Nightmare Academy

This is a very cool fantasy book, unlike most fantasy books this has very believable characters and you can see them develop as they learn battle both mental, emotional and physical monsters. It is a great story for the adventurous child.

Charlie Benjamin lives a very, VERY sheltered life. His parents shield him from the world that could potentially hurt and bully their only son. All Charlie wants is to be "normal" and attend a "normal school" and have "normal friend". But bad things happen when he sleeps and has nightmares.

After a certain incident that becomes known as the "Sleepover Apocalypse", Charlie finds himself dreaming, which leads becomes a nightmare. Forcing himself awake, he is surprised to find a monstrous looking scorpion in his room, the same monster from his nightmare. Just when he feels that he's about to die, a strange man crashes into his room along with two others who battle the creature.

Charlie learns that the monster is a creature from the show more Netherworld. When children with "the Gift" have nightmares, they unknowingly open up portals that allow the monsters into the real world. Reluctantly, his parents agree to let Charlie go with the strangers, and through a series of events, Charlie finds him attending the Nightmare Academy, a place that trains kids who have the Gift to battle monsters.

Just when Charlie feels that he has found a place to belong, he realizes just how different he is. However, armed with a few new friends, Charlie sets out to save those he loves on an adventure that will change his life.

I love this book. The characters are very believable (especially as the story and series progresses) and have amazing back stories. I love how Charlie has to learn how to deal with his emotions before he is able to real deal with the monsters physically. The story is also very engaging; the story never really has a dull moment. It is kind of surprising what happens within a 24 hour period. There is suspense, a bit of mystery, and a lot of adventure. show less

This book is enjoyable, but it doesn't quite measure up to other books from the same genre. It's obvious the author used to write screenplays, which would explain some of the inappropriate viewpoint changes, and the book is still lacking with regards to the plot, while the characters seem to lose importance once the plot got started. Overall, I'd say the story would look better on screen than it does on paper.

There were many details that got on my nerves (the internet terms, for one), but overall I still wouldn't call the book bad. If the author and his editors put some more work into the next books, the series could become great. It does have a lot of potential, this books proves as much.

I didn't end up finishing this book. It was fine, but it felt flat overall. I was not a fan of the dialogue. The story was unique, but it felt cobbled together and bounced from one random thing to another. I bet kids will like it, but it isn't for me.

This was a slight disappointment as I’d hoped for something as superb as Artemis Fowl but this just didn’t deliver for me. Having said that, I can see it becoming a popular series with young readers of 8 years old and upward who are new to the world of books, in much the same way as JKR did with Harry. I do feel that there are so many superior books out there in this genre that I would far rather my children read – C S Lewis, Eoin Colfer, Garth Nix and Holly Black to name a few. On a plus point, I loved the artwork and wonder if the final version will contain any more of the fabulous illustrations.

Ough. Not a great read... But not horrible. Hard to get into and follow... World is never fully explained really. Decent character development - but has some typical characters. Has a wanna be harry potter feel.....'

Plot Review

Dean Lorey's Nightmare Academy amazed me with its fast paced scenes and the suspense and horror! This was one of the best books I have ever read!

Charlie, the main character, is very different from most people of his age and he doesn't fit in with people. He has such strong imagination that in his nightmares, the creatures that are in his nightmare get portaled into his room. In this book, what he has is called "the gift". This has caused many problems for Charlie, like his parents becoming very protective of him and isolating him from other people and children and also during nap time in preschool He feels very lonely until one day, a group of people come from the Nightmare Academy. The Nightmare Academy is a school that show more trains children with "the gift" to fight monsters from the netherworld.

At the academy, on his first day, he ends up "accidentally" opening up a portal into the inner circle of the netherworld. Nobody at the academy has ever done this before, so he is one of the most powerful students there. After the portal incident, he begins to make good friends and start training to fight the monsters of the netherworld.

Dean Lorey has made the plot of this book so interesting that I didn't want to stop reading it! The plot of this book is told in a suspenseful and exciting way that makes it a lot better than most of the horror books I have read. There are many good examples of this, such as at the beginning, the group of people from the Nightmare Academy rescue Charlie from the scorpion-like creature that he portaled in his nightmare. But the best plot part of the book would be in the middle and the end of the book. However, these would be spoilers and it would ruin the review.

If you are looking for a fun, fantasy read, then you should try reading this book and see if you like it. I also recommend this book to anyone who is interested in or likes horror or suspense. However, don't let the cover fool you about the book. The book is different from that for most of the part. show less