Dream On

"I missed night."

--Caragh O'Brien, The Vault of Dreamers

Genre: YA Dystopia

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

Pages: 432

Publication Date: September 16th, 2014

Source: ARC provided via publisher in exchange for an honest review

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Previous Books in Series: First in the series

Goodreads Description

From the author of the Birthmarked trilogy comes a fast-paced, psychologically thrilling novel about what happens when your dreams are not your own.

The Forge School is the most prestigious arts school in the country. The secret to its success: every moment of the students' lives is televised as part of the insanely popular Forge Show, and the students' schedule includes twelve hours of induced sleep meant to enhance creativity. But when first year student Rosie Sinclair skips her sleeping pill, she discovers there is something off about Forge. In fact, she suspects that there are sinister things going on deep below the reaches of the cameras in the school. What's worse is, she starts to notice that the edges of her consciousness do not feel quite right. And soon, she unearths the ghastly secret that the Forge School is hiding—and what it truly means to dream there.

Rosie 

I loved this girl. She is fierce in a way that isn't obvious in that she does what she believes is right. She is resolute in her belief that something is amiss at the Forge School and will not back down in her convictions to find out what is it. She is an understated girl just trying to survive in this popularity based system of rank. Her growth from wallflower to pursuer of truth was really great to see.

The Premise 

Ok y'all. This is not a horror genre book by any means but holy hell did this book scare the shit out of me. The idea that while you're awake cameras are ALWAYS on you and then to think you're not even safe while you sleep is terrifying. I was literally getting the chills from the thought of being in a situation like this.

The Arc 

The ending is a shocker in that it's a little ambiguous EXACTLY what is going on and how we got here but I love the fact that the story can go in so many different directions. The possibilities of where this story could go are endless. I feel like a lot of series that the reader will have a basic idea of the story arc and what needs resolution and what will happen and with this...fuggedaboutit. I have zero idea what can happen and Caragh O'Brien is a master of taking stories to places you never see coming. *coughREADTHEBIRTHMARKEDSERIEScough*

The Social Experiment 

Caragh's take on reality television and the level it could evolve to was also a little scary. The Big Brother type idea of this school felt both realistic and a little scary. The scientific aspect that goes along with it *No spoilers* fit perfectly with the plot. I really liked how both aspects ended up we

The Relationships 

I know for a fact that Caragh can write one HELL of a romance so it was a little bit of a surprise that I didn't feel a huge connection to the small romance we have. This is due in large part to my expectations and we still have two more books to go but I really wanted a love story involved because Caragh created one of my favorite romances and book boyfriends of all time so I'm really eager to see if something more happens.

General Admission

I loved the idea of this story and I really liked the main character but I wish I had a little more connection to our other characters. I love the take on the reality TV and how this aspect of our society could be evolved.