Christy J. Breedlove

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S SCREAMCATCHER: DREAM CHASERS ABOUT?
Having survived their trip to the world of her family's dream catcher, Jory and her friends have determined they can help others in the same (or similar) situation they were in—and better yet, they can make some good money off of it. In my post about the first book I said, "I don't see how this leads to a sequel, in fact, I'd have thought it precluded one." This? This is the way to a sequel—most of these kids could use a decent income and monetizing this particular skill is a smart move.

I'm going to cheat, again, and use the official blurb:

Seventeen year-old Jory Pike knows a thing or two about Indian lore from her half-blood Chippewa ancestry. She can trap, hunt and fish with the best of them. She has a team of three other teens friends called The Badlands Paranormal Society. Instead of bagging groceries or playing on I-pods, they think they can excel at banishing evil spirits. They hope to cleanse houses and earn fat paychecks for their services.

Dream catchers aren't just the chic hoops tourists buy at novelty shops—they work. And sometimes they clog up with nightmares until they collapse under their own evil weight, imploding and sending the dreamer into an alternate world. Jory uses her worst nightmare to enter the dream catcher world. She’s pulled her teammates in deliberately. Everything goes right on schedule but they’ve bitten off more than they can chew. Now Jory and her friends are there, trapped between the people who have confessed their sins to the Great Spirit and are seeking a way out, and the monsters and evil spirits, which are happy to keep them trapped in the web world forever.

They were once considered Seekers in the dream world. Now they’ve become vigilantes and call themselves Pathfinders. Is it spiritual enlightenment they after? Or have they now become fatally reckless?

I can't put it better than that—or more succinctly without being flippant.

THE PROBLEM OF PERIL
These next two paragraphs get a vaguely spoiler-y. Sorry. You've been warned.
In the second book of a series, you pretty much take for granted that the series characters will make it to the end—no matter how much danger might be lurking around the corner. So the threat has to hover over the new characters. And for me, I didn't feel that for a moment for any of the "Seekers" they were trying to help get out of the nightmare world. Yes, there were obstacles, deadly ones at that—but, I just never doubted that anyone would survive.

It didn't seem that any of the Badlands Paranormal Society felt that much different than I did—it seemed like they were just approaching the whole adventure as just another day at the office (or at the fast-food cash register, they are that age). And while this is a job to them, it shouldn't feel like they're punching a time-clock already, they're too fresh at this to be so jaded. If Breedlove had made them confident to only turn and make the reader and the characters see that confidence as hubris, I'd have been all over it. But no, it was a near-blasé attitude toward the dangers and obstacles they faced. That just didn't ring true or right for me.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT SCREAMCATCHER: DREAM CHASERS
That said, I liked it. It's imaginative, you never know what's going to be lurking around the next corner and how the team will get through it. These nightmare worlds are fantastic, the monsters they're filled with are, too—and the opportunities to do just whatever in them seem almost endless. The characters are likeable—but they could all use a little more depth. But in too many ways, this felt like a slightly tweaked version of the previous book. The problem with peril that I just talked about is another stumble. If Breedlove can address those, and I imagine she will, I can see myself sticking around for a while with these books, and I do think people in the market for a YA fantasy adventure—particularly one not in the Western European mold—will have fun with this book.

Now that I know how the series is going to go, the question I had last time about how Breedlove could build on Web World is answered and I like the answer. I see that I've taken so long to write this up that the third volume in this series is available, I'll be ordering it here shortly. I have great hopes for it.

Disclaimer: I received this novel from the author in exchange for this post and my honest opinion—I appreciate that, and do apologize that it's taken so long to get it read and posted.… (more)

I have so many thoughts about this book I don’t know where to start…

First – I love this story. I love the complex spin on something most people think of as a novelty from Native American culture. I love the pacing – sounds odd, but you’ll understand after reading the book yourself.

Second – Although this world was a collection of nightmares, it seemed to draw out the true strengths and personalities of the living.

Landon had a bad reputation but acted like the perfect gentleman while at Jory’s house. His true colors were exposed soon after entering the web. Poor Landon suffered the worst of it, but I want to believe, in the end, the experience made him change for the better.

Jory is a Chippewa who, much to her grandfather’s disappointment, doesn’t believe the lore of her heritage fits in today’s world. Maybe she’s right – maybe not. However, the knowledge he taught her came in handy.

Darcy is a 16-year-old genius who was not built for tackling the wilds of the South Dakota Badlands – on either side of the web. I love that she really does try.

And then there’s Choice. I love everything about Choice. I think he was always transparent, but while in the web world Jory was finally able to see him.

Third – I have my suspicions about what happened behind the closed doors at the White Feather Novelty Store…

There is so much more I’m dying to share, like the lack of colors in the world around them and the people who wanted to see them dead, but I don’t want to spoil the excitement of the read. Just trust me when I say everything is a clue. From the boarded-up windows to the yellow dandelion, everything has meaning.
… (more)

The dreamcatcher of legend will only allow good dreams to pass through its center. But what happens to the bad dreams trapped on its web-like paths?

Christy J. Breedlove’s Screamcatcher is first of a WebWorld series and introduces a group of teenagers who accidentally enter a scary alternate universe. Scornful of magic and lore, they’re looking for sleepovers to heal Jory’s nightmares after the death of her parents. But the old dream catcher has finally had enough.

A fascinating premise leads to a cool scary tale, including touches of history and myth together with believable teens and plenty of action. The story is pleasingly original, intriguingly paranormal, and nicely grounded in Native American lore. If the teenagers and their relationships sometimes seem shallow, well, they are teens. And their failures are as fascinating as their successes. I really enjoyed the read (and would love to read more).

Disclosure: I was given a copy and I enjoyed it.… (more)

Screamcatcher Reviews
Posted on April 29, 2019 by Christy J. Breedlove
Screamcatcher: Web World by Christy J Breedlove

April 23, 2019
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Screamcatcher: Web World

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My Rating: 4/5 stars

About the book:

Four sleepover teenagers get sucked into a nightmarish world when an ancient dream catcher implodes and lands them in a realm of demonic and monstrous entities. Have they gone to hell? They must search for the light, the center of the web, the opening where all good things are allowed to pass. Their survival depends upon it.

My Review:

In a never before plot, our main characters get stuck in a living nightmare through an ancient dreamcatcher. Jory has recurring nightmares about her parent’s death and no matter what she does or what her grandfather does to stop these bad dreams, nothing seems to be working.

The book is entangled with Indian lore so when Jory’s friend Choice wants to give this old family heirloom (a dreamcatcher) a chance, there’s no point in avoiding it. But things go south when Jory and her friends go to sleep in Jory’s house but wake up in a hellish world.

Plot:

I loved the plot. It was so unique and fast-paced. After every chapter, I was waiting for new twists and turns, just expecting to read what new amazing instance the author’s imagination could conjure up this time. I especially liked the second half of the book. It was definitely more action-packed than the first half.

Characters:

There is just some wrong vibe I got from Choice. Every time I would read about him, I’d find more and more reasons not to like him. But Jory turned out to be the most likeable character in the book despite everything. I liked the presence of her grandfather in the book as well.

Writing:

The writing was the most interesting part of the book and though I liked the world-building and the characters as well, the book would have been nothing without great writing. The dialogues were well-managed and the prose described the emotions of the characters perfectly. Plus, this book was quite easy to read and I could picture all the scenes as if they were playing out like a movie.

Climax:

Ah, the endings are often something that leads to disappointment. And even in this book, it was somehow the same case. I found the ending to be a little predictable and though there is nothing particularly wrong with that, I just really think there was scope for a major mind-blowing twist at the end.

About the author: Christy J. Breedlove, originally born in California, moved to Sylvania, Alabama in 2009. Her occupations have included newspaper editor/reporter, astronomer, federal police officer and part time surfer girl. She has been writing off and on for 36 years, having officially published books beginning in 1988. Today she writes in her favorite genre, Young Adult. She was a finalist in the L. Ron. Hubbard Writers of the Future contest, and just recently took the first place grand prize in a YA novel writing contest for The Girl They Sold to the Moon. She writes the popular blog, Guerrilla Warfare for Writers (special weapons and tactics), hoping to inform and educate writers all over the world about the high points and pitfalls of publishing Christy’s Website| Blog| Facebook | Twitter
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ALEX THE SHADOW GIRL… (more)