ALWAYS A NEXT TIME the next girl won't have that happen, she will most likely be raped.) what about previous victims. You know there have to be. She can't be his first.
Ugh! It just turns my freaking stomach and pisses me off!
Also, how she claims Mia as her best friend but makes fun if her last name every chance she gets. Yeah no. That got old quick.
I know I said I liked this book, I did. Those were just some issues I had with it. The story line was a good idea. I think it would make a great story. But I felt like we only saw the middle of the book. We weren't given much to work with and what we had didn't really matter.... if that makes sense.
May 30, 2018
This is such an odd crossover between dystopia and the common world...on one side a bit poor word building on the other - a rather intriguing perspective. Kathryn Berla's writing always amazes.
October 7, 2017
I feel insulted. After 270 pages of implausibility sprinkled with what I can only describe as mansplaining, I'm miffed. No, I'm downright annoyed.
If this book had lived up to its synopsis, that would be one thing. But it didn't. It failed. Boy, did it fail! Where do I even begin?
To begin with, the premise of a far-future human coming back to inhabit the dreams of a present-day teenage girl is a bit far-fetched. If you're going to try to pull that off, you need to do more than... well, this.
This book might have worked as a short story. All the nonsense about tennis and the pervert at the country club could've been cut. It didn't add anything to the plot. In fact, it took away from the main plot. When I read a book with sci-fi or fantasy elements like this, I don't want to spend the majority of the book hobbling through descriptions of the weather or what the characters are eating.
Then there are the characters. The book begins with Zat, so you'd assume he's a main character. Despite being a point-of-view character, he's not really a main character at all. The main character is Babe, whose parents named her after some female golfer, perhaps not realizing that naming your child after a term of endearment is infantilizing. When Babe, a modern-day teenager, mentioned a peer named Marvin, I threw up my hands in despair. How hard is it to look up popular baby names for the year 2000? I can pretty much guarantee that "Marvin" won't be on any of those lists.
Babe is one of the most insufferable characters I've read in a while. She's got this reverse snobbery thing going on, where she looks down at people who have more money or status and automatically assumes they're bad people. It was so blatant that I was hoping it would be addressed at some point. She continually judged a girl named Mattie Lynn, pegging her as a queen bee (and possibly a mean girl), when there was nothing to really give that impression. All I got out of Mattie Lynn was an overachiever who perhaps didn't recognize her privilege, but who wasn't necessarily cruel. Babe comes across as someone who whines and views herself as misunderstood... and yet she's constantly making the same snap judgments about others that she presumably doesn't want made about her. In short, she's kind of a hypocrite.
The writing in this book was just terrible. The grammar was off. The dialogue punctuation was wrong more than half the time. The tenses were weird. The book has three different points of view: Zat, Babe, and Babe's blog. Babe's blog is weird in that it's written in the present tense, while her "live" sections are written in the past tense. One of the commenters on her blog pointed this out, and she just dismissed it. (I almost got the feeling that an editor pointed this out to the author and, being too lazy to change it, she just tried to make it appear like a stylistic choice.) The prose veered into shades of purple at times, leading to some unintentionally funny descriptions of gelatinous skin and "creamy brown" hair. And, like I mentioned before, there was this condescending tone that crept in at times. Certain things that didn't need to be explained were mansplained to death. Babe herself takes things very literally at times, leading to some stupidity. (She ponders the meaning of terms like "fire ant", "sleepy town", and "vixen", wondering about miniature fire-breathing dragons, a town where everyone sleeps a lot, and an actual fox, respectively. Did I mention that this girl with her stunning vocabulary wants to be a writer?) And then there are things that are not explained at all, that the author assumes all readers will understand, like tennis terms.
Ultimately, though, this was just unsatisfying. The ending is pat and unexplained. We never find out the identities of the mysterious blog commenters like Sweetness (they were written to sound relevant to the story... but I guess they weren't). Babe comes across as a dull, stupid girl, and I couldn't care about her or her "problems" at all.
I expect this sort of thing from self-published books, but this wasn't. I guess I need to be careful about small indie presses, too. All around, a disappointment and a waste of time. Now I know why so many people on Goodreads DNFed this one!
For a book with a somewhat similar premise but a far better execution, try Corinne Duyvis's Otherbound instead. (Keep in mind that I only gave that book 2 stars; the fact that I'm recommending a 2-star book at all should tell you how bad I thought Dream Me was.)
Quotable moment:
https://theladybugreads.blogspot.com/...
If this book had lived up to its synopsis, that would be one thing. But it didn't. It failed. Boy, did it fail! Where do I even begin?
To begin with, the premise of a far-future human coming back to inhabit the dreams of a present-day teenage girl is a bit far-fetched. If you're going to try to pull that off, you need to do more than... well, this.
This book might have worked as a short story. All the nonsense about tennis and the pervert at the country club could've been cut. It didn't add anything to the plot. In fact, it took away from the main plot. When I read a book with sci-fi or fantasy elements like this, I don't want to spend the majority of the book hobbling through descriptions of the weather or what the characters are eating.
Then there are the characters. The book begins with Zat, so you'd assume he's a main character. Despite being a point-of-view character, he's not really a main character at all. The main character is Babe, whose parents named her after some female golfer, perhaps not realizing that naming your child after a term of endearment is infantilizing. When Babe, a modern-day teenager, mentioned a peer named Marvin, I threw up my hands in despair. How hard is it to look up popular baby names for the year 2000? I can pretty much guarantee that "Marvin" won't be on any of those lists.
Babe is one of the most insufferable characters I've read in a while. She's got this reverse snobbery thing going on, where she looks down at people who have more money or status and automatically assumes they're bad people. It was so blatant that I was hoping it would be addressed at some point. She continually judged a girl named Mattie Lynn, pegging her as a queen bee (and possibly a mean girl), when there was nothing to really give that impression. All I got out of Mattie Lynn was an overachiever who perhaps didn't recognize her privilege, but who wasn't necessarily cruel. Babe comes across as someone who whines and views herself as misunderstood... and yet she's constantly making the same snap judgments about others that she presumably doesn't want made about her. In short, she's kind of a hypocrite.
The writing in this book was just terrible. The grammar was off. The dialogue punctuation was wrong more than half the time. The tenses were weird. The book has three different points of view: Zat, Babe, and Babe's blog. Babe's blog is weird in that it's written in the present tense, while her "live" sections are written in the past tense. One of the commenters on her blog pointed this out, and she just dismissed it. (I almost got the feeling that an editor pointed this out to the author and, being too lazy to change it, she just tried to make it appear like a stylistic choice.) The prose veered into shades of purple at times, leading to some unintentionally funny descriptions of gelatinous skin and "creamy brown" hair. And, like I mentioned before, there was this condescending tone that crept in at times. Certain things that didn't need to be explained were mansplained to death. Babe herself takes things very literally at times, leading to some stupidity. (She ponders the meaning of terms like "fire ant", "sleepy town", and "vixen", wondering about miniature fire-breathing dragons, a town where everyone sleeps a lot, and an actual fox, respectively. Did I mention that this girl with her stunning vocabulary wants to be a writer?) And then there are things that are not explained at all, that the author assumes all readers will understand, like tennis terms.
Ultimately, though, this was just unsatisfying. The ending is pat and unexplained. We never find out the identities of the mysterious blog commenters like Sweetness (they were written to sound relevant to the story... but I guess they weren't). Babe comes across as a dull, stupid girl, and I couldn't care about her or her "problems" at all.
I expect this sort of thing from self-published books, but this wasn't. I guess I need to be careful about small indie presses, too. All around, a disappointment and a waste of time. Now I know why so many people on Goodreads DNFed this one!
For a book with a somewhat similar premise but a far better execution, try Corinne Duyvis's Otherbound instead. (Keep in mind that I only gave that book 2 stars; the fact that I'm recommending a 2-star book at all should tell you how bad I thought Dream Me was.)
Quotable moment:
It's that special peaceful time just before sunset, when day and night reach equilibrium and the world stops to exhale. I'm never up early enough to know if the world inhales before sunrise.
https://theladybugreads.blogspot.com/...
June 16, 2018
Babe is used to moving a lot because of her father's job. This time she has to start over in Sugar Dunes, a small town in Florida. Babe's father has arranged for his daughter to work at the local tennis shop, so Babe has something to do during the summer and will have the chance to earn some money. In her new home Babe's nights become more interesting than her days, she starts dreaming about Zat, a boy she has an instant connection with. The dreams feel real and each morning Babe has a terrible headache. Who is Zat and why is he occuring in Babe's dreams?
When Zat meets Babe he feels like he belongs. His life on Earth is limited, because he's from the far away future and time is running out for the planet. His family has already left and now Zat has to find a way to secure his own future. While his family chose to relocate, Zat doesn't want to leave Earth and is traveling back in time. He's part of Babe's dreams and enjoys finding out how his planet looked before it lost its fertility. However, Zat knows being part of Babe's dreams hurts her, can he find a solution to be with the girl he would love to spend the rest of his days with, without leaving her in pain after every visit?
Dream Me is a fabulous original story. I loved reading about Zat's world. He's from the future and has to leave that life behind. While that's a big change he's mainly looking at the positive side, he has the chance to get to know Babe. Babe is a sweet and pretty girl. She's also talented and smart and knows what she wants. I admired her courage. She has to start over every time her father finds a new job and she still makes friends easily and treats a new place as a permanent home. I liked her vibrant spirit. It was fun to find out more about her daily and nightly activities. I liked this idea a lot and read the story in one sitting.
Kathryn Berla has a wonderful captivating writing style. I especially like her vivid descriptions of each main character, their surroundings and their thoughts, dreams and emotions. The result is a well balanced and enchanting story filled with interesting dialogue and unexpected moments. Dream Me is fascinating in many different ways and each detail is exactly as it should be. I love a good time travel story and this book definitely falls into that category. It's creative, compelling and romantic.
When Zat meets Babe he feels like he belongs. His life on Earth is limited, because he's from the far away future and time is running out for the planet. His family has already left and now Zat has to find a way to secure his own future. While his family chose to relocate, Zat doesn't want to leave Earth and is traveling back in time. He's part of Babe's dreams and enjoys finding out how his planet looked before it lost its fertility. However, Zat knows being part of Babe's dreams hurts her, can he find a solution to be with the girl he would love to spend the rest of his days with, without leaving her in pain after every visit?
Dream Me is a fabulous original story. I loved reading about Zat's world. He's from the future and has to leave that life behind. While that's a big change he's mainly looking at the positive side, he has the chance to get to know Babe. Babe is a sweet and pretty girl. She's also talented and smart and knows what she wants. I admired her courage. She has to start over every time her father finds a new job and she still makes friends easily and treats a new place as a permanent home. I liked her vibrant spirit. It was fun to find out more about her daily and nightly activities. I liked this idea a lot and read the story in one sitting.
Kathryn Berla has a wonderful captivating writing style. I especially like her vivid descriptions of each main character, their surroundings and their thoughts, dreams and emotions. The result is a well balanced and enchanting story filled with interesting dialogue and unexpected moments. Dream Me is fascinating in many different ways and each detail is exactly as it should be. I love a good time travel story and this book definitely falls into that category. It's creative, compelling and romantic.
July 20, 2017
Dream Me was very imaginative. The author captured the essence of a teenage girl with such youthful prose while keeping the reader hooked to the story. Though the fantasy aspect of the story line is not as full as would be expected, the reader's interest is kept on learning about Babe and her friends. The book provides a quick, easy read, though the chapters are not nearly as long as desired. The idea behind the story is something unheard of. Fantasy novels often explore tales where Earth has been destroyed or is dying, but the idea that the future people of Earth harness the technology to send a person's consciousness back in time to live in another person's dreams is new territory. As a young adult fiction novel, this story fits the bill, but it is missing much of its underlying story and lacking a great deal of content in the way of the fantasy genre.
I was left wanting for the story of Earth, and yearning to learn about the technology that allowed Zat to live in Babe's dreams. The chapters, and the story itself, seemed too short for my personal taste, and read slightly offset alongside the "blog entries". Babe was an exceptionally well written character, but Zat needed more substance. I would have liked to learn more about Earl and how he came to be with his involvement in the ending of the story. I enjoyed the book and my interest was kept, but I feel like there is so much missing still.
Thank you to NetGalley for this free e-copy in exchange for my honest review.
I was left wanting for the story of Earth, and yearning to learn about the technology that allowed Zat to live in Babe's dreams. The chapters, and the story itself, seemed too short for my personal taste, and read slightly offset alongside the "blog entries". Babe was an exceptionally well written character, but Zat needed more substance. I would have liked to learn more about Earl and how he came to be with his involvement in the ending of the story. I enjoyed the book and my interest was kept, but I feel like there is so much missing still.
Thank you to NetGalley for this free e-copy in exchange for my honest review.
July 10, 2017
This book caught me since the first chapter. I really liked the different narrations (Babe's point of view, Babe's blogs and getting to know Zat's "world"), it made the reading very fresh, light and easy-going. The language is not complicated or intrincate, so this book is suitable to be read by adults, teens, pre-teens... I think everyone will enjoy reading this fantasy romance book.
... but it'd be even better if it'd have a second part (pretty please!)
... but it'd be even better if it'd have a second part (pretty please!)
August 11, 2017
Dream Me by Kathryn Berla is a young adult romance with time traveling and romance. Zat exists in a distant future where Earth Is no longer habitable and people are leaving earth to find homes on other planets. Zat is a dreamer and wants to risk everything for a girl named Babe he sees in his dreams even though his peers warn him against it. Babe and her family have moved again. With her dads job as a pro golfer they move all the time and she really just wants to stay in one place for a while. Babe begins to have strange dreams of Zat and shows him her world. I found this book to be very unique and different. The author has some imagination to come up with something like this because it was a first for me. I enjoyed Babes character and was so happy to see a teenager without the bratty attitude you see so much now. The writing was good and kept me interested. I liked how each chapter basically went back and forth from Babe and Zat. I finished majority of this book in one day so it was a pretty quick read. I thought Babe writing her dreams in a blog was a cool way to do it. Anyway I enjoyed this book and would read others by this author. 4 star rating.
August 13, 2017
(I was given an ARC in exhange of an honest review.)
3.5 stars
"Life is but a dream."
Dream Me has a great story, packed with the little things in life and filled with heart-warming scenarios.
The idea of Zat living in someone else's dream is interesting. I thought this is something different from the books I have read. And it kind of is. I also liked the idea of the main character having her own blog.
The first chapters were a little bit difficult for me, I couldn't get into the story. But as I turn the pages, as I see more of the characters, I knew I had to finish it and see what happens.
Three words:
I want more!
3.5 stars
"Life is but a dream."
Dream Me has a great story, packed with the little things in life and filled with heart-warming scenarios.
The idea of Zat living in someone else's dream is interesting. I thought this is something different from the books I have read. And it kind of is. I also liked the idea of the main character having her own blog.
The first chapters were a little bit difficult for me, I couldn't get into the story. But as I turn the pages, as I see more of the characters, I knew I had to finish it and see what happens.
Three words:
I want more!
November 28, 2017
At times, DREAM ME felt like two different tales, but woven together, they tell the story of Babe and Zat, an unusual couple in an impossible situation. Babe's father is a golf pro, and she and her family move around for his job. The latest move takes them to the Florida coast where she meets the locals over the summer before her senior year of high school. Included are the queen bee, Mattie Lynn and her minions, LeGrand, the poor little rich boy who only comes on his yacht for the summer with his parents, and Mai, the daughter of the owners of the local fish market who befriends Babe. An avid tennis player, Babe takes a job in the tennis pro shop where she helps Mattie Lynn with her charity program, throwing her in the path of other local kids. The move also triggers vibrant dreams where Babe continually meets with a boy named Zat. She's inexplicably drawn to Zat and during the day, longs for sleep so she can be with him.
Throughout the summer, Babe navigates the waters of new friendships, unusual dreams, and corporate politics when the chairman of the board of the club where she and her parents work has designs on an underage Babe. The majority of the story takes place during waking hours and reads like a typical contemporary novel. The dream sequences are written as blog posts by Babe.What it's missing, for me anyway, is more time travel. Billed as a young-adult time-traveling romance, I expected more time traveling. Yes, Zat is from the future, but it's Babe's story for the most part. Zat's point of view is told in third-person and is sparse and too brief in my opinion.
Plot
The plot is two-pronged. The first centers on Babe's dream world and her relationship with Zat. The other is her relationships with the people in her waking world. Even as Babe grows closer to Zat in her subconscious, her friendships with new friends develop and grow. There isn't much overlap, which is why it feels like two separate stories sometimes. There are some things I would have liked to see more of, though. For one, with something this sci-fi-y, I would have liked to see a little more world building. I didn't understand how the time travel worked or what the rules were. This became particularly muddled at the end. The other is that I felt like Babe's relationship with Zat wasn't nearly as well developed as her relationships with Mai or LeGrand. Even her relationship with Mattie Lynn seemed to have more depth. As a result, I was a little ambivalent about them being together.
Characters
I loved Babe. She's spunky, fierce, but still believable as a seventeen-year-old girl. LeGrand, Mai and the rest of Babe's friends are exactly the kind of friends anyone would wish for. But I never got a strong sense of who Zat is, even though we get bits and pieces of his point of view.
What I Enjoyed About DREAM ME
1. Babe. She's a fantastic young adult protagonist with the right balance of burgeoning independence and insecurities to make her completely relateable.
2. Settings. The author has the ability to bring her settings vividly to life. While I'm not all that familiar with Florida, it was easy to visualize the scenes.
3. Friendship. As the new girl in town, Babe's blossoming relationships were depicted as organic and authentic.
4. The Concept. I really liked the idea behind DREAM ME, but I felt like it left a lot on the table.
5. Twists. There were a few of unexpected twists toward the end that left me smiling.
Bottom Line
A scifi wrapped up in a contemporary with a few of unexpected twists.
Disclaimer
I was provided with a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Throughout the summer, Babe navigates the waters of new friendships, unusual dreams, and corporate politics when the chairman of the board of the club where she and her parents work has designs on an underage Babe. The majority of the story takes place during waking hours and reads like a typical contemporary novel. The dream sequences are written as blog posts by Babe.What it's missing, for me anyway, is more time travel. Billed as a young-adult time-traveling romance, I expected more time traveling. Yes, Zat is from the future, but it's Babe's story for the most part. Zat's point of view is told in third-person and is sparse and too brief in my opinion.
Plot
The plot is two-pronged. The first centers on Babe's dream world and her relationship with Zat. The other is her relationships with the people in her waking world. Even as Babe grows closer to Zat in her subconscious, her friendships with new friends develop and grow. There isn't much overlap, which is why it feels like two separate stories sometimes. There are some things I would have liked to see more of, though. For one, with something this sci-fi-y, I would have liked to see a little more world building. I didn't understand how the time travel worked or what the rules were. This became particularly muddled at the end. The other is that I felt like Babe's relationship with Zat wasn't nearly as well developed as her relationships with Mai or LeGrand. Even her relationship with Mattie Lynn seemed to have more depth. As a result, I was a little ambivalent about them being together.
Characters
I loved Babe. She's spunky, fierce, but still believable as a seventeen-year-old girl. LeGrand, Mai and the rest of Babe's friends are exactly the kind of friends anyone would wish for. But I never got a strong sense of who Zat is, even though we get bits and pieces of his point of view.
What I Enjoyed About DREAM ME
1. Babe. She's a fantastic young adult protagonist with the right balance of burgeoning independence and insecurities to make her completely relateable.
2. Settings. The author has the ability to bring her settings vividly to life. While I'm not all that familiar with Florida, it was easy to visualize the scenes.
3. Friendship. As the new girl in town, Babe's blossoming relationships were depicted as organic and authentic.
4. The Concept. I really liked the idea behind DREAM ME, but I felt like it left a lot on the table.
5. Twists. There were a few of unexpected twists toward the end that left me smiling.
Bottom Line
A scifi wrapped up in a contemporary with a few of unexpected twists.
Disclaimer
I was provided with a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
May 20, 2017
This book doesn't make any sense whatsoever. Implausible and boring.
I received this free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Netgalley and Amberjack Publishing.
Dream Me is a sci-fi novel for teenagers and young adults. It’s about a young girl named Babe (Really? Oh yes) who has often moved to different places in the US. Before starting her senior year of high school, her parents decide to move one more time – to Sugar Dunes, Florida, a tranquil but small place where the most exciting things seem to happen at the local country club. Or is there more to it? No, there actually isn’t because the farfetched and implausible sci-fi plot is neither thrilling nor romantic nor anything that might make it even remotely interesting.
So the fantastic part goes like this: One day Babe meets a super hot guy in her dream, Zat (Really? Unfortunately, yes). It turns out that he is from the future, like way future, where the earth has basically become uninhabitable. Instead of leaving the planet, he decides to take a different path, which is time travelling by inhabiting someone else’s dreams. How this works is never explained. Neither why Babe was chosen to be Zat’s host. But of course, they fall head over heels in love with each other. Also, no one knows why, but one can assume that a sci-fi book for teens has to include a love story. So after establishing that they are madly in love, the question is, what should they do now? Babe is suffering physically from her vivid dreams, and her real life and friends who care about her get ignored entirely. Can these poor star-crossed lovers ever be together? Could this get even dumber? Could it be that Zat turns out to be an invention of Babe’s deranged mind? Because that would make sense in an otherwise disappointing book.
Overall, this book is wanting due to its lack of plot and character development, proper romance and original sci-fi for that matter. Why go to all the lengths to come up with a novel technology and then hide it from the reader? “I could explain it to you, but that would be too complicated, believe me,” is basically what Zat tells Babe. Like “What?!” Give me that science, I’m sure I can handle it. The book is saved from becoming a total bore through some minor characters that add at least a bit of colour to this dull story. I think the book would have had the potential to be intriguing if the author had provided fleshed out main characters and a fully developed plot.
I received this free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Netgalley and Amberjack Publishing.
Dream Me is a sci-fi novel for teenagers and young adults. It’s about a young girl named Babe (Really? Oh yes) who has often moved to different places in the US. Before starting her senior year of high school, her parents decide to move one more time – to Sugar Dunes, Florida, a tranquil but small place where the most exciting things seem to happen at the local country club. Or is there more to it? No, there actually isn’t because the farfetched and implausible sci-fi plot is neither thrilling nor romantic nor anything that might make it even remotely interesting.
So the fantastic part goes like this: One day Babe meets a super hot guy in her dream, Zat (Really? Unfortunately, yes). It turns out that he is from the future, like way future, where the earth has basically become uninhabitable. Instead of leaving the planet, he decides to take a different path, which is time travelling by inhabiting someone else’s dreams. How this works is never explained. Neither why Babe was chosen to be Zat’s host. But of course, they fall head over heels in love with each other. Also, no one knows why, but one can assume that a sci-fi book for teens has to include a love story. So after establishing that they are madly in love, the question is, what should they do now? Babe is suffering physically from her vivid dreams, and her real life and friends who care about her get ignored entirely. Can these poor star-crossed lovers ever be together? Could this get even dumber? Could it be that Zat turns out to be an invention of Babe’s deranged mind? Because that would make sense in an otherwise disappointing book.
Overall, this book is wanting due to its lack of plot and character development, proper romance and original sci-fi for that matter. Why go to all the lengths to come up with a novel technology and then hide it from the reader? “I could explain it to you, but that would be too complicated, believe me,” is basically what Zat tells Babe. Like “What?!” Give me that science, I’m sure I can handle it. The book is saved from becoming a total bore through some minor characters that add at least a bit of colour to this dull story. I think the book would have had the potential to be intriguing if the author had provided fleshed out main characters and a fully developed plot.
June 24, 2017
*I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
I've never been more disappointed with a book in my life.
Dream Me is a young adult sci-fi novel which, when you reach the end of it, you'll feel as if you've ordered chocolate ice cream but given the coffee flavor instead.
This novel has an intriguing premise and the scientific concept is what makes me want to read it in the first place. Berla has created a unique time-travel system in which the traveler is not physically, but mentally going back in time. I also like her idea of the end of the world. The sun is dying and getting closer to Earth, making it almost inhabitable. The concept is quite convincing because she has made some changes to the appearance of future humans.
Besides that, I like the way Berla tell readers about the side characters. Even though the whole book is told from Babe's and Zat's perspective, the supporting cast is still shaped lively. Mai and LeGrand are two lovable characters that you will want to know more about.
But that's it for the things I like in this book. I have issues. Huge issues.
The first and most obvious problem is insta-love. I never understand the romance between Babe and Zat. They only say there's a "deep connection" and that they want to be with each other. Nothing that happened in the dreams show why they are attracted to each other. I also think things escalated very quickly without explanation, especially near the end of the novel.
The second thing is the assumption toward pretty girls and how manipulative Babe is. There's this part where Babe assumes the beautiful and popular girl who's leading the tennis program must be mean, and a part where she meets the guard of her workplace and only agrees to have a photo taken of her when she feels like he will be useful to her family.
The worst issue I have with this book is that after I finished it, I was utterly confused, and I think it would have been a better book if it was written without the sci-fi elements. Zat is such an insignificant character after 40% of the book. The focus of the plot shifted from Babe and Zat to Babe and friends, and what's strange is that the latter alone makes a pretty good contemporary YA. Then, the mention of Pioneer One and that ending makes me really confused. I was like, How? And then I realized the idea of "corporealism" was never technically explained. Because of how little the role of science actually played in this novel, I think it was such a pity that the premise was wasted.
Last but not least, the blog format is pointless in my opinion. When the chapter shifted from Babe's POV to her blog, I can't tell the difference except for the comment section. However, the comment section is not helpful to the plot either. I get that the author wants to leave clues for readers by the use of user DreamMe's comments but the hints are too vague to have any effect at all.
In short, I am really disappointed with Dream Me. It has such an interesting premise but the potential wasn't fulfilled. At 37%, I thought it was going to be my favorite ARC ever reviewed but I was wrong. I wish it was just a contemporary, focusing on Babe moving to Sugar Dunes and how she copes with it. Then I would have enjoyed it better.
Rating: 3/10
---------------
Also posted on Ravishing Tales.
I've never been more disappointed with a book in my life.
Dream Me is a young adult sci-fi novel which, when you reach the end of it, you'll feel as if you've ordered chocolate ice cream but given the coffee flavor instead.
This novel has an intriguing premise and the scientific concept is what makes me want to read it in the first place. Berla has created a unique time-travel system in which the traveler is not physically, but mentally going back in time. I also like her idea of the end of the world. The sun is dying and getting closer to Earth, making it almost inhabitable. The concept is quite convincing because she has made some changes to the appearance of future humans.
Besides that, I like the way Berla tell readers about the side characters. Even though the whole book is told from Babe's and Zat's perspective, the supporting cast is still shaped lively. Mai and LeGrand are two lovable characters that you will want to know more about.
But that's it for the things I like in this book. I have issues. Huge issues.
The first and most obvious problem is insta-love. I never understand the romance between Babe and Zat. They only say there's a "deep connection" and that they want to be with each other. Nothing that happened in the dreams show why they are attracted to each other. I also think things escalated very quickly without explanation, especially near the end of the novel.
The second thing is the assumption toward pretty girls and how manipulative Babe is. There's this part where Babe assumes the beautiful and popular girl who's leading the tennis program must be mean, and a part where she meets the guard of her workplace and only agrees to have a photo taken of her when she feels like he will be useful to her family.
The worst issue I have with this book is that after I finished it, I was utterly confused, and I think it would have been a better book if it was written without the sci-fi elements. Zat is such an insignificant character after 40% of the book. The focus of the plot shifted from Babe and Zat to Babe and friends, and what's strange is that the latter alone makes a pretty good contemporary YA. Then, the mention of Pioneer One and that ending makes me really confused. I was like, How? And then I realized the idea of "corporealism" was never technically explained. Because of how little the role of science actually played in this novel, I think it was such a pity that the premise was wasted.
Last but not least, the blog format is pointless in my opinion. When the chapter shifted from Babe's POV to her blog, I can't tell the difference except for the comment section. However, the comment section is not helpful to the plot either. I get that the author wants to leave clues for readers by the use of user DreamMe's comments but the hints are too vague to have any effect at all.
In short, I am really disappointed with Dream Me. It has such an interesting premise but the potential wasn't fulfilled. At 37%, I thought it was going to be my favorite ARC ever reviewed but I was wrong. I wish it was just a contemporary, focusing on Babe moving to Sugar Dunes and how she copes with it. Then I would have enjoyed it better.
Rating: 3/10
---------------
Also posted on Ravishing Tales.
August 6, 2017
Dream Me is an interesting story--perfect for anyone, but especially teenagers. It's inspiring because the message is there will always be a chance to make your dreams come true. If you're eager to achieve your goals and willing to sacrifice and play all your cards, no matter how risky it is or how low the chances are, you can make your dreams a reality.
Babe, the protagonist, is a blogger and you will learn about her and her personality through her blog. She is a patient person who tries to understand her family's situation no matter how tired she is of the way it’s set up. I also loved how the friendship between Mai, LeGrand, and Babe grew and became stronger in just a short span of time. One night, Babe met Zat from her dreams, a boy from a distant future. He literally is the man of her dreams😂.
The story is so distinctive and very promising but there were some holes, and I wanted more information. It's supposed to be a romance, but I didn't feel the giggles that I would expect in a genre like this. I also found it unrealistic and a turn-off when Babe dumped her boyfriend after meeting a guy in her dreams. I don't find it cute at first.
There were also parts where someone with a user name “Dream Me” keep on posting some mysterious and creepy messages on Babe’s blog. I expected this to play into Babe’s situation or lead into thrilling and suspenseful twists, but I was left hanging. It felt as though there were missing scenes or that the characters needed more development.
All in all, the story has redeeming qualities that made me happy that I stuck it out through to the end. The author does throw in a clever twist that I wasn’t expecting, and the sparks I was hoping to feel at the beginning of the story finally came through in the end.
I recommend this book to everyone. It’s a story where you'll learn to fight for your rights, to be yourself, to trust the people who love you, and to fight for what you believe even it's there's only a small chance of winning. A dream will remain a dream if you don't do anything to make it a reality.
Babe, the protagonist, is a blogger and you will learn about her and her personality through her blog. She is a patient person who tries to understand her family's situation no matter how tired she is of the way it’s set up. I also loved how the friendship between Mai, LeGrand, and Babe grew and became stronger in just a short span of time. One night, Babe met Zat from her dreams, a boy from a distant future. He literally is the man of her dreams😂.
The story is so distinctive and very promising but there were some holes, and I wanted more information. It's supposed to be a romance, but I didn't feel the giggles that I would expect in a genre like this. I also found it unrealistic and a turn-off when Babe dumped her boyfriend after meeting a guy in her dreams. I don't find it cute at first.
There were also parts where someone with a user name “Dream Me” keep on posting some mysterious and creepy messages on Babe’s blog. I expected this to play into Babe’s situation or lead into thrilling and suspenseful twists, but I was left hanging. It felt as though there were missing scenes or that the characters needed more development.
All in all, the story has redeeming qualities that made me happy that I stuck it out through to the end. The author does throw in a clever twist that I wasn’t expecting, and the sparks I was hoping to feel at the beginning of the story finally came through in the end.
I recommend this book to everyone. It’s a story where you'll learn to fight for your rights, to be yourself, to trust the people who love you, and to fight for what you believe even it's there's only a small chance of winning. A dream will remain a dream if you don't do anything to make it a reality.
July 18, 2017
Dream Me by Kathryn Berla is a YA sci-fi book, whose main characters are Babe and Zat.
Zat is from the future, where it’s impossible to live on Earth. So he decides to time travel back, living in the dreams of Babe. A senior who just moved to Florida. It’s summer, the school hasn’t started yet and she works at a tennis shop.
Babe has been all around the country, and now she has recently moved to Sugar Dunes in Florida. She has a travel blog a little different from the other ones. In this blog she talks more about how she is settling down, rather than all the places she has visited. I loved the comments of her followers. Some were really funny!
The book lacks a scientific basis, as the author doesn’t explain how can people time travel, when and how the human body changed to adapt to the new climate, or how they can travel into the space. Plus, I don’t understand the insta-love Babe felt towards Zat. I love when the author builds up the relationship between the main characters, so I was a little disappointed.
Another thing I disliked was the fact that Babe didn’t tell her parents or some friends about the sexual harassment she was subjected to. I know that she only did it for the sake of her parents, but it may give a wrong message and be interpreted as a different way to deal with such situations.
Despite tha many flaws, the story was engaging and the friendships Babe forges in this summer are heart-warming to read, though I wanted more scenes about her and her friends: Mai, the foreign girl who is really great at drawing; LeGrand Buell, who is a rich boy with parents who neglect him, and then we have Alonso, the intelligent one and the youngest of the group.
The writing style was really good, with a fast-paced story. The book was a page-turner, it left you with the need to know more about the two main characters, and though I was disappointed by the story, I give it a solid 3 out of 5 stars.
I recommend it for a light and quick read.
Zat is from the future, where it’s impossible to live on Earth. So he decides to time travel back, living in the dreams of Babe. A senior who just moved to Florida. It’s summer, the school hasn’t started yet and she works at a tennis shop.
Babe has been all around the country, and now she has recently moved to Sugar Dunes in Florida. She has a travel blog a little different from the other ones. In this blog she talks more about how she is settling down, rather than all the places she has visited. I loved the comments of her followers. Some were really funny!
The book lacks a scientific basis, as the author doesn’t explain how can people time travel, when and how the human body changed to adapt to the new climate, or how they can travel into the space. Plus, I don’t understand the insta-love Babe felt towards Zat. I love when the author builds up the relationship between the main characters, so I was a little disappointed.
Another thing I disliked was the fact that Babe didn’t tell her parents or some friends about the sexual harassment she was subjected to. I know that she only did it for the sake of her parents, but it may give a wrong message and be interpreted as a different way to deal with such situations.
Despite tha many flaws, the story was engaging and the friendships Babe forges in this summer are heart-warming to read, though I wanted more scenes about her and her friends: Mai, the foreign girl who is really great at drawing; LeGrand Buell, who is a rich boy with parents who neglect him, and then we have Alonso, the intelligent one and the youngest of the group.
The writing style was really good, with a fast-paced story. The book was a page-turner, it left you with the need to know more about the two main characters, and though I was disappointed by the story, I give it a solid 3 out of 5 stars.
I recommend it for a light and quick read.
June 30, 2017
REVIEW FEATURED HERE ON MY BLOG: https://morrisareads.wordpress.com/20...
I wanted to mention **TRIGGER WARNINGS** for this book as well - there is some sexual assault/sexual harassment. So if that sets you off, do be cautious. Secondly, one of the characters, Mai, her last name is Nguyen, and Babe throughout most of the book struggled to figure out the pronunciation. And when she figured it out she proceeded to use "Nuggins." Kinda rolled my eyes at that one.
So I got this book through the author by asking for a copy & she let me have a copy for review so thank you so much. In return, I am to give & honest review, which you can check out below :)
This novel is about a boy (Zat) from future earth, after the sun had expanded and killed off humanity, and now a new species exists on the planet. It wasn't exactly explained how (I'll get more into this later), but he was able to go into the dreams and communicate with a girl from present-day earth. It's a little love story I suppose.
I wish I could give a better description of the book because the synopsis above is not at all what the book is about. Or rather, it lacks pretty much everything it says above in the synopsis. I was expecting a really interesting sci-fi love story, but...literally nothing was explained. The future earth was barely described and I never really understood HOW Zat was able to travel into the past dreams or WHY. Everything about this book had so much potential but it just failed at execution. I felt that Zat's entire half of the story fell flat and needed so much more world building and just an explanation in general. Because most of the time I was like ?? why is this relevant I just want to read about Babe and her life.
I, however, very much enjoyed the female's story - Babe. Her POV and her little day to day life after she moved to Florida was so interesting and relatable. I enjoyed the friendships she had with Mai and LeGrand and I really wish there was so much more to all of this and her life. I feel as if the author should have written much more to this book to work with the whole romance between Zat and Babe so it actually made sense and wasn't so strange. This whole book left me feeling like a chunk of the story was missing.
I also did like how the book ended. I won't spoil what happened but I thought it was interesting how one of the characters that we didn't really think twice about ended up being an extremely big part to the whole time travel-in-dreams things. But like I said, I think this book has a good idea, a good premise, but it just missed half of what the book should have had - more of Zat's POV and world.
The romance I didn't like either, because 1) they were in love after meeting in a dream and 2) we barely ever saw them connect or get to know each other very well, it was all skipped over. And I hate that. I want to see a romance develop, I don't want it skipped over and barely explained.
Overall, I think Dream Me could have been better if there was more. More world building, more explanation, more time. And everything about Mai's last name and the joking around it could have been excluded because it just wasn't funny. I give it three stars for it at least keeping me interested to get to the end. Would I recommend this? Probably not, but it goes on sale July 11, 2017 if you're curious.
I wanted to mention **TRIGGER WARNINGS** for this book as well - there is some sexual assault/sexual harassment. So if that sets you off, do be cautious. Secondly, one of the characters, Mai, her last name is Nguyen, and Babe throughout most of the book struggled to figure out the pronunciation. And when she figured it out she proceeded to use "Nuggins." Kinda rolled my eyes at that one.
So I got this book through the author by asking for a copy & she let me have a copy for review so thank you so much. In return, I am to give & honest review, which you can check out below :)
This novel is about a boy (Zat) from future earth, after the sun had expanded and killed off humanity, and now a new species exists on the planet. It wasn't exactly explained how (I'll get more into this later), but he was able to go into the dreams and communicate with a girl from present-day earth. It's a little love story I suppose.
I wish I could give a better description of the book because the synopsis above is not at all what the book is about. Or rather, it lacks pretty much everything it says above in the synopsis. I was expecting a really interesting sci-fi love story, but...literally nothing was explained. The future earth was barely described and I never really understood HOW Zat was able to travel into the past dreams or WHY. Everything about this book had so much potential but it just failed at execution. I felt that Zat's entire half of the story fell flat and needed so much more world building and just an explanation in general. Because most of the time I was like ?? why is this relevant I just want to read about Babe and her life.
I, however, very much enjoyed the female's story - Babe. Her POV and her little day to day life after she moved to Florida was so interesting and relatable. I enjoyed the friendships she had with Mai and LeGrand and I really wish there was so much more to all of this and her life. I feel as if the author should have written much more to this book to work with the whole romance between Zat and Babe so it actually made sense and wasn't so strange. This whole book left me feeling like a chunk of the story was missing.
I also did like how the book ended. I won't spoil what happened but I thought it was interesting how one of the characters that we didn't really think twice about ended up being an extremely big part to the whole time travel-in-dreams things. But like I said, I think this book has a good idea, a good premise, but it just missed half of what the book should have had - more of Zat's POV and world.
The romance I didn't like either, because 1) they were in love after meeting in a dream and 2) we barely ever saw them connect or get to know each other very well, it was all skipped over. And I hate that. I want to see a romance develop, I don't want it skipped over and barely explained.
Overall, I think Dream Me could have been better if there was more. More world building, more explanation, more time. And everything about Mai's last name and the joking around it could have been excluded because it just wasn't funny. I give it three stars for it at least keeping me interested to get to the end. Would I recommend this? Probably not, but it goes on sale July 11, 2017 if you're curious.
July 19, 2017
Who doesn't love a good star-crossed lovers book? Well, in this case, me. The plot premise was amazing, the cover beautiful but when push came to shove Dream Me just wasn't a winner in my book.
Babe is a modern day girl who just moved...again. Zat is a not-so-modern day guy from the future who by some unexplained mysterious time travel technology now lives in Babe's dreams.
I was so very confused throughout this book. How exactly did Zat travel back to the past? Why did he pick some random girl to be his host? Why isn't Babe more alarmed about this super hot guy who's showing up in her dreams? And most importantly- how exactly is this supposed to work?
Again, the premise was good but eventually the plot line was everywhere with a bunch of dead ends when something (no spoilers) got interesting. I honestly re-read the ending twice and still am not exactly sure what happened? In the end, this book just wasn't for me.
I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
2.5/5 stars
Babe is a modern day girl who just moved...again. Zat is a not-so-modern day guy from the future who by some unexplained mysterious time travel technology now lives in Babe's dreams.
I was so very confused throughout this book. How exactly did Zat travel back to the past? Why did he pick some random girl to be his host? Why isn't Babe more alarmed about this super hot guy who's showing up in her dreams? And most importantly- how exactly is this supposed to work?
Again, the premise was good but eventually the plot line was everywhere with a bunch of dead ends when something (no spoilers) got interesting. I honestly re-read the ending twice and still am not exactly sure what happened? In the end, this book just wasn't for me.
I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
2.5/5 stars
March 12, 2018
This was awful! I wish I had DNFed it, I almost did but I wanted answers to the world as it was for Zat. Do I get that. Not fully. I get some but not until the end. And the ending? Ugh Don't get me started! I was more mad at that then I was when I debated DNFing it. I did like Zat's character but really did not like Babe. She is one of those teens that make you want to do a fce plam at regular intervals for her stupid actions and comments. Best part of the book, oddly enough, where the blog entries. She annoyed me less there. Thank goodness this was a shorter book.
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