MacKenzie's debut is an entertaining, if somewhat slight portal fantasy with some nifty hooks. When the entire world starts suffering from sleep deprivation due to nightmares, 11-year-old Zac suspects that his grandmother's nightly disappearances might be related. He follows her, and ends up in the world of Nocturne, where Granny and her fellow Knights of Nod fight the Dream Stealers. Zac is quickly drawn into the conflict, making allies and fighting monsters that include goblins and were-wolves. The transition from the "real" world to the land of Nocturne lacks dramatic tension; there's little sense of Zac's life before it's disrupted, while the large cast and shifting points of view mean that few characters have a chance to fully develop. Younger readers will enjoy the action, though, as well as the cleverly detailed world-building (Nocturne residents have access to any of the wacky items dreaming humans—known as Wakelings—can conjure). Despite slim characterizations and a plot that boils down to a struggle between forces of good and evil, MacKenzie finds fertile territory in the creative space between wake and sleep. Ages 8–12. (June)
