Dreamland by Alyson Noel

Dreamland by Alyson Noel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My students have fallen in love with Alyson Noel's The Immortals series. In that series, a family dies in a car accident and the oldest child, Ever, survives. She finds out that she's been given a potion for immortality by her soul-mate. However, the rest of her family didn't survive. Most notably, her 12 year old little sister Riley. Riley makes a few appearances int he Immortals series, but she is explored much more in depth in her own Riley Bloom series. It is aimed toward younger readers, 11-15.

In previous books, Riley has needed to cope with being dead and make the decision to move to the Here and Now. When she gets there, she's given the job of being a Soul-Catcher, helping lost souls cross over. Unfortunately, she's a little too gung-ho, seeking out jobs that she's not assigned. Although she is ultimately successful convincing dangerous ghosts to cross over, the Council decides she needs a break. Instead of taking the time to spend painting or surfing, Riley decides to seek Dreamland, where she can enter a living person's dream. Trouble comes when she decides to sneak into Dreamland outside of open hours. Escaping a nightmare situation, Riley finds that she must stop being motivated by selfishness in order to grow up.

Young girls who talk about wanting to grow up, or who are interested in life after death might enjoy this book. I'd recommend Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin or Heaven is For Real by Todd Burpo if students love it because of the life after death theme. If they like the coming of age theme, check out Melody Carlson books.

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