ALA Booklist
Liv Silver is living two lives. One is real, the other a dream. Since their mother moved Liv and her sister Mia in with the wealthy Ernest Spencer and his teenage twins, Grayson and Florence, they're still getting comfortable in London. But Liv's dreams vacillate between swoony (when she's making out with real-life boyfriend Henry Harper) and terrifying (when she's trying to protect Mia from a sleep-walking certain death). And then there's Secrecy, the author of the Tittle-Tattle Blog, who seems to know all of Liv's darkest secrets, in both real life and her dreams. The second book in the Silver Trilogy requires a suspension of disbelief from readers as the bliss and horror of the characters' dreams exact consequences in their everyday lives. School, friendships, rivalries, and the prickly home lives of siblings and stepfamilies are all fair game in both dreamland and reality in this ongoing story designed to appeal to readers of both paranormal fiction and romance.
School Library Journal
Gr 9 Up-Readers learn in Dream a Little Dream (Holt, 2015) that Liv, her sort of stepbrother Grayson, and her friends Arthur, Jasper, and Henry can meet up in their dreams. Now that emotionally unstable Anabel is at a psychiatric hospital, she cannot attempt to hurt Liv again. Jasper was shipped off to do a semester in France. Grayson is still with snobby perfectionist Emily, and Liv is dating Henry. Liv worries that Henry is not being honest with her. She and little sister Mia butt heads with their soon-to-be stepgrandmother. And the blogger known only as Secrecy seems to magically know everything that happens to the students at Frognal Academy and happily publicizes their secrets. But when Mia starts sleepwalking and doing dangerous things like trying to jump out of second-floor windows, Liv wants to keep her safe at any cost. This volume does not disappoint. Liv and Mia are relatable characters, and their unique family dynamics are often funny. Small missteps such as awkward translations (e.g., "not the brightest spark in his field" and "they talked thirteen to the dozen") and some scantly developed characters are forgivable due to the sheer enjoyment of this fantasy tale. Liv is not the "chosen one"but just a girl who, through hard work and practice, is skilled at kung fu and controlling her dreams. VERDICT There is enough of a wrap-up in this volume and a teaser of the continued mysteries to make the next entry highly anticipated. Tara Kehoe, New Jersey State Library Talking Book and Braille Center, Trenton
Voice of Youth Advocates
(Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)
Seventeen-year-old Liv Silver's life finally seems to be getting back to some semblance of normalcy. Anabel, the classmate who took advantage of Liv's lucid-dreaming ability and wreaked havoc on her life, has been placed in a psychiatric hospital. Liv; her younger sister, Mia; her mother, Ann; and their au pair, Lottie, have moved into a London townhouse with Ernest, her mother's fiancÚ, and Grayson and Florence, his teenage twins. AsáLiv is getting used to her blended family, classes at Frognal Academy, and a new relationship with school heartthrob Henry, she is beginning to worry about Mia, whose sleepwalking habit is becoming more and more dangerous. Is Anabel manipulating the Silver family from the hospital? With help from Henry and Grayson, Liv must enter Mia's dreams before anyone else gets hurt.Although the action from the previous book is alluded to, this sequel is difficult to follow without having read the first installment, Dream a Little Dream (Henry Holt, 2015/VOYA June 2015). Gier, however, includes a character list and a "Rule Book of Dreams" for reference. There is a witty charm to Dream On, especially with the inclusion of excerpts from the Frognal Academy's Tittle-Tattle Blog, run by Secrecy. Although the story is at times a tad confusing, readers will ultimately like Liv and be engaged by her story.Kirsten Pickel.