Review: The Dreamers

Title: The Dreamers

Author: Karen Thompson Walker

Release Date: January 15, 2019

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Find it here: Goodreads – Amazon – B&N – Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads: In an isolated college town in the hills of Southern California, a freshman girl stumbles into her dorm room, falls asleep—and doesn’t wake up. She sleeps through the morning, into the evening. Her roommate, Mei, cannot rouse her. Neither can the paramedics who carry her away, nor the perplexed doctors at the hospital. Then a second girl falls asleep, and then another, and panic takes hold of the college and spreads to the town. As the number of cases multiplies, classes are canceled, and stores begin to run out of supplies. A quarantine is established. The National Guard is summoned. Mei, an outsider in the cliquish hierarchy of dorm life, finds herself thrust together with an eccentric, idealistic classmate. Two visiting professors try to protect their newborn baby as the once-quiet streets descend into chaos. A father succumbs to the illness, leaving his daughters to fend for themselves. And at the hospital, a new life grows within a college girl, unbeknownst to her—even as she sleeps. A psychiatrist, summoned from Los Angeles, attempts to make sense of the illness as it spreads through the town. Those infected are displaying unusual levels of brain activity, more than has ever been recorded. They are dreaming heightened dreams—but of what?

My Review: While I loved the way the story was written, I didn’t really connect to any of the characters because the narrative jumped around a lot and for me that left a bit of a disconnect. That being said, it is still a great story that will draw in a lot of readers and keep them reading. The characters that Walker created each have a unique personality and part of the epidemic to highlight. I felt the book did a great job of bringing the reality of the epidemic to light and showing what would really happen in a case like this. It all felt very realistic. I just wish there had been a couple less characters so we could really connect with them better.

*I received this book from Random House in exchange for an honest review*

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