DREAMHUNTER: Book One of the Dreamhunter Duet
Elizabeth Knox
Frances Foster Books/Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Fantasy
ISBN-10: 0374318530
ISBN-13: 9780374318530
384 pages

Laura Hame and Rose Tiebold's 15th birthdays are approaching. While many people their age would be excited about parties and presents, this birthday is different for the two cousins. They are eligible to test themselves at the Place and see if they're qualified to be Dreamhunters. The Place is a vast, extraordinary land where dreams of every kind are only accessible to Dreamhunters. A Dreamhunter is a person who can cross over and catch impressive dreams that can be relayed to other people.

Dreamhunting runs in the cousins' families. Laura's father Tziga and Rose's mother Grace are famous Dreamhunters whose collections of dreams bring large audiences far and wide to experience them at the Rainbow Opera, a famous dream palace. Despite the fame and wealth, dreamhunting is not always a glamorous occupation, and oftentimes a dreamhunter is on a different schedule from that of their own family. On many occasions, Grace's husband Chorley is the primary caretaker of the Hame-Tiebold household.

When it is the girls' turn to try, they each have different expectations. Laura feels anxious while Rose hopes to be a famous dreamhunter like her mother. When the day arrives, both are surprised at the results. Rose doesn't cross to the Place, but Laura does. However, for Laura the occasion is bittersweet; instead of having a pleasant dream called the Wild River, she has a nightmare, and her father has mysteriously disappeared after going on an official job for the government.

The family is baffled by the Dream Regulatory Body's explanation and doesn't understand why Tziga would decide to enter the Place without telling his family. Meanwhile, strange events have been occurring that defy explanation. Laura and Rose begin their own investigation, but when Laura continues having unusual dreams and discovers a mysterious letter from her father in the Place, it becomes apparent that there's a far bigger and deadlier secret involving corrupt government officials and their families that no one ever could have dreamed.

Set in the beginning of 20th-century Australia, DREAMHUNTER tells the story of a family whose members make surprising discoveries both in and beyond their world, while changing within themselves. A stunning fantasy set in a world of high society, politics and intrigue, it is destined to be a classic that readers anxiously will want to see continue.

   --- Reviewed by Sarah Sawtelle (SdarksideG@aol.com)

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