Review: Dreamwalk by Sarah MacManus

Dreamwalk by Sarah MacManus

Release Date: March 14, 2011
Publisher: Young Rebel Publications
Pages: 242
Source: ebook ARC from author for honest review
Buy the Book: Amazon 

After the death of her mother, eighteen year old Chloe Hawthorn is haunted by terrifying nighttime hallucinations. Determined to take control of her dream journeys, she uses them to find Shane Anderson, a charming and troubled musician whose online videos have been holding her in thrall. She finds him in the Dreamtime, sweating out heroin detox in a run-down rehab center.

Chloe sets out to find Shane in the waking world and discovers her dreams have been taking her into the past. Horrified, Chloe realizes Shane doesn't survive his addictions. In order to save him, Chloe must master her Australian mother's legacy — the secret of walking the Dreaming through time. But what price will Chloe pay for this Dreamwalk and will she save Shane only to lose him forever?

I actually wasn't sure about the book when I first said yes to reading it, but it did sound  interesting. I really had no idea what to expect from this book and now I am glad that I hadn't read any reviews on it beforehand. It was so exciting to go into a book without being jaded by something I read somewhere about the book in question.

I loved the writing style of flipping back and forth between Chloe's narration and Shane's journal entries. It was quite a unique was of sharing the story between the two main characters. Also, I think the fact that the storyline is playing out in different time lines makes for a very interesting concept. One thinks it's all a dream and one thinks it's hallucinations - very fun ideas to work with.

I wasn't really sure about Chloe being so enamoured with Shane from just having watched a few videos of him talking and singing online. But as the story unfolds and she learns more about Shane and I suppose I can see how much he might have had an effect on her - similar to how girls have crushes on movie stars and musicians. It's almost like she is attracted to him because he needs saving and it distracts her from her own problems for awhile. 

The one part that worried me was how much Chloe would sacrifice just to see this boy again - taking sleeping pills, meeting seedy people alone, and drug use. It seems as though Shane is her addiction as much as heroin had been his addiction. I'm not saying that girls don't do weird things for the boys they love, but some of the actions seemed a little extreme to me and I was surprised to see Chloe do things that I felt were not in her character. Other than that I loved the concept of the story - girl saves boy, but with a twist.  

I keep trying to write about the ending, but every time I get the words written down it seems too spoilerish. I have been reading many reviews that state they wish the ending had been elaborated on, but I disagree - I think they ending was perfect. It shows what selfless love is all about.

The story is dark and mysterious at times - leaving you with a mixture of feelings from the tenderest thoughts of selfless love to the messy yet undeniable collision of emotions and from a place of loneliness to the knowledge of truly being loved and letting go.