"What kind of freak are you?"
In Mindee Arnett's YA novel The Nightmare Affair, bad dreams don't just come true--they live right next door. Until a few months ago, Destiny Everheart was ordinary. Now she attends a school for magickind and breaks into houses to sit on dreamers' chests. Like her infamous rule-breaking mother, Dusty is a Nightmare, which means she has to feed off dreams to survive. This usually consists of sitting back and watching the dreams unfold, but when one of the subjects, a boy named Eli, foresees a murder at her school, her entire world is changed. According to the school oracle, Dusty is a dream-seer capable of predicting the future through the lens of Eli's subconscious mind. Because of this, she and Eli are tasked with discovering the identity of the murderer before he strikes again. But with the magickind in charge withholding information, Dusty is about do discover that playing Magical Detective is a lot more dangerous than it sounds.
The Nightmare Affair opens quite strangely: with a teenage girl breaking into a stranger's bedroom, sitting on his chest, and entering his dream. Within the first few words, readers are thrown right into the thick of things. We see a cemetery, the body of a classmate, and from that moment onward the plot never stops rolling. One event leads to another, which leads to the next at a speed that could leave one breathless. Yet, despite this, this little tale does not move too swiftly. Through subtly vital subplots and an intriguing romance between an unexpected couple, the author provides just enough space for characters to rest, so to speak, without releasing her grip on the high tension and intense storyline.
As the various threads of this narrative weave around each other, they form a tapestry that is much more cohesive than it first seems. Everything from minor romances to classmate rivalries and school bullies is important to both the story and the characters' development. In general, Dusty is the only one who undergoes a true change, following an internal arc that is sure to continue well into the rest of the series. Her companions, however, are primarily static creatures who serve as pillars of support and little else. Still, they are an interesting and complex bunch, ranging from a siren-rights activist to an "ordinary" and a magic-less halfkind, and contribute a great deal to the plot. And this is not to mention the quirky teachers and widely diverse faculty that truly make the setting shine.
Yes, there is more to this whodunit than meets the eye, with stakes much higher than Dusty and her friends know. And because the setting is a school for mythological creatures and kids with powerful abilities, there is definitely a big difference in culture. For example, halfkinds--descendants of a magical being and a human, or one kind of being with another--who cannot work magic are sometimes referred to as "mules", which is a pretty big insult given the context. Ordinary human swearing is used as well, though not very often. The romance takes its time and is based on more than looks, though those play a big part, and includes a love triangle that is portrayed quite well. Those involved indulge in kissing and some light touching that nearly progresses further but does not. However, one of Dusty's victims is said to have had an inappropriate dream. A student-teacher relationship is briefly suspected. While there is a bit of violence, nothing is graphic or terribly detailed.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a murder-mystery set in a world where magickind consist of more than mere wizards. Dusty Everheart is a strong character with lots of heart and a big problem on her hands. If she doesn't figure out what happened to her former classmate and why, there is a high likelihood that someone else will perish--and soon. Her struggle to uncover the truth in a society where nothing is simple is fascinating, and the school that backdrops it all is just as incredible. Sadly, the supporting cast is less than dynamic, though a few hold dark secrets of their own. Mindee Arnett's The Nightmare Affair is a great start to what looks like a wonderful series, and deserves a place on every reader's nightstand. It deserves four stars.
The Nightmare Affair opens quite strangely: with a teenage girl breaking into a stranger's bedroom, sitting on his chest, and entering his dream. Within the first few words, readers are thrown right into the thick of things. We see a cemetery, the body of a classmate, and from that moment onward the plot never stops rolling. One event leads to another, which leads to the next at a speed that could leave one breathless. Yet, despite this, this little tale does not move too swiftly. Through subtly vital subplots and an intriguing romance between an unexpected couple, the author provides just enough space for characters to rest, so to speak, without releasing her grip on the high tension and intense storyline.
As the various threads of this narrative weave around each other, they form a tapestry that is much more cohesive than it first seems. Everything from minor romances to classmate rivalries and school bullies is important to both the story and the characters' development. In general, Dusty is the only one who undergoes a true change, following an internal arc that is sure to continue well into the rest of the series. Her companions, however, are primarily static creatures who serve as pillars of support and little else. Still, they are an interesting and complex bunch, ranging from a siren-rights activist to an "ordinary" and a magic-less halfkind, and contribute a great deal to the plot. And this is not to mention the quirky teachers and widely diverse faculty that truly make the setting shine.
Yes, there is more to this whodunit than meets the eye, with stakes much higher than Dusty and her friends know. And because the setting is a school for mythological creatures and kids with powerful abilities, there is definitely a big difference in culture. For example, halfkinds--descendants of a magical being and a human, or one kind of being with another--who cannot work magic are sometimes referred to as "mules", which is a pretty big insult given the context. Ordinary human swearing is used as well, though not very often. The romance takes its time and is based on more than looks, though those play a big part, and includes a love triangle that is portrayed quite well. Those involved indulge in kissing and some light touching that nearly progresses further but does not. However, one of Dusty's victims is said to have had an inappropriate dream. A student-teacher relationship is briefly suspected. While there is a bit of violence, nothing is graphic or terribly detailed.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a murder-mystery set in a world where magickind consist of more than mere wizards. Dusty Everheart is a strong character with lots of heart and a big problem on her hands. If she doesn't figure out what happened to her former classmate and why, there is a high likelihood that someone else will perish--and soon. Her struggle to uncover the truth in a society where nothing is simple is fascinating, and the school that backdrops it all is just as incredible. Sadly, the supporting cast is less than dynamic, though a few hold dark secrets of their own. Mindee Arnett's The Nightmare Affair is a great start to what looks like a wonderful series, and deserves a place on every reader's nightstand. It deserves four stars.
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