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Thursday, September 8, 2011

MMGW - Throwback Thursday Edition #2: Into the Dream

Author: William Sleator
First Published in 1979 by Scholastic

Paul has a recurring nightmare, about a small boy in awful danger. When he learns that his classmate Francine has it, too, the two of them join forces to solve the mystery and save the boy—before their bad dream becomes a terrifying reality.

When we decided to do a Middle Grade Week, I knew immediately, that I was going to re-read and review Into The Dream. It has always been a long time favorite of mine from when I was younger. I even still have my original copy. It has this cover: and it is dog-eared and worn from frequent reading. I'm not sure what it is about this one that has always stuck with me. After reading it as an adult, I still love it!

The author throws you right into the story and it doesn't slow down until the end. Every night, Paul has started to have the same weird dream that haunts him during the day. He then finds out his classmate, Francine, is having them as well. The two form an uneasy friendship as they search for answers to explain their shared dream. They also find out that they can read each other's minds. I don't want to give away too much of the plot as I think it would spoil it for you.

As I was reading, I kept wondering how different this would story would have been had it been written now. With the change in technology, the kids would have been able to do their research much faster. Instead, they have to rely on the library archives. Remember when there was no Internet? Since I read my older copy, I don't know if the author has updated the later versions. I hope not, I think it would change the story too much.

I look forward to sharing this with my kids when they are middle school age. I found nothing that wasn't appropriate for the middle grade level. Share it with your kids. I hope they love it as well!

--Kari

1 comment:

DMS said...

I need to read this book- it sounds like something I would love. I cannot believe I didn't read it when I was growing up. Just the idea of the story gives me goose bumps!