#Review - Neverwake by Amy Plum #YALit #Horror

Series: Dreamfall # 2
Format: Hardcover, 304 pages
Release Date: August 7, 2018
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Library
Genre: Young Adult / Thrillers & Suspense

Nightmare on Elm Street meets Scream in this thrilling and chilling sequel to Dreamfall—which Madeleine Roux, New York Times bestselling author of the Asylum series, called “remarkable, riveting, disorienting, and dark.”

For most people, nightmares always come to an end. But for Cata, Ant, and the others, there may be no escape from theirs. After an experimental treatment meant to cure their insomnia went horribly wrong, the teens were dragged into a shared dreamworld where their most terrifying fears became reality.

The six of them have no way of waking up. And they’re beginning to realize that if they die here, they might actually die in the real world. One of the dreamers is already gone, and anyone could be next. The only thing they know for certain is that they have to work together to survive. But as they learn the truth about one another’s pasts, they soon discover they are trapped with something far worse than their nightmares….

Perfect for fans of Madeleine Roux, Danielle Vega, and Kendare Blake, Neverwake is the final book in this spine-tingling duology full of action, suspense, and horror—and it is sure to keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very last page.

 

"In their dreams, nobody can hear them scream"

Neverwake is the second and final installment in author Amy Plum's Dreamfall duology. The series was partly inspired by the 90s film Flatliners, which was remade into a September 2017 movie. Neverwake picks up right where Dreamfall left off. In case you haven't yet read this series, I'll briefly summarize for you. In the beginning, there were 7 teenagers who agreed to become patients in a sleep research study. The teens include Cata, Fergus, Ant, Remi, Sinclair, Beth Ann and a 7th which we find out the identity of in this installment. 

Each of the participants suffer from a litany of diagnosis from PTSD, to Narcolepsy, to surviving the brutal murder of ones family. Things went wrong almost immediately from the start of this series. The teens now find themselves in a nightmare on Elm Street type dreamscape where each of their dreams come to life and there's not a single good thing to say about dreams coming to life and attempting to kill you. Things have progressively gotten worse as the story has progressed.

Neverwake is told from three alternating POV's: two teens in the experiment (Cata and Ant) & Jaime, a mixed race 20 year old who is observing the test from the outside world. Jamie (gender unknown) is a Yale premed student who signed on to take notes and witness what was supposed to be a scientific break through, but has since become a horror show, may be their only hope of surviving. The author skillfully creates (and distinguishes) the voices of the novel’s diverse cast.

Dreamfall is a horror series made all the more scary because so much of it is grounded in reality. Amy Plum researched the various sleep disorders and the science behind them, and she consulted with medical professionals. Although the Dreamfall series is scary, Amy has worked in the perfect amount of romantic tension to add some levity to the story. After all, when you have seven teens in a life-or-death situation, there’s bound to be some chemistry.

I have to say that my favorite character has to be Ant. Ant is something of a phenom who we learn a great deal about thanks to her being a major player in this story. We learn about her past, and why she always wears a hat, gloves, notebook and pen and why she relied on a character named George to make decisions for her. Her behavior makes perfect since once Plum reveals a particular personality trait. I also loved her connection to Cata and Fergus. It is Ant who figures out a key parts of this story as well. Just call her a genius, yeah?

I won't spoil who the villain of this story is. It's pretty much been spoiled by more than a few viewers, including some I follow. I will say that the reader was previously given a warning that one of the teens is a killer, and that the survivors have to not only watch their backs from the nightmares they are forced to live, but one of their own as well. I kind of felt sorry for both Cata as well as Fergus. They pretty much had the worst sort of parental units, but each found a way to escape in their own ways.

Recommended: Yes, absolutely 

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Tuesday #Review - Dreamfall by Amy Plum #YALit #Horror @AmyPlumOhLaLa ‏@harperteen

Series: Dreamfall # 1
Format: E-Galley, 288 pages
Release Date: May 2, 2017
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Edelweiss
Genre: YA / Thrillers & Suspense

Nightmare on Elm Street meets The Matrix in this gripping, psychological thriller from internationally bestselling author Amy Plum. When an experiment to cure a group of teens’ insomnia goes awry, they find themselves trapped in a dangerous dreamscape created from their nightmares.

Cata Cordova suffers from such debilitating insomnia that she agreed to take part in an experimental new procedure. She thought things couldn’t get any worse...but she was terribly wrong.

Soon after the experiment begins, there’s a malfunction with the lab equipment, and Cata and six other teen patients are plunged into a shared dreamworld with no memory of how they got there. Even worse, they come to the chilling realization that they are trapped in a place where their worst nightmares have come to life. Hunted by creatures from their darkest imaginations and tormented by secrets they’d rather keep buried, Cata and the others will be forced to band together to face their biggest fears. And if they can’t find a way to defeat their dreams, they will never wake up.

Perfect for fans of Madeleine Roux, Danielle Vega, and Kendare Blake, Dreamfall is the first book in a spine-tingling duology full of action, suspense, and horror—and it is sure to keep readers on the edge of their seat until the very last page.

Amy Plum, author of the Revenants trilogy, returns with a Nightmare on Elm Street inspired horror duology called Dreamfall. Dreamfall has a rather large cast of characters. It features teens like Catalina (Cata) Cordova, Fergus, Sinclair, Remi, and Ant who all suffer from sleeping disorders that affect their every day way of life. During the experiment, an earthquake interrupts the experiment, sending the teens into what the doctors believe is a coma. The teens actually find themselves thrust into a group dream, where they are forced to battle their way through their nightmare after nightmare in order to survive.

There is another character named Jaime. Jaime is a Pre-Med student from Yale who is given the opportunity to sit on a revolutionary trial that may lead to curing sleep disorders. Jamie is the character who introduces readers to each of the teens who are participating in the experiment. Jaime's perspective is also the one that gives readers the opportunity to see what is going on in the real world while the teens find themselves in what is being called Dreamfall. 

Yes, unfortunately, this story does end on a cliffhanger. But, the good thing is that this series is ONLY a duology which means that book 2 (Neverwake) will hopefully wrap up things and there will actually be survivors. Can imagine that the author would intentionally kill off an entire cast, but stranger things have happened. Dreamfall is one of those stories where you really hope that book # 2 comes out sooner, rather than later so things remain fresh in your memory. I have thought about this since I finished reading the book. I have labeled Jaime, Cata, and Fergus as the main characters of this story, with Sinclair as the one I don't quite feel good about. Ant, as the youngest, is by far the most intriguing character in the story.  

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