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mehsi's review against another edition
4.0
I loved the cover, super scary, but also because I loved the reference. I have seen many Japanese horror movies, and also enough scary girls like this. :)
Now to the book, I really liked the concept of American girl going to Japan with her teacher dad. I liked how real it seemed, I know how Japan is against outsiders/foreigners so I am glad that was also mentioned enough times.
The horror was wonderful, the cats and things happening really gave me a scare and I had a few nights of sleeping less because I dreamt of cats with eyes like a human. :\
I like the conclusion to the story, and the potential it gave for the other stories. On the other hand, I kinda dislike it too, because I felt it was too surreal and too far fetched.
Now to the book, I really liked the concept of American girl going to Japan with her teacher dad. I liked how real it seemed, I know how Japan is against outsiders/foreigners so I am glad that was also mentioned enough times.
The horror was wonderful, the cats and things happening really gave me a scare and I had a few nights of sleeping less because I dreamt of cats with eyes like a human. :\
I like the conclusion to the story, and the potential it gave for the other stories. On the other hand, I kinda dislike it too, because I felt it was too surreal and too far fetched.
stephxsu's review against another edition
3.0
DREAMS OF THE DEAD is a well-written novel that combines the fascinating ways of Japanese life with your typical horror story. It may satisfy young horror fans’ appetite for creepiness, but others may find it difficult to stay engaged with the slow-moving plot.
Perhaps most brilliant about this book are its endless depictions of Japanese customs. Either the author has done his research well, or he has actually lived in Japan before, because we truly get to experience Kara’s discomforts, difficulties, and simultaneous fascination with Japan. The author makes us always aware of the language his characters are speaking even though everything is written in English, and reading DREAMS OF THE DEAD was like effortlessly taking a semester abroad in Japan.
The slow plot often hinders the horror component of this book. Much remains a mystery as Kara experiences her nightmares and is forced to observe her classmates’ deaths, and while this was suspenseful at first, it quickly grew too prolonged to hold my attention. Honestly, not enough interesting and horrifying things happen to justify the number of pages it takes to get to the sadly rushed ending.
That being said, there aren’t that many straightforward, classic horror stories anymore, and so DREAMS OF THE DEAD fills a welcome deficient spot in the YA genre. Pick this up to experience a slightly creepy story in a fascinating foreign world; it’ll make you want to move to Japan yourself—though not for the horror part.
Perhaps most brilliant about this book are its endless depictions of Japanese customs. Either the author has done his research well, or he has actually lived in Japan before, because we truly get to experience Kara’s discomforts, difficulties, and simultaneous fascination with Japan. The author makes us always aware of the language his characters are speaking even though everything is written in English, and reading DREAMS OF THE DEAD was like effortlessly taking a semester abroad in Japan.
The slow plot often hinders the horror component of this book. Much remains a mystery as Kara experiences her nightmares and is forced to observe her classmates’ deaths, and while this was suspenseful at first, it quickly grew too prolonged to hold my attention. Honestly, not enough interesting and horrifying things happen to justify the number of pages it takes to get to the sadly rushed ending.
That being said, there aren’t that many straightforward, classic horror stories anymore, and so DREAMS OF THE DEAD fills a welcome deficient spot in the YA genre. Pick this up to experience a slightly creepy story in a fascinating foreign world; it’ll make you want to move to Japan yourself—though not for the horror part.
michellewords's review against another edition
5.0
Dude, I have been in a really big reading slump. I picked up a lot of books because they were things I "should" be reading--book club books, self-help books, books my daughter wanted me to read.
A few weeks ago my brother-in-law said, "Sounds like you should read a book you want to."
Christopher Golden is my go-to comfort author. I love his writing style, the subtle creep factors, and the characters he creates. I've been craving that Golden for a long time. The last few Golden books I picked up were not what I needed/was looking for. I picked up this series off Amazon for like $4 or something for the e-book. It's only $4, so if it sucks it's fine.
That $4 may be the best $4 spent on books in the last five years. Dreams of the Dead is such a bright spot in my reading. (Man, that sounds messed up to say out loud. LOL).
It's a young adult book about a girl that moves to Japan with her teacher dad. The city they live in had a brutal murder recently of a teenager over a boy. The girl (Kara), starts to have these really scary dreams and kids around her begin to die at the school with some weird circumstances.
Dreams of the Dead is such a rad story with the theme of grief and loss lightly threaded through the story.
Reading this book was like coming home to the Golden of my own teens. The Golden behind the Body of Evidence series, Prowlers, and so many others I love. Blast I loved this book. It was definitely what I needed.
It's not for everyone and it isn't perfect, but sometimes the right book just hits me different.
A few weeks ago my brother-in-law said, "Sounds like you should read a book you want to."
Christopher Golden is my go-to comfort author. I love his writing style, the subtle creep factors, and the characters he creates. I've been craving that Golden for a long time. The last few Golden books I picked up were not what I needed/was looking for. I picked up this series off Amazon for like $4 or something for the e-book. It's only $4, so if it sucks it's fine.
That $4 may be the best $4 spent on books in the last five years. Dreams of the Dead is such a bright spot in my reading. (Man, that sounds messed up to say out loud. LOL).
It's a young adult book about a girl that moves to Japan with her teacher dad. The city they live in had a brutal murder recently of a teenager over a boy. The girl (Kara), starts to have these really scary dreams and kids around her begin to die at the school with some weird circumstances.
Dreams of the Dead is such a rad story with the theme of grief and loss lightly threaded through the story.
Reading this book was like coming home to the Golden of my own teens. The Golden behind the Body of Evidence series, Prowlers, and so many others I love. Blast I loved this book. It was definitely what I needed.
It's not for everyone and it isn't perfect, but sometimes the right book just hits me different.
kaitrosereads's review against another edition
3.0
I have to start out by saying that I was really disappointed by this book. I really expected to like it and at first I did but as the book went on I really lost interest and almost couldn't even finish it. It took me forever to get through it just because I didn't want to read it.
Dreams of the Dead started off with a bang. Everything really started on the very first page and there wasn't much background. Once Kate was introduced I felt like I was just thrown straight into her life. Once again, there wasn't really any background about her life before she moved to Japan and I really wanted to know more. I think it might have made it easier for me to relate to her but as it was, I couldn't find much that really connected me to her character. I actually didn't feel like I really knew any of the characters and it made me dislike the book.
The only thing I found interesting in Dreams of the Dead was all the Japanese history. I didn't know anything about Japan before reading this but I did learn a bit. It all tied into the story with the murder of Akane and all the crazy things that were happening at the school.
Overall, I hate to say it, but I didn't like Dreams of the Dead. It is the first in a trilogy and maybe things will be explained in the next two books but I probably won't be reading them. I really recommend checking this one out from your library if it interests you.
Dreams of the Dead started off with a bang. Everything really started on the very first page and there wasn't much background. Once Kate was introduced I felt like I was just thrown straight into her life. Once again, there wasn't really any background about her life before she moved to Japan and I really wanted to know more. I think it might have made it easier for me to relate to her but as it was, I couldn't find much that really connected me to her character. I actually didn't feel like I really knew any of the characters and it made me dislike the book.
The only thing I found interesting in Dreams of the Dead was all the Japanese history. I didn't know anything about Japan before reading this but I did learn a bit. It all tied into the story with the murder of Akane and all the crazy things that were happening at the school.
Overall, I hate to say it, but I didn't like Dreams of the Dead. It is the first in a trilogy and maybe things will be explained in the next two books but I probably won't be reading them. I really recommend checking this one out from your library if it interests you.
kitsunebi_reads's review against another edition
4.0
Fun read. Not too scary. I love books set in Japan and I love the incorporation of Japanese mythology. Kara is an American or gaijin who following her mother's death moves with her father to Japan following his acceptance of a teaching position. Upon starting at the school Kara comes across the make shift shrine for a student who had recently died. It is at this shrine that the weirdness began. I really had hoped that the author would incorporate more of the Japanese language into the story, but unfortunately even when they are speaking Japanese it is all strictly in English.
kateh3077's review
5.0
First of all I'd like to thank Missy - bingereader on you tube for recommending this book on one of her review videos. I am so glad that I purchased it and read it because it's a fantastic story and an amazing start to what I am sure will be an grate trilogy.
This first book in the trilogy follows an American girl, named Kara and her father who's a teacher through their first few months in Japan. Where they have moved to for a year for her father to teach following her mothers death.
The cover art is hauntingly evocative, and, Thomas's writing style and world building skills are fascinating and captivating so leave you wanting more every time you picked it up. This is why I have given the book a five star rating.
Through the author's writing I could feel Kara and all the other kids at the schools fear when all the murders and nightmares were happening, to the point where I actually felt like I was in the story as well. It also made me feel a strong connection with Karra when she was so determined to find out what why it was all happening even though she was scared to death because if I was in a situation like that I would teat like that to.
All in all I loved this book and can't wait to read the other two, in fact I intend to read the second book Spirits of the Noh by the end of this month.
This first book in the trilogy follows an American girl, named Kara and her father who's a teacher through their first few months in Japan. Where they have moved to for a year for her father to teach following her mothers death.
The cover art is hauntingly evocative, and, Thomas's writing style and world building skills are fascinating and captivating so leave you wanting more every time you picked it up. This is why I have given the book a five star rating.
Through the author's writing I could feel Kara and all the other kids at the schools fear when all the murders and nightmares were happening, to the point where I actually felt like I was in the story as well. It also made me feel a strong connection with Karra when she was so determined to find out what why it was all happening even though she was scared to death because if I was in a situation like that I would teat like that to.
All in all I loved this book and can't wait to read the other two, in fact I intend to read the second book Spirits of the Noh by the end of this month.
liralen's review against another edition
3.0
A mystery set at a boarding school is not unusual, but I liked what Randall did with this story. Dreams of the Dead is heavy on Japanese mythology, so although there are the standard themes that you might get from American-goes-abroad (fitting in, mean girls, etc.), those aren't so much the point. Kara's not actually at boarding school, having gone to Japan with her father (a longstanding dream of theirs, although there's not really any explanation of how this dream came to be), but she's still subject to a large degree of culture shock and the like.
I could have used a little more tension in terms of the horror, I think. There was a significant amount of death, but not death of significant characters. (On the other hand, I started reading this not long before bed, and when I got to the second death I thought welp, nope, lemme go find something a little less death-y...)
Anyway. Glad I finally figured out that the listed author is Thomas Randall, not Christopher Golden. Would have read this much sooner if I'd realised the library had it.
I could have used a little more tension in terms of the horror, I think. There was a significant amount of death, but not death of significant characters. (On the other hand, I started reading this not long before bed, and when I got to the second death I thought welp, nope, lemme go find something a little less death-y...)
Anyway. Glad I finally figured out that the listed author is Thomas Randall, not Christopher Golden. Would have read this much sooner if I'd realised the library had it.
asylumteaparty's review against another edition
4.0
Reading this book was like reading a japanese horror movie. The book had that same feeling of something lurking just outside of your peripheral vision but at the same time the story had that muted feel. The story wasn't over-excagerated and I liked the main character. Kara and her father has just moved to Japan and she starts a new school. She finds it hard to be the only foreign student at her school, but she makes friends with a few of the people there. What I really liked about this book was how normal Karas reactions was. When she found out that her new friends might know more about what was going on, but that they didn't want to tell her about this, since they didn't know her that well yet. Kara just accepted this. She didn't put up a fight or demand to be told, she just saw things as they were. The only issue I had with this book was that I had trouble finding some parts of it creepy because I like cats to much and can't look at them like anything but cuddly softies.
theawkwardbookw's review against another edition
3.0
Want to see more bookish things from me? Check out my Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCferU-BCL2dlFjWdD0rS75Q/videos
Kara and her father move to Japan after the death of her mother in a car accident. Being the only American student at her school, many of the student want nothing to do with her, until she meets two girls, Miho and Sakura. When Kara arrives at her new school, she quickly discovers the students are grieving the murder of their fellow classmate, Akane, Sakura's sister. Plagued with nightmares, Kara and her fellow classmates begin to fear for their lives as more and more students turn up dead.
I felt that the plot was too slow-pace for me and I often found my self bored with the story. I found the Japanese culture interesting to learn about but other than that the story didn't hold my attention for very long periods. The book is meant to be a horror novel but I wasn't getting the vibes I wanted from it.
Kara and her father move to Japan after the death of her mother in a car accident. Being the only American student at her school, many of the student want nothing to do with her, until she meets two girls, Miho and Sakura. When Kara arrives at her new school, she quickly discovers the students are grieving the murder of their fellow classmate, Akane, Sakura's sister. Plagued with nightmares, Kara and her fellow classmates begin to fear for their lives as more and more students turn up dead.
I felt that the plot was too slow-pace for me and I often found my self bored with the story. I found the Japanese culture interesting to learn about but other than that the story didn't hold my attention for very long periods. The book is meant to be a horror novel but I wasn't getting the vibes I wanted from it.
sunbear98's review against another edition
4.0
I think students that like Manga will enjoy this title. An American girl travels with her father, a teacher, to Japan to live. she attends a boarding school, though she lives at home with her father. One of the students' sister was found dead before Kara arrived. There is mystery around how she died.