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kathydavie's review
4.0
Fourteenth in the Newford urban fantasy series for Young Adult readers and revolving around a fictional village. The focus is on cousins Nina Caraballo and Ashley Enys with critical appearances by Cassie Washington and Bones. Not to worry about book order, the stories stand alone, although some characters do recur.
My Take
Yep, these are some odd dreams Nina is having. She never knows what kind of animal she’s going to transform into. It’s always such a challenge for her to a) figure out what she is and b) how to move in that form. De Lint does a great job of making me feel awkward as I read, as well as providing the animal’s perspective.
Hmmm, does that mean that de Lint uses third person global subjective point-of-view? We do experience the story primarily from Nina’s and Ash’s perspectives with additional views from Cassie and others.
I do feel for Ashley. Abandoned by both parents. Grieving the one, hating the other. Torn from her homeland. Besides her obsession with the occult, she’s ditching school, making friends among the homeless, and the anger . . . oh my, the anger could set the world on fire. Yeah well, no one said grief had to make sense.
I sure do appreciate Cassie’s point about negative and positive energies.
Hmmm, don’t judge a book by its cover . . . another good point. I had to laugh at Lusewen’s point about Ashley not really being open-minded. It’s so much like any one of us who likes to think we march to a different drummer and yet we try to fit in with our own particular clique.
Nina’s parents are 180-degrees from Judy’s, who are second-generation Chinese-American with an obsession for planning Judy’s life out to the ult. Another typical experience for Young Adults. Nina's, Judy's, and Ash's concerns about fellow students and school are so real world. De Lint really gets it. You can't go wrong reading de Lint.
Poor Nina. Like all kids, she’s embarrassed by her parents, wishing they’d “leave that whole-earth folksiness at the shows”. She’s also embarrassed by her “blackouts”. She does, however, view school with a good eye and figures if you have to go, you might as well do the best you could.
Both Nina and Ashley are seeking something. Nina wants relief from her cousin and her scary dreams. Ashley wants her mother back. Both girls have their character arc to fulfill. As usual with a de Lint, there are some good lessons in here that he puts across well.
The Dreaming Place is driven by its characters with a focus on Native American mythology. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of action too. Nina’s dreams. Ash’s “adventures” on our world and in Otherworld. The assassin tracking the object of Ya-wau-tse’s desire.
The story is a journey of being true to yourself, being open to the world around you even as you dance around animal and spiritual attack.
It’s a god in need of nourishment, but Life is all about balance. Good and bad.
The Story
A spirit wants the world to revolve around her, and she intends to claim the soul dedicated to her.
The Characters
Nina Caraballo is in high school, hating her awful cousin. Her parents are still hippies living in the 1960s. They do sound pretty cool. Her father, John, is part Kickaha, and prefers action to inaction; her mother, Gwen, still wears her braid down to her waist. The grieving English-born Ashley Enys is Nina's goth-loving cousin with a passion for the occult. Her mother, Gwen’s twin, died three years ago and her father abandoned her. John’s granddad is Nana Quickturtle’s father.
Cassandra “Cassie” Washington, a fortuneteller, is the closest person Ashley has to a best friend. Bones, Cassie’s friend, is a juju man from the Kickaha tribe. Grandmother Toad is the Earth Mother in Otherworld. Lusewen is one of the spirits. Kyfy is a raven. Hunros is a goshawk. Ya-wau-tse is a winter spirit who has a claim on a soul. Alver is hunting for the danger to his people.
Redding High is . . .
. . . where Nina and Ashley attend school. Judy Woo is Nina’s best friend, and she likes Bernie Fine. Danny Woo is Judy’s younger brother with a skill at forging his father’s signature. Laurie is another friend. Susie. Tim Lockley is to die for. The Tank is a bully with a crew. Danny Connick is a computer nerd who thinks he’s God’s gift. Valerie and Brad broke up over her hanging out with Keith Larson. Debbie has zits in an awkward place. Beth Grant quit school to dance at Pussy’s, a strip club.
Friendly Ed sells used cars. Catherine and Vincent are characters in Beauty and the Beast. Pedro is the Hispanic storyteller. Surfer is the bicycle man’s dog. Ernie runs a coffee cart. Silenus Gardens is a popular meeting spot and was funded by Joshua Stanhold.
Mrs Christopher had been Ashley’s family’s neighbor. Peter Timmons, a.k.a. the Wiz, organized these mystical ceremonies back in the day. Other friends from those days include Wendy and Paul Drago. There is a clan totem that looks out for the whole family and the personal totem.
The Cover and Title
The cover is creamy in its sky, snow-covered pines, and the stone tower rising Rapunzel-like. At the top is the author’s name in white and shadowed with black. An info blurb is below it in white with a shallower shadow. The title takes up slightly more than half of the bottom in a deep orange-red with a black outline.
The title is too accurate, it’s The Dreaming Place where one can be lost, destroyed, or saved.
My Take
Yep, these are some odd dreams Nina is having. She never knows what kind of animal she’s going to transform into. It’s always such a challenge for her to a) figure out what she is and b) how to move in that form. De Lint does a great job of making me feel awkward as I read, as well as providing the animal’s perspective.
Hmmm, does that mean that de Lint uses third person global subjective point-of-view? We do experience the story primarily from Nina’s and Ash’s perspectives with additional views from Cassie and others.
I do feel for Ashley. Abandoned by both parents. Grieving the one, hating the other. Torn from her homeland. Besides her obsession with the occult, she’s ditching school, making friends among the homeless, and the anger . . . oh my, the anger could set the world on fire. Yeah well, no one said grief had to make sense.
I sure do appreciate Cassie’s point about negative and positive energies.
Hmmm, don’t judge a book by its cover . . . another good point. I had to laugh at Lusewen’s point about Ashley not really being open-minded. It’s so much like any one of us who likes to think we march to a different drummer and yet we try to fit in with our own particular clique.
Nina’s parents are 180-degrees from Judy’s, who are second-generation Chinese-American with an obsession for planning Judy’s life out to the ult. Another typical experience for Young Adults. Nina's, Judy's, and Ash's concerns about fellow students and school are so real world. De Lint really gets it. You can't go wrong reading de Lint.
Poor Nina. Like all kids, she’s embarrassed by her parents, wishing they’d “leave that whole-earth folksiness at the shows”. She’s also embarrassed by her “blackouts”. She does, however, view school with a good eye and figures if you have to go, you might as well do the best you could.
Both Nina and Ashley are seeking something. Nina wants relief from her cousin and her scary dreams. Ashley wants her mother back. Both girls have their character arc to fulfill. As usual with a de Lint, there are some good lessons in here that he puts across well.
The Dreaming Place is driven by its characters with a focus on Native American mythology. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of action too. Nina’s dreams. Ash’s “adventures” on our world and in Otherworld. The assassin tracking the object of Ya-wau-tse’s desire.
The story is a journey of being true to yourself, being open to the world around you even as you dance around animal and spiritual attack.
It’s a god in need of nourishment, but Life is all about balance. Good and bad.
The Story
A spirit wants the world to revolve around her, and she intends to claim the soul dedicated to her.
The Characters
Nina Caraballo is in high school, hating her awful cousin. Her parents are still hippies living in the 1960s. They do sound pretty cool. Her father, John, is part Kickaha, and prefers action to inaction; her mother, Gwen, still wears her braid down to her waist. The grieving English-born Ashley Enys is Nina's goth-loving cousin with a passion for the occult. Her mother, Gwen’s twin, died three years ago and her father abandoned her. John’s granddad is Nana Quickturtle’s father.
Cassandra “Cassie” Washington, a fortuneteller, is the closest person Ashley has to a best friend. Bones, Cassie’s friend, is a juju man from the Kickaha tribe. Grandmother Toad is the Earth Mother in Otherworld. Lusewen is one of the spirits. Kyfy is a raven. Hunros is a goshawk. Ya-wau-tse is a winter spirit who has a claim on a soul. Alver is hunting for the danger to his people.
Redding High is . . .
. . . where Nina and Ashley attend school. Judy Woo is Nina’s best friend, and she likes Bernie Fine. Danny Woo is Judy’s younger brother with a skill at forging his father’s signature. Laurie is another friend. Susie. Tim Lockley is to die for. The Tank is a bully with a crew. Danny Connick is a computer nerd who thinks he’s God’s gift. Valerie and Brad broke up over her hanging out with Keith Larson. Debbie has zits in an awkward place. Beth Grant quit school to dance at Pussy’s, a strip club.
Friendly Ed sells used cars. Catherine and Vincent are characters in Beauty and the Beast. Pedro is the Hispanic storyteller. Surfer is the bicycle man’s dog. Ernie runs a coffee cart. Silenus Gardens is a popular meeting spot and was funded by Joshua Stanhold.
Mrs Christopher had been Ashley’s family’s neighbor. Peter Timmons, a.k.a. the Wiz, organized these mystical ceremonies back in the day. Other friends from those days include Wendy and Paul Drago. There is a clan totem that looks out for the whole family and the personal totem.
The Cover and Title
The cover is creamy in its sky, snow-covered pines, and the stone tower rising Rapunzel-like. At the top is the author’s name in white and shadowed with black. An info blurb is below it in white with a shallower shadow. The title takes up slightly more than half of the bottom in a deep orange-red with a black outline.
The title is too accurate, it’s The Dreaming Place where one can be lost, destroyed, or saved.
taylorimbey's review
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Likes:
- Liked the fantasy/mythology/magical realism elements in the book
- Loved the growth from Ash and Nina but especially Ash.
- Like the thought that there are multiple realities, paths, and journeys and the concept of life as a turn of a wheel
Dislikes:
- Did have some lulls that were a bit slow
- At times felt a bit youthful, but it is a YA story so I can’t really fault it forth that. More of just my own preference.
songwind's review
3.0
[book:The Dreaming Place] was pretty typical De Lint fare. The standard beats were present that we see in most of his stories, but they were well done. This book takes place in Newford, but none of the most common characters from that setting played a role. De Lint readers will recognize Bones the shaman, but Jilly, Christie, and the other core Newford crew are refreshingly absent.
jgintrovertedreader's review
3.0
June 14, 2011
Ash is a teenage girl who is angry at the world. Angry at her mom for dying and leaving her alone. Angry at her dad for refusing to take her in. And especially angry at her cousin Nina for having everything.
That kind of anger inevitably draws attention. The problem is, the spirit who first noticed Ash's anger is now focused on Nina. Can Ash figure out what is going on and find it in her heart to save her cousin?
This has always been one of my least favorite of de Lint's books. Much as I love his work, I'm usually disappointed in his young adult novels. I love his books for his characters and I never relate to the teens very well. I don't know if it's just me or if he truly doesn't develop them as well. In this case, Ash is a pretty typical troubled teen and Nina is a pretty typical goody-two-shoes. So maybe it is him...
Anyway, there's nothing terribly new here, although it was nice to come across the first references to Cassie and Bones. The underlying hope and faith in human decency that I consider another hallmark of de Lint are also here. The world can always use more stories about forgiveness, love, and the power to change for the better, right?
I wouldn't recommend this to a new de Lint reader, but fans should definitely read it.
Currently re-reading...
2007?
This is one of de Lint's more Native American novels. It's full of teenage angst, but it is more of a young adult novel. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more when I was at that age myself.
Ash is a teenage girl who is angry at the world. Angry at her mom for dying and leaving her alone. Angry at her dad for refusing to take her in. And especially angry at her cousin Nina for having everything.
That kind of anger inevitably draws attention. The problem is, the spirit who first noticed Ash's anger is now focused on Nina. Can Ash figure out what is going on and find it in her heart to save her cousin?
This has always been one of my least favorite of de Lint's books. Much as I love his work, I'm usually disappointed in his young adult novels. I love his books for his characters and I never relate to the teens very well. I don't know if it's just me or if he truly doesn't develop them as well. In this case, Ash is a pretty typical troubled teen and Nina is a pretty typical goody-two-shoes. So maybe it is him...
Anyway, there's nothing terribly new here, although it was nice to come across the first references to Cassie and Bones. The underlying hope and faith in human decency that I consider another hallmark of de Lint are also here. The world can always use more stories about forgiveness, love, and the power to change for the better, right?
I wouldn't recommend this to a new de Lint reader, but fans should definitely read it.
Currently re-reading...
2007?
This is one of de Lint's more Native American novels. It's full of teenage angst, but it is more of a young adult novel. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more when I was at that age myself.
ladygeekface's review
4.0
It took me awhile to get into this book. Once I did, it was pretty cool. I like how Native American lore was brought in.
pattydsf's review
3.0
This was short novel, written for teens by one of my favorite fantasy writers. Charles de Lint can bring together mythology and contemporary life like no other author.
This book was not as complicated as some of de Lint's but it was very good. If I wanted to introduce someone to his writings this might be a good choice.
This book was not as complicated as some of de Lint's but it was very good. If I wanted to introduce someone to his writings this might be a good choice.
milointhewoods's review
4.0
i am not at all in the position to understand or address the use of native american characters in this novella, or whether it is an example of good representation.
i did really enjoy this though, i love the urban fantasy and the magical elements of this book and i love the characters too :)
i did really enjoy this though, i love the urban fantasy and the magical elements of this book and i love the characters too :)
lpraus's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
wizardmacdonald's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
karmakat's review
3.0
Mixed feelings about this one. The story is very interesting. Nina is plagued by horrifying dreams that she is trapped in the body of different animals and believes that her cousin has cast a spell on her. The truth is far more frightening. So, very interesting examination of tribal legend and lore. However, I never felt fully engaged with the story and the editing was awful which always detracts for me.