Lucy Keating

Would make a most excellent '80s teen movie!

(Full disclosure: I received a free electronic ARC for review through Edelweiss.)

"I MADE HIM up. At least that’s what I always told myself. The combination of all my childhood adorations, combined into one perfect guy. The trouble is, I was wrong. Because right now Max is sitting directly across the quad from me, reading our psych textbook and pausing every few minutes to type something on his phone. He’s wearing a heather-gray T-shirt and I show more want to go over and sit on his lap."

"In this moment, watching Max, I picture my heart as one of Jane’s beloved fish. How many ways could it possibly be murdered before Max is through with me? I picture it now, swimming with a bunch of other little heart muscles down a stream, before they are all caught up in a net, jumping and wiggling around."

Alice and Max have been dreaming of each other since they were children. They've traveled the (dream) world together. They've had food fights at the Met; played games of Jenga with life-sized foam bricks; boogie boarded down Nan's grand staircase; and dined on chocolate Legos (all the better to build castles with!). For the past eleven years, they've been the one constant, comforting, dependable thing in each others' lives. Ever since Alice's mom abandoned the family to study primates in Uganda (and then Madagascar), and Max's older sister Lila died in a drunk driving accident. Ever since the nightmares began, and their parents enrolled them in the brain mapping study at the Center for Dream Discovery.

Dreams and reality collide when Alice's father moves the family back to Boston and into her recently deceased Nan's two-hundred-year-old townhouse. For there, standing in the doorway of her Psych 201 class at Bennett Academy, is Alice's dream boy. There are just three teeny tiny little problems, though: 1) Max refuses to acknowledge their connection; 2) and already has an IRL girlfriend named Celeste; and 3) as their waking and sleeping lives intersect, Alice and Max begin to have trouble distinguishing reality from fantasy.

Alice is convinced that the answers are hidden in the files of the seemingly-sketchy Dr. Petermann, and the research he conducted on them all those years ago. With the help of Max; her NYC BFF Sophie; and her new Boston bud, Oliver, can Lucy set things right - without sacrificing the boy of her dreams?

You know what they say about not judging a book by its cover? Most of the time I'd concur, whether said book is a metaphor for human beings - or an honest to goodness book. But Dreamology's cover art perfectly encapsulates the story found within. This is a book filled with whimsy, romance, and glorious, cotton candy-flavored technicolor dreams that you'll want to call your own.

Alice's dreams, in fact, are my single favorite part of the story. If I could, I'd scoop out the contents of my own sleeping brain - all slasher flicks and nightmares about being stuck in my first job forever - and replace them with Alice and Max's delightfully bonkers nighttime adventures. I can certainly understand why Alice was so reluctant to let her rich dream life go - it's all kinds of awesome. Keating's writing vis-à-vis the dreams is simply inspired. I also loved how she used them to emphasize certain themes and move the plot forward.

The synopsis likens Dreamology to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - and while this is more than fair, Dreamology is much lighter; more fun and playful; like Sunshine, minus much of the angst and heartache. While there are a few sniffly moments, I went through the story convinced that Alice and Max would end up together (in some way, shape, or form), so perhaps this eased some of the tension I might otherwise have felt. It's a light, breezy read, like napping on a snow white cloud or drifting on a magic carpet constructed entirely of cotton candy. (And I mean this in the best way possible!)

Keating does a good job of developing the MCs, Alice and Max, as well as supporting characters Oliver and Celeste - but I felt like Sophie could use a little more attention. That said, my paws-down favorite was Jerry - or, perhaps more to the point, the many ridiculous situations Keating places him in. I can especially relate to how Alice dressed her bulldog up in a tutu and pretended to interview him as Oprah. (When she was younger, natch!) I was THAT KID too.

I also love that Keating avoids setting up a stereotypical sexist catfight sitch between would-be rivals Alice and Celeste. I found their evolving relationship so, so refreshing.

Though I gravitated toward Dreamology because of the SF/F element, the actual story is pretty light on science fiction. Keating doesn't attempt to explain the science behind Alice and Max's shared dreams - but that's okay, since it wouldn't really fit with the tone of the book anyway. Really I'd classify this as more of a contemporary romance -slash- coming-of-age story. Not my usual genre, but I enjoyed it just the same.

A very dreamy four out of five stars.

http://www.easyvegan.info/2016/04/15/dreamology-by-lucy-keating/ show less

I loved this book and I can't believe it has such a low rating here on goodreads. I'm a big fan of the litrpg genre where just about every story the character gets trapped in a VR game world and usually has to win the game to get released and save his life or something similar. Once I got a few chapters in and the author showed up that's all I could think of this is a rom-com litRPG without stats.
I loved that the Annabelle had to fight with the author to get the story she wanted. I also hope show more that the story Keating was pitching to Diane Sawyer at the end is a real sequel to this book. show less

It was an interesting concept and the author did a good job with it. I guess my 3 stars isn't 4 because I didn't agree with some of the message she was trying to present. Yes, I agree that we need to take charge of our own destinies and take chances to achieve our desires even though there are no guarantees of a perfect ending in this life. But I don't think she takes it far enough. The mc's parents and the author character are suffering from divorce. The author seems to say that that's just show more a risk you take when you fall in love but there's nothing you can do about it. I strongly disagree and believe that if you want a happy ending, you need to work hard and continue to fight for it. Why fight for the start, like the mc does, and then say, alright, take it away fate whether this will work out and we will stay together and be happy. I think that (excluding abuse and infidelity) most failed marriages are because one or both people got lazy, started acting selfishly, and stopped trying. Also teenagers shouldn't be in steady relationships precisely for the reasons the mc states at one point, that she doesn't know who she is yet and has a lot to discover about herself. She should be spending time dating lots of people and exploring the world, learning, etc. Teenage love triangles are ridiculous. You like both boys? Then date both boys! It's high school, you aren't going to get married for a while, so don't date exclusively!

Also, her explanation about the colors in the sunset and sunrise was incorrect. The sun is not farther away from the earth but because of the angle of the sun rays, the light has to travel through more atmosphere than it does when high overhead.

Notes about content:
* A little swearing
* Lots of detailed kissing scenes
* Some underage drinking show less

Dreamology is a super sweet book. Not the sugary kind that give you a chill after having too much of them. No, this book is the fresh, fruity kind sweet that you can’t seem to stop enjoying.

Did I tell you I love this book? Yes, I love this book (well, hello there pretty cover). The writing is absolutely adorable and vividly depicted. It’s the kind that you can just simply enjoy just by itself, even without the storyline. But hey, that’s not the situation here, because Dreamology show more isn’t just composed of good writing, but also utterly captivating plot, with hilarious encounters and beautiful imagination. See peeps? You got a 2 in 1 awesome combination of words-so-
sweet-it-melts-your-soul and a downright awesome story. I can’t really see your reason to not picking up this book.

The character cast in Dreamology is absolutely lovable. Each of them, whether protagonists or bystanders, contains their very own vibrate and colorful vibes that makes it impossible for me to hate. Our two main characters, Alice and Max, are just super quirky and charming. Their tones and interactions are pure laughter, and the attraction is very realistic but adorable at the same time. I miss reading about them.

I love the science of dream behind this book, the beautiful message about going forward that this book contains. I love the friendship, the imaginations, the humor, the emotions, and those moments of toothy grin that this book gave me. My affection for Dreamology can be compared to chocolate, and that is the equivalent to a lot of unicorn-rainbow goodness. Read it, peeps, and go out to proclaim it to every bibliophile hives out there, because this book is a adorably quirky read that no one wants to miss.

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March 31, 2016: I was kind of reluctant about giving this a full 5 stars since I was comparing it w/ Harry Potter or LOTR at some point (silly me, I know, but that's how cool this book is). But then I realize this is probably the most awesome contemporary book I've read...

*whisper* By the way, review to come, peeps ;D show less