Weird things are happening at the local university in Santa Lora, California. It all started with Rebecca, a student who stumbled home from a party and didn't wake up. Soon other students in her dorm fall asleep and don't wake up. One by one the students are leaving the dorm on stretchers and the local hospital is filling up. Doctors are baffled, what is causing the students to sleep? Soon it isn't just students being affected by this affliction. Hundreds, thousands of people in this small community are asleep with no end in sight. The hospital soon is closed to new patients and there are guards at the door. And then there are guards at the exits of the city. In one neighborhood the fear is real. Two young girls live with their father who works at the university as a janitor. Their new neighbors are transplants from New York City with a newborn baby. They all know that they are in the middle of a history-making epidemic when the nurse across the street commits suicide by leaving her gas oven on. People are terrified. Tanks are driving down the streets, helicopters are flying overhead. The grocery stores are nearly empty and people believe that this could be the end. Will they be able to find a cure before one small California town is completely overtaken by The Dreamers?
There is nothing better than finding a well written apocalyptic novel. The Dreamers doesn't go full-blown apocalyptic, but it is close. And that is good enough for me. Karen Thompson Walker writes an absolutely perfect novel. The chapters are short but more than adequate. We get to meet various people throughout the crisis in Santa Lora. We meet Mei, the roommate of "patient zero." She and Matt escape the gym where they are being quarantined to go on and help hundreds of people. Each of them carrying their own variety of guilt. We also meet Ben and Annie, new parents who are desperate to do anything for their baby girl. We also meet Catherine, the Psychiatrist who is called in to be sure that it isn't psychosomatic. And then there is Sarah and Libby. Two pre-teen girls who grew up with a father who was always prepared for the collapse of society. They don't know what to do when their own father falls ill. All of these characters have incredibly compelling stories, but it is Sarah and Libby that really tug on the heartstrings. As I always do when reading stories such as The Dreamers, I always wonder what I would do if I were a character in this story. I think that I would self-quarantine and find a way to keep myself from the outside world. All of this builds to a conclusion that seems natural and peaceful. Which may seem like a weird word to use for this kind of book, but it did seem peaceful.
Bottom Line - The Dreamers was perfect. Simply perfect. The characters are well developed, the writing is lyrical, and the story is engrossing. One not to miss!
Details:
- The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker
- On Facebook
- Pages: 320
- Publisher: Random House Publishing
- Publication Date: 1/15/19
- Buy it Here!
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