The Nightmare Thief

Nicole Lespereance has put together a book that honestly.. I’m going to give you a mixed review on.  The Nightmare Thief gave me the willies when I started reading but I found myself compelled to read on until I saw a good solution coming about.  I’ve learned to do this with books so I don’t get bad dreams!  Mind…I am easily put on edge by books and this one did a good job of doing that for me, yet… it contained good themes and for the right reader would be an excellent fit.   Affiliate links will be used. 

Themes I Liked

I loved the quirkiness of the parrot, the family connectedness, the love of family, the willingness to reconnect with old friends, and the alertness to potential danger in people.  LOVED those aspects.   I loved the determination of Maren (the female protoganist) to solve her problem and not be beaten by a very creepy antagonist.    Those aspects, for the right reader, make this a very doable middle school reader.  

Sourcebooks is the publisher of Nicole Lespereance’s read, The Nightmare Thief.  Running at 288 pages, the intended audience are children 8-14 years old, though I see it better for youth 10+.  I am reviewing an advanced readers copy for Raincoast. 

What Do you Get?

A novel!  That’s what you get!  🙂   Yes I know, stop being silly. 

But seriously, in The Nightmare Thief, you’ll find the characters are well-protrayed.  With a very creepy villain who couldn’t let go of her past and clung to her hurt.   Who gave the protagonist a reason to rethink some of her thoughts.  Our protagonist has a love of family and developed a willingness to reconnect with old friends (letting go of the hurt).

Very little art work grace the pages.  It gives a great image of what a dream packet might look like eh?

Such an interesting concept presented.  Using dreams both to heal and to be a weapon.  Could you imagine such a thing?  And the nasty villain had such a unique way of delivering them.  NOPE.. no spoilers in this post! 

Should you get?

As I said when I started this review, a mixed opinion.  

I don’t get why people read books to scare them. I definitely wouldn’t understand someone wanting to buy a scary dream.  Not my thing.  

But I do get that people like to read and do and live with some fright in their lives.  I suppose it’s good to get the old heart pumping eh?  

With that in mind, I would say older elementary students through middle school just might enjoy reading The Nightmare Thief.  Enjoy a creepy villain, be delighted by a girl discovering her courage, and using her skills.