cover image Dream Me

Dream Me

Kathryn Berla. Amberjack, $11.99 trade paper (270p) ISBN 978-1-944995-20-1

In this underwhelming SF romance from Berla (12 Hours in Paradise), high school senior Babe Fremont moves to Sugar Dunes, Fla., and starts having vivid dreams of a boy named Zat. Babe quickly falls for the handsome stranger, but their nightly visits come at a price: each morning, Babe wakes with a debilitating headache, and the pain is worsening. Babe fears she might have a brain tumor, but then Zat reveals the truth: he is from the far future, where the Earth is about to be consumed by the sun. When Babe and her family arrived in Sugar Dunes, scientists sent Zat’s consciousness back in time to live inside Babe’s dreams. Zat can’t exist independently of Babe, but as her symptoms increase, the two must consider whether his continued presence will kill them both. Berla spends too much time detailing Babe’s everyday activities and not enough exploring the mechanics of Zat’s existence or developing the couple’s relationship. Two-dimensional characters and an abrupt conclusion further undermine the novel’s intriguing premise. Ages 13–up. (July)