Official Review: Dreamvision by S. L. Bynum
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GertrudeH
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Official Review: Dreamvision by S. L. Bynum
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Dreamvision" by S. L. Bynum.]
4 out of 4 stars
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Dreamvision by S. L. Bynum is about a girl named Abby who begins to have prophetic visions of disasters when she dreams. Her dreams are at first broad and not connected to her and her family. However, as time goes by the dreams become closer to her family, and harder to understand. Soon her entire family is being threatened by these visions, and she starts to believe that the visions themselves are malicious.
The book is presented as a series of blog posts. The blog post set up is a bit strange, and seems that it could easily be dropped. The bulk of the story could easily be formatted in the traditional first person view, with only the chapter headings and few notes at the start that benefit from the blog set up. In fact, it was easy to forget that the book was supposed to be a series of posts from a blog when I was reading it. It could easily haven been told in the style of a diary, or simply a first person narrative. However, this is only a minor quirk, and it doesn’t at all detract from the story’s plot. The blog style doesn’t seem to add anything to the story, but it doesn’t make the book unreadable either.
The story itself is very good, and it hooks the reader in. While the blog style could have been translated to another style, Abby’s ‘voice’ in the story is very convincing and believable. The other characters, her family, her friends, and her almost boyfriend are also both believable and well written. It’s a very fast paced book, and the increasingly vague visions add to the pace. With each vision the reader is eager to see more, as it isn’t clear at first what they mean or who they are about. Sometimes it shows one person, only to have the disaster happen to someone close to them. Sometimes an object is shown that belongs to the person, but it isn’t clear how it connects to the person. During one of the visions I was confident I had guessed the solution before the characters had. I was wrong, but there were enough hints that I might have been right. The visions connect to the real world in the story, and it creates an environment where anything might happen. They are the kind of prophecies where the reader can try to guess what is going to happen, but they can easily go another direction. Part of the fun of the book is trying to unravel the vision before Abby, which is something that most mysteries should do. The unclear nature of the visions adds a sense of dread for the characters, as none of them are certain how or when the vision will come to fruition.
Most of the characters in the book are likable and believable enough. To my surprise the romantic interest in this book neither overstays his welcome or is a loathsome human being. Often times, in my opinion, books with teenage protagonists often have rather irritating or downright nasty love interests. Thankfully the one in Dreamvision is neither of these. In fact, most of the characters come across as good people. Even one character who turns on the protagonist due to the events comes across as reasonable in context. None of them blur together and are distinct. I never had to pause once to remind myself who the characters were supposed to be.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. The only thing I can honestly object to is the blog style. But this complaint is so minor and it doesn’t affect the story. While it doesn’t add to the story it does not ruin it either, so the style is just a mild nitpick. I believe most fans of mystery, and those who like a little bit of supernatural horror mixed in, will enjoy this book. I honestly can’t think of anyone I know who wouldn’t like it, aside from people who are not fans of either genre.
******
Dreamvision
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4 out of 4 stars
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Dreamvision by S. L. Bynum is about a girl named Abby who begins to have prophetic visions of disasters when she dreams. Her dreams are at first broad and not connected to her and her family. However, as time goes by the dreams become closer to her family, and harder to understand. Soon her entire family is being threatened by these visions, and she starts to believe that the visions themselves are malicious.
The book is presented as a series of blog posts. The blog post set up is a bit strange, and seems that it could easily be dropped. The bulk of the story could easily be formatted in the traditional first person view, with only the chapter headings and few notes at the start that benefit from the blog set up. In fact, it was easy to forget that the book was supposed to be a series of posts from a blog when I was reading it. It could easily haven been told in the style of a diary, or simply a first person narrative. However, this is only a minor quirk, and it doesn’t at all detract from the story’s plot. The blog style doesn’t seem to add anything to the story, but it doesn’t make the book unreadable either.
The story itself is very good, and it hooks the reader in. While the blog style could have been translated to another style, Abby’s ‘voice’ in the story is very convincing and believable. The other characters, her family, her friends, and her almost boyfriend are also both believable and well written. It’s a very fast paced book, and the increasingly vague visions add to the pace. With each vision the reader is eager to see more, as it isn’t clear at first what they mean or who they are about. Sometimes it shows one person, only to have the disaster happen to someone close to them. Sometimes an object is shown that belongs to the person, but it isn’t clear how it connects to the person. During one of the visions I was confident I had guessed the solution before the characters had. I was wrong, but there were enough hints that I might have been right. The visions connect to the real world in the story, and it creates an environment where anything might happen. They are the kind of prophecies where the reader can try to guess what is going to happen, but they can easily go another direction. Part of the fun of the book is trying to unravel the vision before Abby, which is something that most mysteries should do. The unclear nature of the visions adds a sense of dread for the characters, as none of them are certain how or when the vision will come to fruition.
Most of the characters in the book are likable and believable enough. To my surprise the romantic interest in this book neither overstays his welcome or is a loathsome human being. Often times, in my opinion, books with teenage protagonists often have rather irritating or downright nasty love interests. Thankfully the one in Dreamvision is neither of these. In fact, most of the characters come across as good people. Even one character who turns on the protagonist due to the events comes across as reasonable in context. None of them blur together and are distinct. I never had to pause once to remind myself who the characters were supposed to be.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. The only thing I can honestly object to is the blog style. But this complaint is so minor and it doesn’t affect the story. While it doesn’t add to the story it does not ruin it either, so the style is just a mild nitpick. I believe most fans of mystery, and those who like a little bit of supernatural horror mixed in, will enjoy this book. I honestly can’t think of anyone I know who wouldn’t like it, aside from people who are not fans of either genre.
******
Dreamvision
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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Latest Review: "Dreamvision" by S. L. Bynum
