Scan barcode
ksophialydia's review against another edition
2.0
The "ending" ruined this book for me. I was going to give it a solid four stars but then I got to the 90% point and the ending was impossible to imagine and with each percentage closer to 100% the star rating dropped lower.
The writing is fantastic! The over all feel of the book is similar to Lauren Oliver's Vanishing Girls, but much darker. Jaye is fantastically unreliable, and the reader is right there with her trying to puzzle out what's a hallucination and what isn't. I had trouble putting the book down, the tension ran through the entire novel and I needed to know what the resolution would be.
Unfortunately, there is no resolution. This is an open-ended book. Normally I'm okay with such endings because they can drive you up a wall in a good way. But used here I'm left cold and upset. It feels like a copout.
I thought for sure that Jaye was going to walk onto the lake and fall through the ice and drown. With all the allusions to Romeo and Juliet (and Paris) as the book neared its end it's what I was expecting a bit. But on the flip side of that coin was Jaye's plea to Shakespeare at the end to re-write the story, to have a happy ending. So being rescued, having a second chance, -is- the happy ending she's asking for.
And that, I could live with. Jaye promises she'll do better, but she's so highly unreliable that if she's still alive and lucid at the end of the book we can't he sure she really will try to do better. If she's alive and lucid and doesn't change, then I'm angry on behalf of all the real life screw-ups who are given chance after chance at turning a new leaf but always fall back to old ways. There comes a time when it's abusive to the people trying to help them who only get their good will thrown back in their faces.
If Jaye is alive but hallucinating at the end, then the whole thing simply continues off-screen and I'm sorry but I stop caring about the crazy girl who hurts everyone around her, just as much as I stop caring about the people who let her hurt them because their love for her isn't strong enough to get her the mental health aid she clearly needs.
And if Jaye has died at the end, then it's an ending like The Giver and it's just plain unsatisfactory.
Many books centered around mental health and abuse include PSA notes at the end of their books, and I have to admit surprise one was not included in the book. Whether it was because it'd ruin readers' initial reaction to the book upon completion or because it wasn't deemed necessary, I have no idea. But this is one of the most compelling and well-written books about mental health I've read and I was expecting such a note.
On a completely different note, I continue to wish that authors would look beyond the usual titles of Shakespeare's canon. Yes, there was a letter-tearing scene that mirrored The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Yes, you could try to show Jaye's relationship with her father has similarities to Miranda and Prospero. Yes, there were shades of Othello in Pierce. But the actual references of Shakespearean characters in Dreamers Often Lie was largely confined to Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, with a dash of Macabeth and Shakespeare himself. It's a bit nit-picky but I would love to get more variety.
The writing is fantastic! The over all feel of the book is similar to Lauren Oliver's Vanishing Girls, but much darker. Jaye is fantastically unreliable, and the reader is right there with her trying to puzzle out what's a hallucination and what isn't. I had trouble putting the book down, the tension ran through the entire novel and I needed to know what the resolution would be.
Unfortunately, there is no resolution. This is an open-ended book. Normally I'm okay with such endings because they can drive you up a wall in a good way. But used here I'm left cold and upset. It feels like a copout.
I thought for sure that Jaye was going to walk onto the lake and fall through the ice and drown. With all the allusions to Romeo and Juliet (and Paris) as the book neared its end it's what I was expecting a bit. But on the flip side of that coin was Jaye's plea to Shakespeare at the end to re-write the story, to have a happy ending. So being rescued, having a second chance, -is- the happy ending she's asking for.
And that, I could live with. Jaye promises she'll do better, but she's so highly unreliable that if she's still alive and lucid at the end of the book we can't he sure she really will try to do better. If she's alive and lucid and doesn't change, then I'm angry on behalf of all the real life screw-ups who are given chance after chance at turning a new leaf but always fall back to old ways. There comes a time when it's abusive to the people trying to help them who only get their good will thrown back in their faces.
If Jaye is alive but hallucinating at the end, then the whole thing simply continues off-screen and I'm sorry but I stop caring about the crazy girl who hurts everyone around her, just as much as I stop caring about the people who let her hurt them because their love for her isn't strong enough to get her the mental health aid she clearly needs.
And if Jaye has died at the end, then it's an ending like The Giver and it's just plain unsatisfactory.
Many books centered around mental health and abuse include PSA notes at the end of their books, and I have to admit surprise one was not included in the book. Whether it was because it'd ruin readers' initial reaction to the book upon completion or because it wasn't deemed necessary, I have no idea. But this is one of the most compelling and well-written books about mental health I've read and I was expecting such a note.
On a completely different note, I continue to wish that authors would look beyond the usual titles of Shakespeare's canon. Yes, there was a letter-tearing scene that mirrored The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Yes, you could try to show Jaye's relationship with her father has similarities to Miranda and Prospero. Yes, there were shades of Othello in Pierce. But the actual references of Shakespearean characters in Dreamers Often Lie was largely confined to Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, with a dash of Macabeth and Shakespeare himself. It's a bit nit-picky but I would love to get more variety.
brookey8888's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I bought this at a library sale so I honestly didn’t really know what it was about, but it looked interesting. If I actually knew the plot I probably wouldn’t have picked it up to be honest. I thought this was going to be more of a thriller/ mystery and it’s just not. This was intriguing and a fast read, but I just honestly did not like the main character for the most part. Also I feel like all the other characters are there for plot and did like personality transplants. Literally nothing is explained and I could not care less about Shakespeare(I’m sorry). I don’t know it was entertaining, but just not executed well in my opinion. I would probably skip this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Violence, Blood, Bullying, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness
jennregalado's review
4.0
The book confused me a lot, I never knew when it’s was a dream or a vision or real. I loved rob but I absolutely hated peirce and I hate the ending. I want to know what happened afterward
bookyogi's review
3.0
Arghtjkd&ke#$@*(. And that’s how I feel about this book. It gets three stars because I was very interested to see where this book was going to go. It doesn’t get more because it didn’t actually go anywhere, even to the very end I was left with thinking someone must have torn out the last pages. This can’t possibly be the end. It doesn’t get more because of the illogical and circuitous route the book takes. I understand we are in the mind of someone who has survived a dangerous head injury, but even at that, the story comes to no conclusions, not even a cliff hanger suggesting there is more to come. I am left...unsatisfied. Empty stage
victoriousmariner's review against another edition
3.0
I honestly don't know what to think. Ideally I would love it. The concept is original; a modern-day retelling of Romeo and Juliet, with the main character, Jaye, having a head injury causing her to hallucinate and forget things. The hallucinations were creepy and well-done. Jaye's love of acting also made her an original character. The idea of family conflicts is also well-done, clearly showing that seemingly perfect families can be quite dysfunctional in reality. The conflict Jaye has with her relationship with her father was realistic and insightful. The book sets up some great conflicts with great potential.
However. Obviously since it's a YA romance and written for teenagers, it was written with the annoying, unintelligent voice and style common to that genre. The aforementioned conflicts didn't really get tied up at the end -- Jaye decides to be a good daughter but then her actions at the end don't quite live up to that, so you really can't tell how she resolved her internal conflict concerning her family. I suppose considering the original Romeo and Juliet, I can kind of infer the resolution. I did like the ambiguity of the ending, but not the fact that a bunch of conflicts were left unresolved.
The romance wasn't too bad -- there was a love triangle, obviously, but it was clear that the wrong relationship was borderline abusive and Jaye didn't cling to it. I don't appreciate the endorsement of teenagers making out, but it wasn't as bad and as much as other YA books I've read.
It's a great concept, and the author manages to realize it pretty well. The label of YA romance just saps away what could've been a better book.
However. Obviously since it's a YA romance and written for teenagers, it was written with the annoying, unintelligent voice and style common to that genre. The aforementioned conflicts didn't really get tied up at the end -- Jaye decides to be a good daughter but then her actions at the end don't quite live up to that, so you really can't tell how she resolved her internal conflict concerning her family. I suppose considering the original Romeo and Juliet, I can kind of infer the resolution. I did like the ambiguity of the ending, but not the fact that a bunch of conflicts were left unresolved.
The romance wasn't too bad -- there was a love triangle, obviously, but it was clear that the wrong relationship was borderline abusive and Jaye didn't cling to it. I don't appreciate the endorsement of teenagers making out, but it wasn't as bad and as much as other YA books I've read.
It's a great concept, and the author manages to realize it pretty well. The label of YA romance just saps away what could've been a better book.
circesisland's review against another edition
4.0
This could've been 5 stars if the ending wasn't so ambiguous. I think a lot of times authors will write the ending to be unclear so as to let the reader decide what happens next and avoid disappointment, but honestly, that just makes me angry. You're either the author or you're not! Don't put it on me to make up an ending. Now I'll never know whether I'm right or not!
Ranting aside, I enjoyed this book a lot. I liked the metaphors (rose petals on snow, Jaye being Juliet, Rob being Romeo, Pierce being Paris, etc) and the high school setting, though Jaye could be a little angsty at times.
Just wish there was a fan base for Dreamers Often Lie! I'd love to see fan art.
Ranting aside, I enjoyed this book a lot. I liked the metaphors (rose petals on snow, Jaye being Juliet, Rob being Romeo, Pierce being Paris, etc) and the high school setting, though Jaye could be a little angsty at times.
Just wish there was a fan base for Dreamers Often Lie! I'd love to see fan art.
madsanne's review against another edition
2.0
i was worried that this would end like romeo and juliet, with the whole ‘they both die in the end’ scenario. but i was pleasantly surprised.
geekydrea's review against another edition
2.0
I seriously have no idea what happened in this book. None.