Brian James (1) (1976–)

Hannah and her dad have moved around a lot. Her dad was a cop then lost his job badly, now he goes from town to town looking for work, taking Hannah with him. She's 15 and doesn't like the next new town. Everyone acts like zombies and worship the blond shiny eyed high school cheerleaders and the football games. And there is something wrong with them. A nice twist to the YA zombie story, more a drama about the agonies of trying to belong to a clique in high school, with the undead being the show more equivalent of the "popular group". Hannah has one sensible friend in the strange town, who constantly warns her about them, yet she still has that desire to belong to something bigger than herself; the popular clique. A lot of forewarning and quirky moments that push the story and the reader along, kind of like a Twilight Zone episode. Yeah, you know they are zombies already, but as you inch along with Hannah you wonder when she will come to realize it. So it's not a blood n guts mayhem zombie story, but peaks well enough. A fast and fairly entertaining read. show less

Life is but a Dream tells the story of a teenager named Sabrina who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and committed to a psychiatric ward. Soon after, she meets Alec, another patient in the psych ward, and together they begin to question whether they even want to “fit in” with society. Sabrina wonders if the medications are designed to turn her into a robotic version of herself, a version that everyone else is comfortable with, but is it really who she is?

The beautiful writing brings show more to life in vivid detail the strange and colorful world that Sabrina inhabits when lost in her visions. She tries to connect her two realities with her drawings that seem to express all of the things she can’t put into words. There were times when I couldn’t begin to wrap my mind around her logic, but was fascinated all the same. Sabrina’s unusual way of perceiving the world was captured perfectly so that I was able to empathize with her even though I often couldn’t follow her logic. The world she envisioned for herself was filled with color and connection and emotion and once she met Alec, she felt she finally found someone who understood her, who could see the world the same way that she did.

Alec was also a very complex character. He seemed to be always just on the edge of becoming violent, so full of rage and anger. But he seemed to focus all of that negative energy into protecting Sabrina. He also felt like she was the only person who understood him, who saw him for the person that he really was. Together they viewed anyone outside of their little bubble as the enemy. I alternately felt sorry for Alec because he was also just a kid with very real problems, and annoyed with him because he refused to see things that were so obvious and instead made some very stupid impulsive decisions.

There was definitely an aspect of insta-love and obsessive love, but it seemed to be fitting considering the mental issues that Alec and Sabrina each struggled with. Their relationship made sense and was even rather beautiful in its own way. It was so obvious that Alec really cared about Sabrina that I couldn’t help but root for them even when I wasn’t sure whether being together was the best thing for either of them.

Life is but a Dream was an enjoyable, thought provoking story. There were several unexpected surprises. I never felt like I knew exactly where the story was headed. The doctors, nurses, and other background characters were very much in the background but still did not feel one dimensional. The story meandered back and forth from past to present which sometimes became a little confusing. And the choice to forego quotation marks was a bit distracting sometimes when I had to determine who was speaking and whether it was dialog or thoughts. There were, however, very few flaws and I definitely enjoyed reading this. show less

Life is but a Dream tells the story of a teenager named Sabrina who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and committed to a psychiatric ward. Soon after, she meets Alec, another patient in the psych ward, and together they begin to question whether they even want to “fit in” with society. Sabrina wonders if the medications are designed to turn her into a robotic version of herself, a version that everyone else is comfortable with, but is it really who she is?

The beautiful writing brings show more to life in vivid detail the strange and colorful world that Sabrina inhabits when lost in her visions. She tries to connect her two realities with her drawings that seem to express all of the things she can’t put into words. There were times when I couldn’t begin to wrap my mind around her logic, but was fascinated all the same. Sabrina’s unusual way of perceiving the world was captured perfectly so that I was able to empathize with her even though I often couldn’t follow her logic. The world she envisioned for herself was filled with color and connection and emotion and once she met Alec, she felt she finally found someone who understood her, who could see the world the same way that she did.

Alec was also a very complex character. He seemed to be always just on the edge of becoming violent, so full of rage and anger. But he seemed to focus all of that negative energy into protecting Sabrina. He also felt like she was the only person who understood him, who saw him for the person that he really was. Together they viewed anyone outside of their little bubble as the enemy. I alternately felt sorry for Alec because he was also just a kid with very real problems, and annoyed with him because he refused to see things that were so obvious and instead made some very stupid impulsive decisions.

There was definitely an aspect of insta-love and obsessive love, but it seemed to be fitting considering the mental issues that Alec and Sabrina each struggled with. Their relationship made sense and was even rather beautiful in its own way. It was so obvious that Alec really cared about Sabrina that I couldn’t help but root for them even when I wasn’t sure whether being together was the best thing for either of them.

Life is but a Dream was an enjoyable, thought provoking story. There were several unexpected surprises. I never felt like I knew exactly where the story was headed. The doctors, nurses, and other background characters were very much in the background but still did not feel one dimensional. The story meandered back and forth from past to present which sometimes became a little confusing. And the choice to forego quotation marks was a bit distracting sometimes when I had to determine who was speaking and whether it was dialog or thoughts. There were, however, very few flaws and I definitely enjoyed reading this. show less

Life Is But A Dream is told from the perspective of a teen who is in a treatment facility after being diagnosed with acute schizophrenia. In bits and pieces, you learn of the circumstances that brought her to the facility and the confusion she experiences as she tries to separate reality from the colorful world that exists inside her mind. When a fellow patient named Alec comes into the picture, it seems like a chance for a something good, but his own anger at his situation starts to show more influence Sabrina in negative ways. The reader is brought along on a sad and disturbing road that leads to what might be Sabrina's final descent over the edge. The imagery and symbols that Sabrina attaches to people and things as a part of her illness is described in fluid and colorful writing. It's an enchanting world in some ways, but you can't help but hold back and wonder where the bottom of the well is for Sabrina.

I found this book to be fascinating and heartbreaking. Being in Sabrina's head is both disorienting and beautiful. I can see how she found comfort in her ability to disappear from the world as her illness started to take over and make everything so confusing. Alec's role in her downward spiral was horrifying for me, but I was surprised at how sympathetic a character he turned out to be by the end of the book. Since I'm reading this as an adult, I really, really felt for Sabrina's parents. I could feel their helplessness through Sabrina's observations of their reactions to her increasingly strange behavior. The flashbacks that Sabrina retreats to when she wants to remember happier and more stable times broke my heart right in half. This book was a very intense reading experience because of the point of view and because you really didn't know if things would ever really get better for Sabrina. Although the ending wasn't sad, it wasn't tied in a neat little bow, either, and I think that made the book even more powerful. show less