A Little Like Waking

June 1, 2023
Realizing she's stuck in a dream, a girl journeys with a boy and a cat to discover what's real. Zelda lives in an idyllic town where everyone knows her name, but her world is upended when she comes across a cute boy she hasn't seen before. This leads to the realization that she's inhabiting a dream world; she doesn't know if her memories are real or just more dreams. Zelda learns the boy's name is Langston, and together they set off toward the edge of the dream on an adventure, accompanied by Patches, her erudite talking cat. Zelda believes she must be the dreamer and must find a way to wake up for real, but when she starts falling for the oft-apprehensive Langston, she feels less inclined to leave. This surreal tale mixes a hero's journey with romance, folds in the absurdities and chaos of dreams, and is peppered with vibrant, memorable side characters including a wizard, witches, a giant duck, and a laundromat clown. There's a lot of silliness in the story, which is mostly entertaining but can sometimes grow tiresome. It's thoughtfully balanced, though, with relatable internal struggles and emotions about crushes and confidence, loss and love. The unpredictable nature of the story will keep readers on their toes and the pages flying. Captivating full-page grayscale illustrations are interspersed. Zelda appears White; Langston is Black. A wonderfully inventive story bursting with humor and heart. (Surrealist fiction. 12-18)

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June 12, 2023
While running late for a final exam and biking furiously through her small town, white teenager Zelda narrowly misses being hit by a car and meets Langston, a handsome Black boy sprawled in the bushes. This meet-cute—and various encounters before it, including the greeting she received from the gate to her house (“ ‘MORning,’ creaks the gate as it opens”)—leads to Zelda realizing that her entire life, including her town and everyone in it, is a dream. Accompanied by Langston and her poetry-spouting, once-dead cat Patches, Zelda endeavors to travel to the edge of the vision, discover the identity of the dreamer, and hopefully return to waking life. Along the way, the trio meets fantastical apparitions (dodgeball-throwing gym teachers on horseback, a sinister laundromat clown, and a 1980s-themed carnival), and muddle through challenges in a world where the rules are constantly changing. Yet the closer they get to the edge, the more apprehensive Zelda and Langston become about their impending separation once the dreamer wakes. By turns existential and goofy, this campy, off-the-beaten-path story by Rex (Fat Vampire), propelled via an immediate, stream-of-conscious present-tense voice and sprinkled with beguiling b&w artwork, ruminates on themes of loss and love. Ages 12–up. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House.

Starred review from July 1, 2023
Grades 8-12 *Starred Review* "To sleep, perchance to dream," as Shakespeare wrote, and here Rex (The Story of Gumluck the Wizard, 2023) isn't far behind with a captivating fantasy romance that's all about dreams and dreamers. Among the latter is our protagonist, 18-year-old Zelda, who is quick to realize that she is living in a dream in which her fellow students fly about in their underwear and her long-dead pet cat, Patches, comes back to vivid life, talking to her in a lovely baritone. Ah, but is Zelda truly the dreamer, or is she living in someone else's dream? Patches insists that he is the dreamer, as does Langston, the cute boy with whom Zelda is increasingly smitten. To determine who is right, the three set off on a quest to find the edge of the dream, where they hope to discover the identity of the dreamer and what will transpire if that dreamer awakens. Along the way, they'll have dreamlike adventures (while besieged by giant gym teachers who bombard them with dodgeballs, they are rescued when a giant duck waddles on stage and eats their attackers). Rex has dreamed up a charming, funny, highly imaginative story that invites long thoughts about the nature of reality and the enduring importance of romance.

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November 1, 2023
The characters of this surreal novel -- teens Zelda and Langston and an absurd ensemble (a wizard, a laundromat clown) -- are aware that they're in a dream. But whose dream? Whose mind is controlling everyone else in the dream town, and what will happen when they wake up? Scenes likely to elicit chuckles of recognition from anyone who's vividly dreamed (a geography final is about to start, or maybe it's geometry, or neither) give way to seriousness and introspection as it becomes clear that the dream is lasting more than one night and as difficult memories figure into the dream world. Characters question their roles and the implications of their interactions: "Growing up is realizing you're not the main character. Or else everyone is, too." By its nature, the story includes some portions that can feel static as characters wander around the dream town. But revelations toward the end, with some twists and turns, provide a payoff that invites re-readings. Black-and-white digital illustrations are interspersed (final art unseen). Shoshana Flax

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