Zelda's world comes crashing down when a boy she's never seen before crosser her path and makes her question everything she thought she knew. Her perfect world may only be a dream, and now she, Langston (the boy), and her pet cat (who she realizes actually died years ago) must go on a journey to figure out whose dream their in and how to wake up. A fun, quirky quest ensues and romance blossoms in this sweet look at reality, life, and why we choose to live.

The stream of consciousness quality of the novel lends itself to being read aloud and the narrators capture the storytelling excellently.

A Little Like Waking by Adam Rex is a fascinating and surreal journey through a dreamscape that feels like a modern-day Alice in Wonderland. The story follows Zelda, who finds herself stuck in a bizarre dream world where people can fly, bears sneeze money, and her long-lost cat Patches is inexplicably alive. Things get even stranger when she meets Langston, a timid boy who feels more real to her than anyone else in this whimsical reality. As they explore this topsy-turvy world together, their connection deepens, but they must face an uncomfortable truth neither of them is prepared for.

With its dream logic, humor, and introspective twists, A Little Like Waking captures the same disorienting wonder as Alice in Wonderland while exploring themes of love, loss, and the nature of reality. Rex’s story, filled with vibrant illustrations, defies expectations and lingers in your mind long after reading. Fans of surreal and thought-provoking tales will find this book to be an inventive, whimsical, and tender experience.

Thank you NetGalley, and the publishers for the arc in exchange for my honest review.


Immersed in an eternal dream, Zelda navigates a fantastical realm where the peculiar becomes the norm. Even her childhood cat, Patches, makes a cameo in this surreal universe. Amidst the dream's twists, she encounters Langston, a boy who captures her heart, and together, they delve into the mysteries of this dreamlike world. A narrative that unfolds like a dream itself, filled with surreal and bizarre events.

While categorized as a YA romance, A Little Like Waking breaks free from conventional romance novel constraints. Taking a chance on this book turned out to be a gratifying decision, as it presents a wonderfully surreal YA experience that stands out for its originality in both writing and setting. The narrative invites readers to share in Zelda's dream, creating a unique and captivating journey, even for those who may not be the typical target audience.

With dual narrators, the female voice expertly guides most of the story, creating an immersive experience. However, the male voice falls slightly short of expectations. While not inherently bad, it may not be the ideal fit for the character, subtly detracting from the overall narration. Despite this minor setback, the dreamlike allure of A Little Like Waking remains a compelling and enchanting literary escape.

'a little like waking' was so surreal and so much fun, and completely nailed the weirdness of being in a dream.
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you spend the whole book bouncing back between 'is zelda the dreamer? is langston?? is it the talking cat?!' because all and none of the above seem plausible. its so fun and i had finally settled on 'they're probably having some weird shared dream' when the plot twist hit and,, it was so good
and if the intention of the audiobook narrator switch was to make me lose my shit,, it worked.
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the characters were so fun (and i loved the narrator's voices for them) but i really liked langston especially - something about how much of a girlfailure he was really spoke to me tbh..
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about the "romance" part - you find yourself really rooting for zelda and langston (personally, i'd be making breakfast while listening to the audiobook and screaming 'KISS ALREADY' but that experience might vary) but there wasn't actually much romance?? i'd call this more of an adventure/fantasy book.. which brings me to the fact that although the book is labeled as YA it kind of reads like a book for younger readers? but is still completely enjoyable for any age and so witty and cute :3
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the only thing that kind of took me out of the experience was that it got a bit repetitive/overly descriptive sometimes, but i still overall really liked this :D give it a read!!!!! or a listen!!!!!

A Little Like Waking starts of a bit confusing with Zelda trapped in an endless dream and strange things ensuing, However once the story got going I enjoyed this book, but I do think perhaps it is for the younger half of the YA scale as I don't think I enjoyed it as much as I would have if I was younger. Saying this though I loved the surreal atmosphere and thought the premise was unique and lots of people will enjoy.

Format: audiobook ~ Narrator: Jess Nahikian; J. D. Jackson
Content: 4 stars ~ Narration: 4 stars

Zelda is trapped in an endless dream. As always, in a dream, many unusual things happen. She even encounters her childhood cat, Patches. Later, she meets a boy named Langston, whom she really likes. Together, they all explore this mysterious world. Reading the novel feels like a dream, with numerous surreal and bizarre events.

This novel is categorized as a YA romance, and I do not enjoy reading conventional romance novels. However, in this particular case, I am happy I gave it a chance. Because A Little Like Waking is a delightfully surreal YA novel, and it truly is a unique read, with its original writing and setting. As a reader, you are stuck in a dream with Zelda. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride, although I guess I'm not exactly the target audience.

There are two narrators, and the female narrator tells most of the story. The female narrator is perfect, but unfortunately, the male voice didn’t meet my expectations. The narration is not bad, but I think the narrator’s voice is not the right one for this character.

Thanks to Dreamscape Media for the advanced copy and this opportunity! This is a voluntary review and all opinions are my own.

Lots of fun, but a little young I think if I was actually teenager I would just be blown away by this being almost 30 I just felt a little too young for me

It was such an honor to be able to listen to this book. I highly enjoyed this book. The story was so enjoyable.

I liked some aspects of this audiobook and some not so much. I was very confused in the beginning but the descriptions were quite interesting and zany which made me want to want to learn more. It reminded a bit of groundhog day which I liked but I was still confused. I didn’t know which way the plot was going, which is true for the main characters but it felt all over the place. It does make a bit more sense towards the end but it wasn’t as satisfying as I would have liked. I’m leaning more towards 2.5 stars.

I am a very vivid dreamer, and I often remember my dreams when I wake up. A Little Like Waking felt just like one of my crazy dreams. It was so quirky, so different and so much fun.

Adam Rex has a wonderful imagination and an excellent sense of humour. I frequently found myself laughing out loud as I listened to the audiobook. My one disappointment was with the male narrator. His voice sounded to old to pass as a teen. Other than that, the rest of the book was great. The female narrator was a joy to listen to. She read her part perfectly!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
#ALittleLikeWaking #NetGalley

Okay let’s talk about this book.

I loved how original this book was. I’ve never read a book so imaginative, fun, and colourful (idk a better word to describe it !) ! This book was super cute, and I didn’t expect a plot twist nor did I see it coming!

I do find that it read a bit younger than it was intended to, but it was almost kind of fun that way, as in I basically imagined it as a Disney movie in my head (if this doesn’t become a Disney movie I’m striking) ! Which was so fun !

Overall I enjoyed it, but I don’t think I was necessarily the target audience for this one!

A Massive Thank You to the Author, the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this book prior to its release date.

A Little Like Waking by Adam Rex
Status: Available Now, Not KU
Reading Method: Audio via Netgalley

📖 🎧 Writing &/or Audio Style : The writing style was very unique for this novel, but once you got your bearings on what was happening, the style worked well for the story. I thought the narrator did an amazing job, really embodying the different characters but she especially had me laughing as Zelda and Patches.

👥 Characters & Relationships: I loved the Characters in this novel. Interesting and quirky, I loved Zelda’s reactions to things.

⁉️Plot, Intrigue & Logic: The plot overall was super interesting to me. I loved the relatability of all the dream archetypes. The 3rd quarter of the book felt a little long to me, but I loved the first half for sure and the ending wrapped things up nicely.

🏞️Atmosphere & Setting: The setting was really well done, I felt like I was in the dreamworld where a majority of the story was set. The writing painted the weird and unique scenes very well.

🥰Enjoyment: I really really enjoyed this one. Like stated above it felt a little long in the 3rd quarter but overall it was SUCH a fun ride.

🚨 For Reader Awareness: References to familial deaths.

📣Recommended for fans of: YA, Romance, Magical Realism

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book was very odd and I am still not sure what to make of it. I was sure Zelda was in a coma and that is why she was hearing “the voice of god” while dreaming. Langston was a very sweet character and I wanted what was best for him. I enjoyed the craziness of the dreams as anything can happen in a dream.

I would describe this as “If I Stay” by Gayle Forman meets A. S. King and Andrew Smith.
Zelda is stuck inside a dream where everything is the same everyday, she doesn’t know anyone’s names and she can manipulate the drama with her mind. There’s a talking cat, a mysterious wizard, a laundromat clown, a house with legs, and so much more.
It seems like she’s the main character in her own dream world that is never ending.
One day Zelda runs into a boy she’s never seen before. Who could it be? Who is Langston?
And what happens if you aren’t the main character and the story is not your own? And when you wake up will you have lost or will you have gained a whole new world of perspective?

Many thanks to Net Galley and Dreamscape Media for an audio copy of A Little Like Walking by Adam Rex.

Zelda is stuck in a dream. Langston is always in the dream. They can not figure out who's dream they are in, is the dream Zelda's or Langston's.

At times, I felt stuck in the book. But the ending rocked!

This idea sounded so great! Our FMC Zelda is trapped in a dream (which you figure out is a coma) and goes on a journey with her dream friend Langston and her (previously deceased) cat Patches to figure out who really *is* the dreamer and how to wake them up.

I overall enjoyed the story but thought it was very repetitive and could have definitely done without many scenes. It also seems to be written for younger YA (for middle school and pre teens) but some of the topics explored are heavier so that was a bit confusing. Add that to the fact that at the end you discover the main character is actually in college and then none of the story really makes sense? The language and the dream itself reads as though it's from a mind of a 13 year old. I don't know if this was intentional or not but it was odd in my opinion. Giving this a solid 3 stars for creativity and talking cats.

Zelda starts to take stock of the world around her, where everyone knows her name, does what she wants, and is interested in what she has to say. As she looks at her daily life (especially the recurring experience of being late for a test she didn't study for), she begins to realize that she's in a dream world, not a real one.

When she questions others about this, their reactions are bizarre, but they eventually forget what was being talked about and go back to their normal level of weirdness.

Zelda's quest to escape the dream brings her into contact with someone else who vows to help her, mostly because he has a crush on her. But the more they discover about the world they're living in, the more they wonder, who is the dream and who is the dreamer? And do they really want to know after all?

The entire story is written as if it's a waking dream, which is interesting for a time, but honestly became tedious after a while. Unfortunately, that led me to not really care what answer they found. And when the story did finally end, it felt very abrupt.

Thank you to Adam Rex, Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

Here's a book where I spent most of the time laughing, because this was a strange book, with some serious seriousness in the mix. The humor might not be for everyone, but I kind of enjoyed it. It really made the story feel unique, which I appreciated, and it made me enjoy reading the book.
As for the author's writing, I have nothing to point out negatively, but I also can't say that there was something that marked me in a way that I later remember.

Thank you Netgalley for this opportunity..

#alittlelikewalking, #Netgalley

Zelda is stuck in her dreams and wants to get out. But it feels so real and comfortable. With the help of Langdon, and her dead cat Patches she must face her fears in order to growth. The audiobook is good.