REVIEW: Dream Boy by: Mary Crockett and Madelyn Rosenberg

Title: Dream Boy

Authors: Mary Crockett and Madelyn Rosenberg

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Release Date: July 03, 2014

Synopsis:

When Dreams Start Coming True...

It was all just brain waves, I thought-disconnected, like the notebook my friend Talon keeps. She draws a line down the middle; on the right side she writes everything she remembers about a dream, and on the left notes about what's happening in real life. Reality on one side, dreams on the other, a clear line between the two.

But it turns out there are no clear lines-just a jumble of what is and might be. And all of it is real.

How Do You Know What's Real?

Annabelle's dreams have started coming to life. Which is great when you're dreaming about a gorgeous guy whose purpose in life is to win the Best Boyfriend Ever Award. And then dream boy walks into your  science class. Talk about the perfect date for homecoming. But not all of Annabelle's dreams are so...friendly. And when the dream stops, the nightmare begins...  

Review:

Normally there is a method to how I choose a book to read. The book cover has to be interesting and appealing, the synopsis has to catch my attention and have me wanting to know more, and I do have a tendency at times, but not always, to follow all the book rage. With Dream Boy I'm ashamed to say that only one of those played a role in my decision to read this book. I was really aggravated with my online library because I've been on the waiting list for months for a few books that I'm dying to read and I looked and looked but everything interesting seemed to be checked out at the time. So needing to read something I decided to read the book with the prettiest cover. I'm not ashamed to say that I'm glad that Dream Boy was the book I picked. It was a good read that I was unable to put down.

Crockett and Rosenberg managed to make all of the characters seem so real. They gave them such dimension that if it wasn't for the paranormal factor in the story I would have thought that I was reading about a real teenagers life. Every teenage girl has at one time or another dreamed about the perfect boyfriend. I found it refreshing to read a YA paranormal book that was about dreams and nightmares. I'm sure there are many other YA books out there that are about dreams and stuff, but for me personally this was the first book I've read about them. I found it as something I could easily get into reading. The story progression was very smooth, and kept me on the edge of my seat.

Annabelle Manning is the main character and the story is told through her perspective. Will Connor has been Annabelle's best friend since they were both in preschool. Will seems to me to be the ideal best guy friend for any girl. He is funny, smart, loyal,wears shirts that while corny and cheesy are still awesome, and I loved the fact that he was protective of the girls. There are times in every teenage girls' life when you just can't tell your guy friends things, and Annabelle is dealing with a situation like that. She's been having dreams about the perfect guy. All the sudden he shows up at her school in her science class. After going through some extreme measures to make sure he is real and didn't imagine him, she tells her other best friends Serena Mendez and Talon Fischer. Serena thinks it is all a coincidence and Talon thinks he is an alien.  
Martin Zirkle is Annabelle's dream guy. I know that name is a mouth full but I find it very unique. I loved the fact that the authors chose a different personality type for him than what we're always reading about in alot of today's books. Martin is very sweet, charming and polite when it comes to Annabelle, not at all the bad boy type. I enjoyed the fact that he was nice. Although for me personally I found him very generic when it came to looks, blonde hair, blue eyes and looks like he stepped off the cover of a magazine. I would have found him more appealing if he was described as having dark hair, dark eyes, and rugged, but what's good for the goose isn't always good for the gander. (That was slightly cheesy but I like it so I'll keep it in here)

Things seem to be going really good for Annabelle, she's happy, has the perfect guy and a date for homecoming, but you know how it is when things start working out great, It all goes to crap again. If dreams really can come true then nightmares can too. When it came to the nightmare part, I'm pretty sure I was white knuckling my tablet I was gripping it so hard. It was definitely well written and could have easily have been one of my own nightmares. 

All in all I gave it a 4 star rating on my Goodreads account, but only because the ending left me asking: What happens next? If not for that factor I would have easily of given it a 5 star rating. I think this book would be loved by any person from the age 12-13 to adult. I urge any adult who is thinking about reading it to just go ahead and read it and give it a chance. I don't think you will be disappointed.

I thought this was cute. Mary doing her happy dance with a copy of her book.

(c) 2015 Andrea Hatfield All Rights Reserved