The Vault of Dreamers

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Author(s)

Caragh M. O'Brien

Publisher

Roaring Book Press

Genre(s)

Dystopian

Age Range

12+

Release Date

September 16, 2014

ISBN

978-1596439382

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The Forge School is the most prestigious arts school in the country. The secret to its success: every moment of the students' lives is televised as part of the insanely popular Forge Show, and the students' schedule includes twelve hours of induced sleep meant to enhance creativity. But when first year student Rosie Sinclair skips her sleeping pill, she discovers there is something off about Forge. In fact, she suspects that there are sinister things going on deep below the reaches of the cameras in the school. What's worse is, she starts to notice that the ridges of her consciousness do not feel quite right. And soon, she unearths the ghastly secret that the Forge School is hiding―and what it truly means to dream there.

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2 reviews

The Vault of Dreamers

February 28, 2016

Overall rating

4.0

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Rosie Sinclair wants to be part of the cut of special students who will be chosen to stay at the prestigious Forge School of Arts. Here their lives are televised and their blimp rating determines if they stay, get financial backing from sponsors, and other perks. But something isn't quite right with the school. One night Rosie is defiant and doesn't take the nightly sleeping pill but instead is awake when she notices strange things happening. There's a whole different world operating behind the cameras. She doesn't know who or what to trust.

What worked: There's a scary twist in this YA meets UnReal. The students are privileged and talented. During the day their every move is recorded life but at night? That's where something else is happening.

Rosie is from a poorer area and staying at the school means she has a way out of a dead-end future. Her struggles to stay and to find out what's really going on follow her throughout this story. I liked how she tried to 'fit' in with the school but can't silence the curiosity that won't leave.

The beginning of this novel sets up the world of Forge School and the televised background. Everything is recorded for TV viewers. They rate each student. This was fascinating but I felt the novel didn't really start moving until Rosie and Linus try to figure out what's going on. Linus is a worker at Forge School with his own secrets. These secrets do have something to do with the school.

Linus and her relationship is more of the forbidden type especially as he's only a staff kitchen worker. He plays on her desire to up her blimp scores by kissing and meeting up with her. I know I was confused on what his real intentions might be.

Then there is brainy Burnham who's parents are the inventors of the sleeping pill the student's take every night. Rosie and his relationship is hot and cold. I admit, I wanted to see more of them together.

The whole premise of a school that mines dreams of students without their knowledge is sinister and gives this dystopia novel more of a horror feel. The psychological horror is reveal at the climax of the story.

The one thing I did want was more action and reveals to come sooner in the novel. The backstory of other characters including ones that didn't make the cut to stay? I felt those parts slowed down an otherwise very intriguing story.

Intriguing dystopian YA meets Reality TV with sinister undertones. What is real and what is a dream? How far would you go to follow a dream? I can't wait to find out Rosie and Linus's fate in the sequel!

Good Points

1.Reality Show meets dystopian horror
2. World where dreams are mined

Kim Baccellia, Staff Reviewer Top 10 Reviewer 889 reviews

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Overall rating

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Plot

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Characters

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An Interesting Premise

June 07, 2017

Overall rating

3.3

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I used to read a lot about how to write well and I always saw people talking about how the first 10 pages really count. As an author, you have 10 pages to capture a reader before they decide whether or not they want to continue. This book definitely piqued my interest in less than the first 10 pages.

The love interest in this book is boring. I mean, it all started with some random kiss and they just started liking each other? There's a lack of passion so instead of making it a believable relationship, I just sort of roll my eyes at every scene they have together. It's dull, so why should I care?

Around 200 pages, I'm still unsure of the whole thing. I don't feel the suspense I believe I should be experiencing. There's only a simple curiosity as to what is happening at night and while that's enough to keep me looking for the answer, it would be the complete opposite for others.

The fact that she's still all over this love interest after a betrayal is absolutely astounding. Honestly, I can't get behind it. To me, it's unrealistic. My ass would have told them off and walked away long before anything else happened.

Overall, the premise was really interesting. For most of the book, I didn't feel the suspense or excitement I believe I should have been feeling. It felt like there was no real danger until near the end. It didn't have me staring hardcore at the pages as I read like I hoped it would do. The ending was not satisfying at all… instead of answering any questions I had, it left me with more and while I know there are books that follow, I would prefer to have SOME answers before it ends. While the book as a whole was bland, the gist of it is intriguing and enough so to warrant me coming back to read the next book. We'll see how it plays out then.

Good Points

1. The plot was extremely intriguing.
2. Reality show art school is pretty cool.