I have been not so patiently awaiting a second novel from Karen Thompson Walker since I read
Age of Miracles in 2012. When I was given the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of The Dreamers, I jumped at the opportunity. Walker once again tackles a unique and imaginative topic. I was hesitant as the synopsis didn't pull me in but I am glad that I read it as I was mesmerized from page one.

It all starts innocently enough a young college student comes down with an illness and returns to her dorm room. Her roomate, Mei is unable to wake her up and medics are called in. Doctors are perplexed and don't have answers and then another student falls ill. The cases multiple and a quarantine is put into place. The illness targets all ages and races no one is safe. It is determined that those who are in this unwakeable sleep are displaying unusual brain activity, activity that has never been recorded before.

This is a character driven story and is told by a variety of characters. Their point of views help to deliver an exceptionally creative and compulsive read. It's clever yet not at tantalizing as
Age of Miracles.


* I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

Walker returns to the dystopian genre (see her previous novel, THE AGE OF MIRACLES) with her new title, THE DREAMERS. With a small, California college town serving as the epicenter, an unknown virus takes hold in a dormitory, leaving its victims in a deep, coma like sleep. The reader is rapidly drawn into the story through multiple POVs as the virus takes over California. While more attention could have been given to the national and global reactions, Walker's novel is suspenseful with many discussion points (ethics, survival, dreams, what would you do if..). A definite page-turner!

The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker is a wonderful book, both sad and mysterious, that leaves you mystified and somewhat dreaming. This book is written so beautifully and calming you dare to wonder about sleep, long sleep and dreams. Do we dream of what we know, of the past, of the future, of what we're afraid of or of what we desire. Just as this book starts, we read, "At first they blame the air" and "as if drowned in a dream". I highly recommend this lovely book! Thank you, #netgalley.com#TheDreamers#RandomHouse

Many thanks to NetGalley for sending me an advanced reader's copy of The Dreamers in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 2.5 stars
I wanted to like this book. I mean the cover is gorgeous and synopsis gave me real Station Eleven vibes. But I didn't. The Dreamer just didn't deliver the way that Station Eleven and other books in the mysterious human illness/sci-fi genre do.

The style of writing at the beginning was weird and totally caught me off guard. It was almost like there was an ominousness or vagueness to the voice, which I guess goes with the whole theme of the book. The plot starts off slow, which I get. Every dystopian novel has to start somewhere to explain how things got to the way they are in the book. It felt like the same story over and over again. People were getting sick, the population is freaking out, even more people were getting sick, population is STILL freaking out. There was no progress and many of my questions were left unanswered at the end of the novel. I mean, an author can leave some things up to speculation, that's fine, but The Dreamers left everything up for speculation: how the sleeping sickness started, how it spread, how it's cured, why it was only contained to the college town. There was just a general lack of explanation and I was left wanted more.

I also felt like a lot of the characters were one dimensional. There were several POVs in the book, although it's told from an 3rd-person omniscient view. However, I felt like some characters were more of a focus than some others. And I would get to one of the less-focused on characters and be like "who is this again". I really wanted to connect with these characters, especially Mei, but she just felt like a large blah.

The most intriguing part of was the blurred line between was is real and what is just a dream. When the first person woke up, I was immediately drawn to what might be going on in his brain. And the fact that he felt so disconnected between dream and reality was fascinating. However, I felt like that idea was left right there. None of the other dreamers that woke up felt as much disconnect, even when they had been asleep for several weeks longer. I would have loved to have had a POV of one of "the dreamers" throughout the book. That would have left the reader with the question of whether or not everything going on was really happening. I expected more of an existential dilemma over this.

Although I did not not enjoy The Dreamers, I do recommend you give it a shot. Everyone has different tastes and even if this wasn't my cup of tea, it doesn't mean that it might not become your next favorite novel.

The wistful, ethereal voice is the star of this page-turning novel about a mysterious virus that takes over a small California town, putting its victims in a prolonged dream state. Offering a wide-angle view of the broad impact within the community and beyond (think loss of liberties and humanity as authorities try to contain the virus), the narrative is lyrical and startlingly intimate, allowing the tragedy to be felt through the people who suffer through the fear and bewilderment and loss of this horrific time. A masterful handling of a character in what could have been a novel relying solely on plot.

The Dreamers is a combination of fantasy/mystery/literature all rolled into one! Anyone who loved Station Eleven will appreciate the narrative. Lush details and how The Dreamers quietly takes its time developing the story makes this a novel worth diving into.
Definitely slides in the horror genre but is also equally beautiful to read. The Dreamers will sneak up on you so hold on tight through all the twist and turns that don't stop through to the exciting conclusion.

[Review will be posted on Reader Voracious Blog on 12/19/18.]

"Whatever this is, it comes over them quietly: a sudden drowsiness, a closing of the eyes. Most of the victims are found in their beds."

Friends, I was so incredibly excited for The Dreamers as I am a sucker for infection stories and the premise of this one sounded so interesting. There's a reader for every book, but unfortunately this one was not for me. While the writing is beautiful, I found the story had too many characters and suffered from a lack of a clear narrative voice that ultimately made it difficult for me to care about the characters.

When I say that there is not a main character of the book, I mean it. The narrative shifts between... a lot of different characters in the town as the sickness spreads to the point that I wonder if the main character is meant to be the town itself. In that way the reader is able to draw theories and watch the developments, but for me this had the side effect of being confused. This is a book that would benefit from having a character list at the front to help jog your memory while reading because the narrative shifts are not systematic: sometimes a lot happens before we revisit.

The Dreamers is told in third person omniscient with many characters to follow as the sickness makes its way through the small college town. While this narrative voice works a lot of times, for me it did a disservice on this book. I found the plot to being mostly telling, and unfortunately the downside of having a myriad of characters to follow in this narrative voice means you don't really learn much about their thoughts and motivations, and ultimately I didn't care for any of them and I feel like the perspectives lacked any sense of urgency.

As a result of my not connecting with the characters, this is a plot-driven but on more than one occasion I found myself confused with the storytelling. There seemed to be a couple of continuity errors, such as characters falling asleep and then not being asleep later, and I honestly spent much of my time reading this book intensely confused. (view spoiler) It is worth noting that I read an uncorrected proof and it is possible that some of the continuity errors I noticed will be fixed prior to publication. Ultimately I think that what worked the least for me personally was it is unclear who is telling this story. Parts of it seem almost like a report after an outbreak but that did not seem to be consistent to me (and that scientific/noting it for history perspective would have SO WORKED HERE), and the ending in my opinion kind of made that less plausible for me. I was hoping that the book would be redeemed by an ending but I was very disappointed with how it ended and did not feel like any of my questions were answered.

Where this book shines is with the poetic writing. The book had such a strong start and I was instantly engaged, but unfortunately my engagement dwindled as more characters were introduced. The synopsis makes it seem like the book is about Mei, and while I felt for her the most out of the cast of characters she isn't the central character to the book - had she been it would have been much stronger in my opinion. My opinion is definitely in the minority as the average rating on Goodreads at the time of writing this review is 3.99, with only 22 of the 467 ratings a two- or one-star rating. Take my review with a grain of salt and if this sounds like something you would enjoy, pick it up. If you tend to agree with my reviews... I might recommend that you avoid this one.

REPRESENTATION: Chinese American
TRIGGER WARNINGS: bullying, insensitivity to other cultures (making fun of Mai's traditional cuisine), grief and loss, animal death

This read was provided to me through Net Galley for a fair review.

The title of Karen Thompson Walker's newest novel, The Dreamers, is apt. Walker writes in such a style that you find yourself feeling as if you are in a dreamlike state through much of the book. The pace and descriptors leave you well immersed in the mood and tone of the story. I found myself picturing this small town and really understanding how the geography, which plans an important role in the plausibility of this tale, and the characters could really exist within the proposed circumstances.

Unlike other stories that portray the bleak fallout of a fatal pandemic, The Dreamers breaks barriers by introducing you to a variety of vignetted characters who are impacted by a seemingly inexplicable breakout of a strange and fatal sleeping disease. Centered around a college community, we are first introduced to the ever active and political college students who first experience the disease. Several students lead the charge to become activist heroes who embody the impassioned ideals that only the youthful can embrace. Meanwhile, children and adults alike within the community are introduced as side stories that lead you through how tragic such circumstances can be for the individual. The most haunting may be the story of two men who are partners and experience a brief reversal of fortune when one of them contracts the disease but because of his dementia finds himself getting better rather than worse. The hope embodied in these circumstances shows us just how isolated we can become in a tragedy.

Isolation plays a big part in this story as we see character after character left to go solo as friends and loved ones leave them either consciously or unconsciously. Isolation is also the only perceived way to remain healthy.

One cannot help but reflect on life today and how this book may be asking us to look around us and take stock of what we have and what the cost is to remain secure in your immediate and communal surroundings. What can you depend on? Who can you depend on and what would you do if all of that slipped away?

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an advanced read in exchange for this review.



There's an unexplained illness making its way through a college town.  It causes people to fall asleep and not wake up.  Their brains show heightened activity.  They're dreaming!  What will make them wake up?

An interesting read!  There are a lot of main characters in the book.  Mei is the college student whose roommate was the first to fall asleep.  There are two daughters whose dad was prepared for an apocalypse and falls asleep. There's a man with a newborn. The story primarily focuses on them as they try to get by while this illness sweeps over the town.  It's a good, solid story with a lot of unexplained aspects to it.  Focus more on the characters and you'll really enjoy it!

Another super readable book that flowed well and was somewhat interesting but just didn't grab me. I can't say I've read another book with the same plot but I feel like this was very formulaic and there was no big payoff in the end. It was a very quiet, meditative novel in many ways (and not just because of the whole sleeping sickness thing) but it just didn't do much for me. Characters were somewhat sympathetic but still somewhat 2D and while I understand things in the world go unexplained all the time, I wish there was more of a climax here or a grander final act. Nevertheless, glad I gave it a read.

I had enjoyed reading Karen Thompson Walker's first novel, The Age of Miracles and so I was looking forward to reading another of her books.

The Dreamers starts with an interesting premise: a mysterious sleeping sickness that suddenly attacks students and residents in Santa Lora, CA. It is full of descriptive prose that is a pleasure to read. However, there are so many different characters that a lot of them are not sufficiently developed. Some plot threads are more detailed than others but, in the end, many are allowed to just drift off unresolved. At the same time, some of the characters who play significant roles in the story just seem to fall off the radar, never to be heard from again. We never learn the origins of this sleeping sickness nor why people stopped being affected by it. I felt that something was lacking in the conclusion as written, as if Ms. Thompson Walker couldn't figure out a solid resolution for the many threads and story lines. For a book with a gripping beginning, the ending was a letdown.

THE DREAMERS by Karen Thompson Walker is a book you should not pick up if you can’t make time to finish it all in one sitting. This book gave me the same sense of reading urgency as Station Eleven did. You can sense the fear in the unknown, the curiosity about a new illness, the emotions of mothers and fathers separated from their children, and the panic. I love Mei and Matthew in this book – the questions they raise and the good that they try to do. Actually, I liked all the relationships in the book. I don’t normally read books like this one because they make me anxious to know what happened. And I did end up staying up late in the night to finish it once I was half way through. I needed to know what the characters were dreaming about and I found out. There are a few characters that fall through the cracks but I realize the author couldn’t wrap everyone up with a nice tidy bow. Overall, a good read for those that like this type of fiction!

Thank you to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.

If I had not already read the Stephen King/Owen King book SLEEPING BEAUTIES, I may have liked this book better. Unfortunately, this one falls short in comparison.

It starts out strong, with college girls falling asleep and not waking up, caused, authorities believe, by an unknown virus. The virus spreads and others fall asleep, including men and women of all ages, even an infant. The way the citizens of the small town and the larger government organizations deal with the problem is interesting. The characters, however, are not very compelling. We are introduced to two college students who try to help, two preteen sisters who are alone after their father falls asleep, and a husband/wife/infant unit who all fall asleep at different times. We experience the effects of the virus through one woman whose dreams are described. As the virus runs its course and people begin to wake up, we learn that they all had vivid dreams that they felt were very real. There is no resolution to the medical situation, and no explanation as to its cause.

I had trouble connecting to the characters in the story. The dream sequences were descriptive but didn't provide much helpful information.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a preprint for review.

“She will be known and unknown. She will be content and discontented. She will sometimes be lonely and sometimes less so. She will dream and be dreamed of. She will grieve and be grieved for. She will struggle and triumph and fail. There will be days of spectacular beauty, sublime and unearned. There will be moments of rapture. She will sometimes feel afraid. The sun will warm her face. The earth will ground her body.” Beautiful words from The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker.
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In Santa Lora, CA, on a college campus, a mysterious illness appears. The illness renders its victim asleep. Seemingly unconscious, but dreaming. As the illness spreads we learn more about it, more about the sick, and the healthy; the story is mesmerizing. I couldn’t put it down toward the end and I finished feeling like there could’ve been more. Thank you #netgalley for the ARC.

Thanks #netgalley and #randomhouse for my free copy of #thedreamers in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Have you ever had a dream that was so real that you had difficulty orienting yourself to a wakeful state? Have you ever pondered the meaning of your dreams? Have you attempted to make sense of your dreams? Do you think dreams can predict the future? Or have you wondered about the passage of time while you sleep? Have you even been asleep briefly but had a dream that seemed to last a long time? Have you experienced dreams about people who are no longer alive?

I'm thrilled I took a chance on reading The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker even though it is outside my usual reading genres. I don't read a lot of science fiction, but I became intrigued by several reviews of The Dreamers from respected reviewers on Instagram, Goodreads, and in blog posts. Once I noticed this title, I knew I had to see for myself! I hope you, too, will trust me and give this unique story a chance.

Because I don't typically read science fiction, I truly appreciate the mild nature of this character driven story. There's nothing too weird, grotesque, or frightening. The strange illness that causes victims to suddenly fall into a deep sleep from which they cannot be awakened strikes young and old alike and at random. Some victims sleep longer than others and as the epidemic spreads from the college students and throughout the town, it's a challenge to keep all the patients alive under quarantine conditions. As victims wake up, they report having vivid and realistic dreams and a few struggle with the meaning of the dreams and have difficulty adjusting to life outside of the dream state. The virus disappears as mysteriously as it appears. The prose is lovely, and the story told from multiple points of view is a quick read, engaging, bittersweet, and thought provoking.

This story causes you to think about your own crazy dreams and about how you and your city would react in any crisis. Considering the dire circumstances, it's a fairly gentle read as the college students and the town's residents succumb to the most routine and ordinary part of a typical day....falling asleep. The eerie part is that they might fall asleep while mowing the lawn, making dinner, or walking the dog. For a few nights after finishing the story, I certainly thought about closing my eyes as I lay on the sofa or as I fell asleep for the night. If you have difficulty sleeping or experience troubling dreams, this might need a trigger warning.

The Dreamers is a heartwarming story of community, individual survival, and neighbor helping neighbor. I highly recommend this story for readers who are looking for something a little different, for those who enjoy a mild science fiction selection with a touch of psychology and philosophy, and for fans of beautiful writing and a compelling story line. It would make a great vacation read, buddy read, or book club selection.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A college town is overtaken by a strange sleeping illness. Some people live while others die, and the town transforms into a prison of sorts. Very interesting quarantine situation.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC of this upcoming Karen Thompson Walker title. This book grabbed me right away, even though I never did get around to reading her book Age of Miracles (couldn’t get interested). Anyway, I avoided this for a long time because I had recently quit reading Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King and this sounded similar. I’m so glad I picked it up! Ms Walker is a beautiful writer and the story is engrossing. I can’t say I liked all the characters and some I didn’t understand but those I related to were drawn perfectly. Overall, a strong recommendation for this book.

Well. That was certainly something. As a person who does not remember his dreams, this book makes only solidifies my feelings about that. I am glad I don't have to wake up every day and deal with it. Of course, this is not just a book about dreaming, but time and sleep, which Ms. Walker dealt with in her last novel as well. The best thing about this book is how she gets the reader to care about characters. Rebecca, is hardly awake, and yet, we come back to her time and again and each time, we are interested in what is happening there. As a father of a set of Irish Twins, I was happy to see a set here, navigating the world trying to figure out who is in charge, the older one or the less cautious one. I wonder if that is always the case. There is just a lot to think about when this is over. I suspect I will spend a lot of time with this in the days and weeks to come. Thanks to Net Galley and to Ms. Walker.

The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker is exactly what I want from a sleepy Sunday afternoon read. And I read it all in one sitting!

When a sleeping illness effects first the students at a small isolate college, and then spreads to the townspeople, no one knows what is causing it or how to stop it. One of the first feelings that struck me as I read this book, is that this is something that could totally happen. And if it did, there is nothing anyone would be able to do about it.

I loved that there was not just one main characters, but rather a cast of characters all facing the same virus, all under different circumstances. Mei, the roommate of patient zero is quiet, but thoughtful. And completely selfless. A young couple grapples with the threat that the illness could effect their weeks-old infant. And two young girls, who have been prepared for such an event use their training to survive on their own.

The dreamy aspect of the book isn’t just about those falling ill–the dreamers. It also has a sleepy tone to the prose. The story reminded me of The Leftovers by Tom Perrota and The Fever by Megan Abbott, other books with a similar hazy and reflective tone.

I don’t want to give much more away, but this one was amazing! Special thanks to Random House and Netgalley for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review. Look for The Dreamers on a bookshelf near you January 15, 2019. I will be posting this review to my blog, Women in Trouble Book Blog on December 26, 2018.

I loved Age of Miracles. For some reason this book took me so long to get through. It lacked the hook for me that Age had. Many loved this so if you like this author you should give it a try. I just had a hard time connecting.