Starred Review DeStefano's newest dark tale takes readers to Brassmere Academy for the Extraordinary, secretly located deep within the woods. Here 200 orphans with peculiar abilities reside and are carefully monitored by headmaster Dr. Abarrane and his team of pink-suited adults. While this scenario will strike readers as ominous, it is quite normal to Plum, Vien, Gwendle, and Artem ur Brassmere students who lucidly dream in tandem. These dreams often house monsters that Plum and her friends must slay, but their nighttime exploits have grown stranger and more dangerous lately, and the Pink Suits' questions about the dreams more unusual. When Artem disappears after an incident at the school, he reaches out to Plum in her dreams, warning that, "They're coming for us." Plum is baffled by his message but determined to find her missing friend, and in the process, discovers truths about Brassmere that sting with betrayal. DeStefano adeptly conjures a foreboding atmosphere throughout this slim novel, which will grip readers from prologue to epilogue. The writing is evocative and concise, and the story satisfyingly contained. Many novels showcase the supernatural elements their stories hold, and while these are integral to Plum's narrative, it is the friendship shared by the four dreamers that takes center stage. A natural fit for Stranger Things fans, this eerie novel is a gem.

At Brassmere Academy for the Extraordinary, every student possesses a special ability. Plum has a unique connection with three other students with whom she dreams in unison. Lately, there've been more monsters in their dreamworld--harder-to-kill ones at that--and when one of their collective goes missing, their safe, regulated life unravels. DeStefano's latest is a simple but satisfying entry point for fledgling supernatural readers.

Twelve-year-old Plum and her friends Artem, Vien, and Gwendle have a special bond: they-re able to dream in tandem, a strange skill that is right at home among those of their fellow orphans at Brassmere Academy for the Extraordinary. They-ve never gone beyond the high fence surrounding Brassmere, or past the gargoyles guarding it, but their dreams offer a different sort of escape. Keeping dream journals and having their blood drawn every third Wednesday is a small price to pay for the security of Brassmere and the care given by Dr. Abarrane, who rescued them as babies. During a particularly terrifying dream, though, Artem tells Plum, -They-re coming for us. One by one, until they find the one they need.- After Artem goes missing, the friends vow to find him and discover that Brassmere-s true purpose may be a terrible secret. DeStefano explores the bonds of friendship through the lens of dreams and the freedom that imagination can offer, and her gothic-flavored story is by turns lovely and harrowing. Ages 8-12. (July)