Dreamhunter (review)

Once teenagers turn sixteen, they may attempt to access the alternate world called the Place, where dreams are fostered and gathered, and fifteen-year-old cousins Laura and Rose have long been anticipating the test that will determine whether or not they are potential Dreamhunters. Since Laura has always followed meekly in Rose's shadow, it is quite a shock to both of them when only Laura is able to pass through into the Place. Soon a mysterious scandal involving Laura's father and aunt (both Dreamhunters), a haunting recurring dream, and secret governmental forces require Laura to use all of her newly discovered independence and some ancient family magic to save herself and her loved ones. New Zealand author Knox effectively evokes the curious intersections and distances between the ordinary, earthly world and the parched, otherworldly landscape of the Place, and the adventures of the Dreamhunters are pleasingly harrowing. The book is less compelling, though, when it sorts introspectively through the world's details and its inhabitants' relationships. While it is fitting that a book so invested in dreams would adopt a leisurely, dreamy pace, the result may be too languid for readers hoping for dramatic action well before the slightly anticlimactic resolution (the first in a "duet" of books, the novel finishes somewhat inconclusively). Those willing to dive into this unhurried novel will be rewarded with a heroine in Laura who learns to be as brave, insightful, and bold as Philip Pullman's Lyra from the His Dark Materials trilogy.