Trending Thursday went on hiatus for a bit, but it's back this week. As part of JASOP (Jen's Awesome Summer Organization Plan) I was sorting some ARCs and came across this one:
Vault of Dreamers
by Caragh O'Brien
At first I decided to do a Trending Thursday about eyeball covers, because there are a lot of them and they really creep me out. (And I now have a list of YA eyeball covers, so that could still happen...) But then I decided to change course and do a post on YA books that feature dreams and/or nightmares.
Dream and nightmare books have been a pretty steady trend, with one or two showing up consistently every year. I feel like these kinds of books come with possible pitfalls. Sleeping isn't inherently very active and, as a result, isn't the most exciting thing to read about. And even if scary things happen in a character's dreams, you know that it's not real, so that automatically cuts the tension. (Though I did love Inception.)
Below are the dream and nightmare books I could think of. Some of them I've read and some I've not.
The Jason Segel book was originally announced as YA, but it looks like it's now a middle grade book. And this touches on another YA trend: celebrity-written books. While I'm sure there are famous people out there who are able to write publishable fiction in their spare time, according to the New York Times, that's the exception rather than the rule. So kudos to Jason Segel for a) being upfront about the fact that he's doing the book in conjunction with an experienced writer and b) crediting that person, who happens to be none other than the awesome Kirsten Miller, author of both YA books (The Eternal Ones and How To Lead a Life of Crime) and middle grade books (the Kiki Strike series.) I look forward to seeing what they come up with!
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How do you feel about dream/nightmare books and can you think of any to add to my list?
I adore the Nevermore series! Adore it! Can not wait till the last one.
ReplyDeleteThat's good to know - I read the first book and really liked it, but haven't read the second one yet. I will try to get to it this summer :)
DeleteI loved Wake and Nevermore! Those are so great, but I've heard the the others, too!
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy The Vault of Dreamers!
Great post!
Lis @ The reader lines
The Nightmares! book looks really cool! I think it's also interesting to note that all those covers have some sort of dark blue/purple color going on.
ReplyDeleteI'm wary of these celebrity writers because we all know that they mostly have a ghostwriter writing for them. I like Jason Segel though and now my respect for him grew tenfolds because he was honest with everyone that he is in conjunction with someone.
ReplyDeleteI don't I've read any of the books you've featured too, going to check them out :)
Read the first three books you've featured, but they were just okay reads for me.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
Hmm. The only ones I've liked (some haven't read though) are McManns from the featured. But the dream world can be so hit or miss I usually want to try
ReplyDeleteI'm really excited to read Vault of Dreamers; I dig that Jason Segal is neither straight up using a ghost writer nor using his name value to push a terribly written book; Eyebooks... that's a thing that should happen.
ReplyDeleteDreams and nightmares is definitely a topic that captures my attention because I have such vivid ones, so I find them really interesting. I look forward to reading Vault of Dreamers as well. Great topic Jen!
ReplyDeleteJeann @ Happy Indulgence
I've heard great things about Nevermore and have it in my wish list. I've read and loved the Nightmare Affair and the Nightmare Dilemma, and there the dreaming aspect is very well balance with enough awake action!
ReplyDeleteHuh, I didn't realize the Jason Segal book was written with the author or How to Live a Life of Crime! And honestly, it doesn't surprise me to hear it went from YA to MG. That's a bit worrisome, but...we'll see.
ReplyDeleteWendy @ The Midnight Garden
Man, if all dream/nightmare books were written in the vein of Inception, I'd be on board. But since they're not, and your absolutely right about the lack of tension because of that, I'm not usually very impressed by them. From your list, I've only read The Nightmare Affair and I felt it was written for a younger audience, as well. I do plan to read Nevermore and The Vault of Dreamers soon, though. Maybe they'll change my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI have seen a definite trend with dreams and nightmares. Two other books I thought of were John Dreamer (I didn't like) and Insomnia (I did like).
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