Dreambender

by Ronald Kidd

Jeremy controls the dreams of City dwellers to keep the earth safe. But then he sees Callie dreaming of singing and begins to wonder if there is more to life than being safe.Everyone in the City is assigned a job by the choosers—keeper, catcher, computer. Callie Crawford is a computer. She works with putting them together, taking them apart. Her work is important, but sometimes she wants more. Jeremy Finn is a dreambender. His job is to adjust people's dreams. He and others like him quietly remove thoughts of music and art to keep the people in the City from becoming too focused on themselves and their own feelings rather than on the world. They need to keep the world safe from another Warming. But Jeremy thinks music is beautiful, and when he pops into a dream of Callie singing, he becomes fascinated with her. He begins to wonder if there is more to life than being safe. Defying his community and the role they have established for him, he sets off to find her in the real world. Together, they will challenge their world's expectations. But how far will they go to achieve their own dreams?

Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Dystopia, Science Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Juvenile

261 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2016

About the author

Ronald Kidd is the author of thirteen novels for young readers, including the highly acclaimed “Night on Fire” and “Monkey Town: The Summer of the Scopes Trial.” His novels of adventure, comedy, mystery, and American history have received the Children's Choice Award, an Edgar Award nomination, and honors from the American Library Association, the International Reading Association, the Library of Congress, and the New York Public Library. He is a two-time O'Neill playwright who lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

Reviews

[Hazel Rainfall · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dreambender is rated low for many reasons. The sentence structure is extremely truncated, and creates some very awkward phrasing. I had to re-read several strangely worded short sentences several times to understand what Ronald Kidd, the author, was trying to say. Another reason I rated this book so low is due to its similarity to the book, The Giver and many other dystopian world-based novels.
I also found the narrative style to be very distracting to the flow of the overall story. Each chapter featured a first-person account of what was going on from a different main characters point of view. I have read many books that employ this type of story-telling, however, this script was less than successful.

That being said, Dreambender was written so that the target audiences (kids 9-12 years of age) would find it enjoyable and entertaining.

[Kate Weitnauer · Rating 3 out of 5]

All in all, I thought the book was pretty decent. I couldn’t say it was my favorite, but not bad either. I would say it would be for grades 4-6. The ending to me seems very short and almost slammed on the breakers to a complete stop. I would say maybe draw it out a bit and possibly add a little more adventure to the end. Also I think it would be good if maybe it ended with a cliffhanger and then maybe a sequel that would be for grades 6-8. I did really enjoy the book throughout the middle of the story. I thought it started out too slow and ended too quick. I thought it had really good characters, and it had a really good plot. I thought it was interesting how they said that music was dangerous and not allowed. I don’t exactly understand it, but I think it was a good add on to the book.

“‘It was music!’ The look in his eyes was the same as the one I’d seen in Dorothy’s. To me, music was beautiful. To them, it was frightening.”

I chose this phrase because it almost confused me. I don’t understand why music was outlawed, but it made the book interesting. I liked the concept of it and it helped the book become more interesting. Overall the book was mostly interesting and it was fun to read.

[Ansley king · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that Dream Bender is a good book. I gave it 3 stars because it is not one of my favorites personally. At some parts of the book it would get boring and nothing would happen. But when there was a action scene it would be detailed and very interesting. One of my favorite parts of the book was when Jeremy and Callie met for the first time in the city. And how Callie had no idea who he was. He said,”I know you.” Chapter 15 page 143. I would recommend this book to people who like to imagine what is going to happen because they is spots where they don’t tell you what happened next. If you don’t like to do that then maybe this book is bot meant for you. That is what i would give it 3 stars.

[Frosty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I thought Dreambender by Ronald Kidd was really interesting and it made me very curious. I loved how it made the reader want to know more and more each chapter. On pages 211-212 I got really mad and sad when this happened :
“its fine,” Callie said “I’m a computer” her hope was gone, snipped off like a lock of hair. And my hope, what shreds of it were left, withered and died.”
I literally wanted to cry because she gave up and forgot Her dreams and what she loved. I would recommend this book to an artist because in a way it paints a very happy and sad story so i think that they could get inspired from reading this. I loved the book, it had so many surprises and plot twists so overall i gave it 4 stars.

[Maggie]

Overall, I thought Dreambender by Ronald Kidd was Okay . I thought the book was okay for multiple reasons. I liked the overall plot and thesis of the book, but it got dull and rushed at times. I wish that it would be more in depth at times. One scene that I liked from this book was the scene where Callie was watching Eleesha paint because it’s really in depth and explained. I would recommend this book to 5th through 8th graders because I think it is too mature to for lower schoolers to read and I think it’s too easy for high schoolers. But overall, I would give this book 3 out of 5 stars because it got dull and it isn’t really my genre. I like realistic fiction and this was more mystery. But I think that this book could be a great book to someone with different interests than me.

[Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall it was ok. It had a good plot and well thought out, but it wasn’t really my type of book. “Every once in a while, he came across someone whose dreams he couldn’t adjust.” This quote disturbed me, because he just going around changing people’s dreams! That’s weird. If you like science fiction books, this would be a great book. If you like books with lots of action this would be a bad book. I like books that have lots of action and explosions and stuff but Dreambender was a little slow. The main characters, Callie and Jeremy, were interesting. After the warming Callie was a mathematician in the city, while Jeremy was a Dream Bender (A person who changes people’s dreams “for the better”) in the Meadow. I gave it three stars because it was ok but not great.

[Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I would give the book a three because it was good but some parts could use some help. I cam came up with these thoughts because I didn’t like some parts. I really liked when Jeremy met Callie and talked to her about the dreamscape, I liked the quote never meet the dreamer never harm the dreamer Always follow the plan. Page 246. I would recommend this book to 5-7 graders. Overall this book was good.

[Tatum Overstreet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I thought that Dreambender by Ronald Kidd was an amazing book. It was an easy book to understand yet so much happened every chapter you just want to keep reading it. I loved when Jeremy went against the council and the rest of the Dreambenders and went to see Callie. I wouldn’t recommend this story to anyone in 3rd grade just because they’re not mature enough but also no one above middle school because this book would seem a little young to them. My overall thought of this book though was that it was a great book for middle schoolers.

[Caroline Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought Dreambender was a great book! I love how you switch perspectives between Callie and Jeremy. I don’t know how Ronald Kidd came up with such great characters. I was so attached to all of them. “We are all hummed to life.The hum becomes a melody,the melody a path, the path the journey.”I think the ending was a little rushed but, it ended me with a few questions.

[CaptCandy4 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the book until the end. The end was really rushed and said nothing about what happened after

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley and Albert Whitman and Company for selecting me to read and review a digital ARC of this book.

You don’t know me. You don’t see me. But I am there. Watching. Helping. Bending your dreams. --Dreambender by Ronald Kidd

After a catastrophic event called “The Warming” destroys Earth as we know it. Life has begun again, but with a very different structure that is guided by “The Plan”. The plan is a specific path and rules that were created to keep the world from another “Warming,” and to help keep the people and the world safe. There are no machines, no music, no arts, nothing frivolous or creative is allowed.

The people are divided into two separate groups that do not mingle and are separated by a wilderness called The Between. One group lives in “The City” and have no idea that there is anyone else out there. They live a very structured existence where they are directed into an appropriate occupation based on their skills and the community’s needs. There are rules, laws, curfews, and watchers who keep things in line. The people wake up go to work, go home and start again the next day.

In “The Meadow” live the other group of people called Dreambenders. Their job is to visit the dreams of the city people each night and make sure that their dreams are in line with the goals of “The Plan”. If they do not align with the plan or show signs of ideas that would draw the people into frivolity, hope or creativity, it is the Dreambenders’ job to change their dreams and help guide their thoughts back into line.

Callie is from the city; her role is as a computer. Her job is to work with numbers. She lives with her family, follows the rules, and knows her place in the community. But in her dreams she is beginning to feel differently.

Jeremy is a new Dreambender from the Meadow, and he knows the rules: “Never meet the dreamer. Never harm the dreamer. Always follow the plan.” He is a natural, and quickly finds that bending dreams is something he enjoys and is good at. The others in his community see that he has a gift, and he quickly becomes the prodigy that the elders see as the future. All is going according to “The Plan” until Jeremy stumbles into Callie’s dream. A dream filled with music and hope and beauty. Music is forbidden, it is against “The Plan”, but how can something peaceful and beautiful be a bad thing? Jeremy makes a decision to not bend Callie’s dream, and this starts a ripple of changes, and begins his shift to breaking every rule and searching for what is really is right. Should a small group of people with a plan be able to control the minds and plans for the rest? Is everything he has ever known and been taught really wrong and harmful?

As I began reading Dreambender I made instant connections to Lois Lowry’s The Giver. The two books are different but have similarities that provoke the same questions and concerns in the reader. The book is well written and the tone takes on a relaxed and dream-like feel. Even through the chaos, the author keeps a sense of calm in the reader as they are taken into a world that is completely changed after “The Warming”. Jeremy and Callie’s thoughts and journey will force readers to question what is right and what is fair. Should one person or group’s idea of what is best for the community be forced on others? What if they are doing it with the best of intentions? I recommend Dreambender to those looking to read a solid middle grade fantasy. It also will especially appeal to those who understand the power of music and arts and their impact on the world.

[Isis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would like to thank Albert Whitman & Company + NetGalley for a copy of this e-ARC to review. Though I received this ebook for free, that has no impact upon the honesty of my review.


Goodreads Teaser: "Everyone in the City is assigned a job by the choosers--keeper, catcher, computer. Callie Crawford is a computer. She works with numbers: putting them together, taking them apart. Her work is important, but sometimes she wants more. Jeremy Finn is a dreambender. His job is to adjust people's dreams. He and others like him quietly remove thoughts of music and art to keep the people in the City from becoming too focused on themselves and their own feelings rather than on the world. They need to keep the world safe from another Warming. But Jeremy thinks music is beautiful, and when he pops into a dream of Callie singing, he becomes fascinated with her. He begins to wonder if there is more to life than being safe. Defying his community and the role they have established for him, he sets off to find her in the real world. Together, they will challenge their world's expectations. But how far will they go to achieve their own dreams?"


Beautiful ideas that tempt the imagination while teaching meaningful lessons at the same time. The lessons aren't traditional per se, but rather built into the story and crafted to sink into the reader's conscious and subconscious as they read.

Jeremy is a character most kids will relate to on one level or another. Between his incessant questions and his clear promise of great talent he appeals to younger readers and adults alike. Callie is more of an adult character, though she is a major player in this story, and one of the main instruments through which the life lessons are shared. But her sensation of being trapped in a job she doesn't have any passion for speaks to most adults I'd expect. Her journey is her lesson for readers of all ages.

Though couched in a futuristic story, the ideas shared in this book are valid for readers of any generation. Mr. Kidd does an excellent job of crafting a tale to engage readers, young and old, and building important life lessons into the very bones of the story. The world he created is a beautifully woven mix of reality and fantasy, but not so far out that it becomes difficult to imagine. If anything he's made it to easy to imagine, and that simply makes the messages instilled within that much more powerful. Without a doubt this book should become a core requirement for all middle school reading lists. Indeed every library, both school and public, should have at least one copy; they should plan for multiple copies given how popular it is bound to become!

[Nancy Kotkin · Rating 1 out of 5]

The premise of this novel is faulty. Even if one's dreams are altered, that would not affect one's aspirations while awake. Plenty of goal-driven people don't even remember what they dream at night.

The plot doesn't hold together well either. Jeremy is banished from the dreamscape for a year and warned that he will be banished forever if he disobeys this order. Not only does he return, but he admits to betraying their secret to a dreamer, and then threatens to expose the whole operation. Yet on the very next page the current dreambender leader asks Jeremy to be their new leader???

The voices of both narrators are indistinguishable from one another. I see no evidence that Jeremy and Leif were ever best friends, despite Jeremy's claims. All the characters readily trust strangers, which is especially odd in a dystopia. There are info dumps in the dialogue, as well as long monologues.

I can't really picture the dreamscape, other than its description as a meadow. I also don't understand how the dreambenders are altering the dreams, which is described only vaguely as pulling threads.

Dystopian is definitely not this author's forte.

[SerialReader · Rating 2 out of 5]

While reading Dreambender I had a Dèjà vu moment..



Here's my face expression while I realized I had already read this story.
The Bible meets Divergent?

Read more on The Serial Reader Blog

*This book was kindly sent to me via NetGalley by Albert Whitman & Company*

[Shiloh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was very disappointed in this book. The idea behind it is fascinating, but it was not well carried out. The characters are underdeveloped and unrelatable and the plot is slow and rather boring sometimes.

[Karen Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read that this book was like The Giver which is one of my favorite books for YA readers.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. My only complaint was that it seemed to end rather abruptly.

[Singer_of_Stories · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rating: 1.5 stars

Review: I almost did not finish Dreambender, but I struggled through anyway so that I could clearly articulate what I disliked about the book from the perspective of having heard the author out to the end before making my judgment. From the beginning of the story, Dreambender failed to impress me. Almost immediately after starting the book I could not only determine the book’s main theme, but I could predict exactly how the book would end with unfortunate accuracy. Rather than weaving the book’s themes about the power of music and dreaming throughout the story so that the themes subtly influenced every aspect of the plot, Ronald Kidd screamed the themes from every sentence so that I as the reader was left feeling frustrated and annoyed. The book’s premise showed only slight originality, with a dystopian future that relied heavily on Global Warming and a strange version of the biblical Flood. Additionally, the writing style itself lacked artistry, and, despite being told from two different perspectives, the characters all sounded the same and underwent simplistic character journeys. I wanted to like Dreambender when I picked it up at the library, but the sheer quantity of problems with the story made me liking the book next to impossible.

[Margaret Robbins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I would give it 4.5 stars if I could. I thought both of the lead characters, Callie and Jeremy, were interesting and engaging. Some of the minor characters could have been developed a little bit more, but Leif, Dorothy, and Eleesha in particular were intriguing. I noticed some readers were critical of the writing style. I'm inclined to disagree because I thought it was age appropriate for middle school readers. I thought the plot flowed well and had some interesting concepts to it. I prefer books with engaging, fast-paced plots in addition to well developed characters, so this one hit the spot for me. As an educator, I thought it was appropriate for grades 4-8. I think it's a little mature for 3rd graders and a little too young for 9th graders, so 4-8 grade is a good sweet spot. My only major criticism is that the end was abrupt and seemed rushed. I liked many aspects of the ending, but I still had unanswered questions, although I thought that was partly intentional. Overall, I thought it was a very well done middle grades Dystopian novel. I want to teach it in my 7th grade Humanities class, as it fits well theme wise.

[JayfromthaFLOSS · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think that the Idea of changing a person's dreams is alright but the protagonist in the story, Jeremy is not the best fit for the role of a hero in the story since he gives the problem in the story to develop even more. I would like for the antagonist to be more clear in the end. Maybe if there was a corrupt dreambender who was out to destroy every human's dreams and Jeremy would have to go into the dreamscape to find this corrupt dreambender and then ACTUALY be a hero. But I think that in a real world situation, I wouldn't trust a person that ask WAY too many questions about his job to "save the world" especially when he already got in trouble with the council for failing to change a dream to simply stop Callie from singing. But in general the techniques the author uses allows me to understand the characters feelings better than a average dystopian novel. The symbolism is used a lot and is very helpful to show Eleesha's feelings about paint and Callie's feelings about music and Love.

[Ruby Trainor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Callie Crawford is a computer. Everyone is assigned a job, Keeper, Catcher, or Computer. She is not exactly happy but knows no other life. Across Between, live the Dreambenders, a small handful of people who possess a rare genetic gift to enter, and change, people's dreams. They are kept a secret from the society and are used to remove anything bad from the minds of the City citizens. Jeremy lives among them and shows great potential. But, one night he comes across a dream that he just can't bear to change: Callie's, and she is singing. Jeremy is banned from bending dreams and decides to leave to go to the city and meet the singer. He shows her his life and she shows him hers. They start to grow closer, while uncovering secrets that the society meant to be kept covered.
I thought that this book was good but did not have enough detail and was written poorly. The plot moved to fast almost like it was summarizing the story instead of telling it fully. I would not recommend this book, but it is not necessarily bad.

[Hasvita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rate this book 4 stars because of how this book was developed. It had an interesting plot but it was slowly developed. I like how the two characters showed their point of view in the book, one of the characters (Callie) has to her life as a "computer" Who is someone who is very good at math, They have to play with the numbers in their head and write them down in books. The other character is Jeremy, who is a dream bender... their job is to bend or change dreams so people won't be thinking of things before the warming. Callie dreamed about music and how she felt the feeling of fire dancing, but they soon blanked out. Jeremy saw the dream and wanted to know what's out there so he decided to find that feeling. This story is like any other utopia book, this didn't really have anything separating it from other books other than how they had different jobs and also how the plot is about changing dreams.

[Jacqueline · Rating 2 out of 5]

My review of Dreambender by Ronald Kidd is 2 stars because I didn’t find it very interesting, I was hoping for something more suspenseful. The concept of keepers, computers, dreambenders, and all the other jobs was creative but it was executed poorly. The description of how dreambenders bended the dreams wasn’t very clear and the whole book was lacking descriptions of the character’s surroundings. Liam lashing out and choking Callie was random and there was no clear reason why he did it. The ending felt very rushed as in everything just fixed all of a sudden and Liam doesn’t get in trouble for choking Callie, music is allowed again, there are no jobs anymore, and everything is great. The plot felt like something I would write in 3rd grade where everything is bad up until the very end where everything just magically fixes. I disliked this book.

[M&M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I really like this book because it was different. I have never really read this type of book before and I really like the layout. The way that the headers told you who was telling it. Also how it was not the same person reading it. It was a good book because all of the characters fit in with the story. Also the main character were more deep than the others which I like. My favorite quote was “ Why not it makes me feel good (94).” I chose this quote because she was singing and it made her feel good so she kept doing it. I would recommend this book to people that really like fantasy books. I really like this book. It was super good

[Michelle Bibliovino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple but so so beautiful

I am a teacher. Right now I teach English and Theatre. But I’ve also taught music: choir, dance, band. So many times when scores are low on dreaded standardized tests, the threat is lobbed that these things I teach will be the first to go. What a dreadful deed to do to ourselves? What a gift to have the option to keep them instead. To see the blossoming of hearts and minds when they are there. Keep them.

[Collin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I thought Dreambender by Ronald Kidd was okay. I thought it was okay because it wasn’t interesting and didn’t make sense at the begging of the book. The most compelling scene was when they inter the music place.“It’s more than that,” I said.” It’s the music place.” (195).
I would recommend this book to people who like science fiction. I gave it three stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️ because it wasn’t the best book I’ve read and I normally don’t like to read science fiction, but I would recommend this book to people who enjoy science fiction.

[SASHWAT NAIK · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone in the city including a young girl named Callie Crawford got assigned a job when they became twelve. She lives a normal life until one night when she was sleeping, she felt a thought or something in her head about singing. Callie doesn´t know what´s happening and the strangest part is someone named Jeremy Finn who is a Dreambender knows Callie when Callie doesn´t know Jeremy. Jeremy knows Callie because he changes dreams and he didn´t change Callie´s so, she loves singing. Jeremy desperately wants to meet Callie but, how? Read the DREAMBENDER to figure out.

By, Sashwat Naik

[0liver Beckstead · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think my overall problem with this book was that I read it expecting it to be a young adult book, because it was in my libraries YA section, but it is very clearly a children's/tween book. Which is fine, and for a Kid's book it has some really cool ideas and the world had a lot of potential, but it all felt very basic to me. Like it was nothing I haven't seen in any other dystopian just without the interesting social commentary. In this book the solution to everything was music which is just kind of wack. If you are 9-12 or know someone that age then I would recommend it as a good dystopian starter book but if not skip it.

[Jessica Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

My colleague handed me this book to read to see if it would be a good accompaniment to our seventh grade Dystopian Literature Unit.
I liked this book a lot. It isn't overly violent, the prose is straightforward, and the theme of hope is heartwarming. I won't spoil it, but if you're a teacher, check it out. It's appropriate for middle school students and I really enjoyed Jeremy and Callie's stories.

[Alyssa L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the beginning of the story and the contrast between the meadow and the city, plus the collective mystery of the between. I liked how the story took things slow and tried not to rush. Although Callie kind of upset me with her kissing Jeremy when they just met, the characters were well thought out, and imagined not just as a character in a book, but with the traits of real people. (Aka not delusional) would definitely recommend ❤️

[Lydia Nygren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really captivating, and that is coming from someone who never really reads. I thought that the journey in this story was very interesting. I also like how there was some romance in it but it didn’t take away from the main part of the story. I think the best part was how the author made it so that you could see different sides of the story, and I think that’s what really caught my attention. Overall I give it 5 stars.