Reverie, Zee Lacson
The Book
London Evans, the youngest child and only girl in her family, moves with her father halfway across the country from Chicago, Illinois to California, following her father's career as a math professor. When she arrives in this new place, two things happen. She exhausts herself setting up the new house for her and her father, and passes out. In which, she has a very vivid dream of a hazel eyed boy named Ethan. And just as they begin to explore his other-worldly area, she is nearly hit by a bus, and wakes up. She is bereft, but tries to put it into a rational perspective. But when she can't get him out of her head, she goes and paints her bathroom in the color of his eyes.
Meanwhile, she starts in a new school, and she makes friends with on of the local cheerleaders. Brieanna. As they get to know each other, London feels out of place, and socially awkward compared to Brie's more sophisticated, long standing friends. When one of Brie's friends is mean to London, causing public embarrassment, Brie tells London she likes her because she is the only real friend she has. London tries to tell Brie about Ethan, and Brie kinda understand.
Come Halloween though, Brie sets up London with her friend Drew. Brie knows she should like Drew, but her dreams of Ethan, though unpredictable, and increasingly dangerous, still have a hold on her. She tells Drew. Drew, actually understands.
London begins to feel guilty, because every time she dreams of Ethan, he gets into trouble. Meanwhile, he is trying to pull his life together to be worthy of her. When London finally decides to give into the dream world, the consequences are deadly. But the plot twist is one hell of a sweet ending.
My Thoughts
This book was written by my friend Zee. We work on an AuthorFest together. And although this book is a collection of things I don't like to read, first person perspective, middle age grades romance and fantasy, it's actually all of the best of these things. The teen protagonist is very real, and has real world problems. The story, is in a word, charming. It is no wonder Zee's work has been so praised. It deserves every ounce of praise it receives.
I do have to say, I love that Drew owns a classic Beemer. Not my personal choice of car, I want a drop top. But still an awesome choice of car.
I will be finishing out the rest of the series. There are two more books, and Zee is threatening to take the franchise to a fourth book during NaNoWriMo this year. I, for one, cannot wait to see it.
How Much My Library Card Saved Me
This book was checked out of my library. It is a first edition gifted to my library on November 9, 2020 during the height of the pandemic. It is in very good condition, having been gently read by the denizens of my library district. I hope that delights Zee, as she lives in the next district over. I feel like the plastic cover on the book is slightly too tight, making the book a touch difficult to open. Or perhaps this book is not well read. Since Zee is an indie author, the price of her book is not listed on the cover, something of a practical measure for indies, who typically are on a print-on-demand model, and therefore if they need to raise their prices, they have to pay for the tiny revision. Which means, much like other books published this way (cough cough, like many those published before 1985 cough, cough) we have to do some math. I checked it out with another book--a hard cover first edition published in 1995-- which is listed on the jacket at $21.50. The receipt says a total of $41.50, therefore we posit that the list price Zee told my library her book sold for as $20.00. We shall use that number. I have loads of thoughts on price positioning, inflation, and the state of the publishing industry. I will be exploring those in an upcoming post, so stay tuned.
This Book $20.00
Items Reviewed This Year $910.43
Still Here?
Do me a huge favor and subscribe to the blog. To get it in your inbox, subscribe here. Thanks, it means the world to me!
Comments