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Summary
Summary
* "A natural fit for Stranger Things fans." - Booklist , starred review
From New York Times bestselling author Lauren DeStefano comes an atmospheric and spine-tingling story about four children who dream in tandem.
Tucked deep in the woods and surrounded by a great iron fence lies Brassmere Academy for the Extraordinary, a school for orphans with strange and wonderful gifts. Twelve-year-old Plum has lived there for as long as she can remember. Each night, she ventures into her dreams alongside her three best friends, Vien, Gwendle, and Artem to fight monsters and journey on dangerous quests.
But one night, Plum gets a mysterious warning that she and her friends are no longer safe. And the next morning, Artem is nowhere to be found.
As Plum, Vien, and Gwendle search for their friend--in both the dreaming and waking worlds--they start to uncover alarming secrets about Brassmere and its intentions. Will they be able to find Artem before it's too late, or will they be next to disappear?
Author Notes
Lauren Destefano won The Thornton Wilder Award for a short story entitled Orange Blood while in high school. She received a BA in English with a concentration in creative writing from Albertus Magnus College in Connecticut in 2007. She is the author of the Chemical Garden Trilogy.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-7-Plum has been dreaming in sync with her three best friends, Vien, Gwendle, and Artem since they were babies. The nightmares they confront together feature strange creatures and perilous quests-the children often die in these horrific dreams. The friends all live at Brassmere, a secluded academy for progenies with special gifts. When Artem goes missing, the kids begin a search, and disturbing secrets about Brassmere are revealed. Regrettably, the intended purpose for the children's gifts is never explained in the rapid dénouement. The children themselves are also sketched very simply. The short length and juvenile cover seem to suggest the book for younger readers, but given the dark nature of the material may make this a better fit for middle schoolers. VERDICT A gripping adventure with interesting leads that remain mostly unexplored in this succinct and spooky contemporary fantasy. Buy where Mary Downing Hahn's books and other scary titles circulate well.-Erin Reilly-Sanders, University of Wisconsin-Madison © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Twelve-year-old Plum and her friends Artem, Vien, and Gwendle have a special bond: they're able to dream in tandem, a strange skill that is right at home among those of their fellow orphans at Brassmere Academy for the Extraordinary. They've never gone beyond the high fence surrounding Brassmere, or past the gargoyles guarding it, but their dreams offer a different sort of escape. Keeping dream journals and having their blood drawn every third Wednesday is a small price to pay for the security of Brassmere and the care given by Dr. Abarrane, who rescued them as babies. During a particularly terrifying dream, though, Artem tells Plum, "They're coming for us. One by one, until they find the one they need." After Artem goes missing, the friends vow to find him and discover that Brassmere's true purpose may be a terrible secret. DeStefano explores the bonds of friendship through the lens of dreams and the freedom that imagination can offer, and her gothic-flavored story is by turns lovely and harrowing. Ages 8-12. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
At Brassmere Academy for the Extraordinary, every student possesses a special ability. Plum has a unique connection with three other students with whom she dreams in unison. Lately, there've been more monsters in their dreamworld--harder-to-kill ones at that--and when one of their collective goes missing, their safe, regulated life unravels. DeStefano's latest is a simple but satisfying entry point for fledgling supernatural readers. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Within an enchanted forest, there is a vast iron fence "adorned with spikes." Within that fence lies the Brassmere Academy for the Extraordinary. Within the school's walls, safe from the dangerous outside world, live four children who dream in unison.Plum, Artem, Vien, and Gwendle are best friends who share everythingeven their dreams. They've been at the school since they were babies, but there's a lot they don't know. Why were they chosen to attend the school? What do the men and women in pink suits who take blood samples and ask a lot of questions do with the information they collect? The four have always had control over their dreams, but lately, they've begun experiencing unnerving deviations; they aren't as fully in control as they thought. Then Artem disappears from the waking world and appears to Plum in a dream. "You have to leave Brassmere," he warns. Plum ventures outside the school's protection and soon learns that their lives are a lie and that the truth is the insidious stuff of nightmares. The third-person narration is firmly entrenched in Plum's perspective, but her friends are fully developed and not merely supports. There are a few minor plot holes, but readers will likely overlook them and focus on the action and mystery. The book assumes a white default.A quietly thrilling adventure. (Fantasy. 8-13) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* DeStefano's newest dark tale takes readers to Brassmere Academy for the Extraordinary, secretly located deep within the woods. Here 200 orphans with peculiar abilities reside and are carefully monitored by headmaster Dr. Abarrane and his team of pink-suited adults. While this scenario will strike readers as ominous, it is quite normal to Plum, Vien, Gwendle, and Artem four Brassmere students who lucidly dream in tandem. These dreams often house monsters that Plum and her friends must slay, but their nighttime exploits have grown stranger and more dangerous lately, and the Pink Suits' questions about the dreams more unusual. When Artem disappears after an incident at the school, he reaches out to Plum in her dreams, warning that, They're coming for us. Plum is baffled by his message but determined to find her missing friend, and in the process, discovers truths about Brassmere that sting with betrayal. DeStefano adeptly conjures a foreboding atmosphere throughout this slim novel, which will grip readers from prologue to epilogue. The writing is evocative and concise, and the story satisfyingly contained. Many novels showcase the supernatural elements their stories hold, and while these are integral to Plum's narrative, it is the friendship shared by the four dreamers that takes center stage. A natural fit for Stranger Things fans, this eerie novel is a gem.--Smith, Julia Copyright 2018 Booklist