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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
I give this 4.5/5 stars.
In the not-too-distant future (I guess around 2075), there is an elite school for creative high school students - dancers, directors, actors, painters, etc. - that is also a 12-hour a day reality tv show. The Forge Show follows the full daily lives of the students at the Forge School. Students are ranked by how many viewers are watching their particular profiles (livestreams) at any given time. The higher the ranking, the more money a student can make on banner ads, and also for first year students, only the top 50 out of 100 will make the cut to continue their high school careers at this school. For the 12 hours a day the cameras aren't rolling, students are forced to sleep using sleeping pills, which supposedly increase their creativity and lower their stress levels.
New student Rosie is an aspiring filmmaker. She needs to attend this school because she comes from a very poor background and she has no other opportunities, but her ranking is dismally low. She decides to stop taking her sleep pills because she misses the night, and that's when she starts to notice suspicious activity on campus after hours. She does what she can to stay on the show - both because she wants the opportunity and she wants to figure out what's going on.
The book explores ideas about dreams versus reality, where creativity comes from, trust, and helping others versus helping yourself.
I loved this book. The story is intriguing and fast-paced. I loved all of the characters, especially the protagonist Rosie, even her flaws. The title is definitely a spoiler, but I still couldn't put the book down because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. The ending is appropriately bleak and sorrowful.
In the not-too-distant future (I guess around 2075), there is an elite school for creative high school students - dancers, directors, actors, painters, etc. - that is also a 12-hour a day reality tv show. The Forge Show follows the full daily lives of the students at the Forge School. Students are ranked by how many viewers are watching their particular profiles (livestreams) at any given time. The higher the ranking, the more money a student can make on banner ads, and also for first year students, only the top 50 out of 100 will make the cut to continue their high school careers at this school. For the 12 hours a day the cameras aren't rolling, students are forced to sleep using sleeping pills, which supposedly increase their creativity and lower their stress levels.
New student Rosie is an aspiring filmmaker. She needs to attend this school because she comes from a very poor background and she has no other opportunities, but her ranking is dismally low. She decides to stop taking her sleep pills because she misses the night, and that's when she starts to notice suspicious activity on campus after hours. She does what she can to stay on the show - both because she wants the opportunity and she wants to figure out what's going on.
The book explores ideas about dreams versus reality, where creativity comes from, trust, and helping others versus helping yourself.
I loved this book. The story is intriguing and fast-paced. I loved all of the characters, especially the protagonist Rosie, even her flaws. The title is definitely a spoiler, but I still couldn't put the book down because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. The ending is appropriately bleak and sorrowful.
The Forge School is one of the most prestigious art schools in the country and The Forge Show is one of the most popular reality television programs, as well. The reason is because the students lives lives are broadcast live to the viewing public, and their popularity rankings determine their time at the school. The students even have a mandatory twelve hour sleep cycle to help boost their creativity. When Rosie, a first-year, decides to skip her sleeping pill one evening, she realizes that there is something off about the school as she begins to suspect that something nefarious is going on beyond the ever-present cameras' reach. The more she tries to look into it, the more she begins to notice that something isn't quite right at the edges of her own mind.
I've heard so many great things about Caragh M. O'Brien that I thought it was time to try her work, and I was quite pleased to see that The Vault of Dreamers, the first volume in her new series, was available on audio. A great way to describe this story is as a 1984-esque dystopian set in the world of a reality show, and it works really well. The beginning of the story certainly hooked me and I was invested in following Rosie's school career and her struggle to find out what's going what's going on at The Forge School. The only aspects that I didn't care for was the (somewhat) love triangle, the fact that Rosie seemed to make a few progressively dumb decisions, and that massive cliffhanger ending. I'm going to have to read the sequel, The Rule of Mirrors.
I've heard so many great things about Caragh M. O'Brien that I thought it was time to try her work, and I was quite pleased to see that The Vault of Dreamers, the first volume in her new series, was available on audio. A great way to describe this story is as a 1984-esque dystopian set in the world of a reality show, and it works really well. The beginning of the story certainly hooked me and I was invested in following Rosie's school career and her struggle to find out what's going what's going on at The Forge School. The only aspects that I didn't care for was the (somewhat) love triangle, the fact that Rosie seemed to make a few progressively dumb decisions, and that massive cliffhanger ending. I'm going to have to read the sequel, The Rule of Mirrors.
This book was really weird and a little messy. My actual words after I finished it: "Wtf?"
What? You can't end there...seriously!?
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The Vault of Dreamers brings two different ideas together for one weirdly fascinating ride. On one hand we have a very typical dystopian, “Everything is too perfect to be perfect” type story, and on the other we have a “Big Brother is always watching” story. They’ve been blended together in a way that makes the progress seem like a high stakes gamble,
I really enjoyed O’Brien’s book Birthmarked because her writing style is sort of comforting, so I immediately knew she would give me a story that I would enjoy reading and I wasn’t wrong. I did have some issues with it as far as believability goes, but I appreciated the overall story too much to dwell on it. Our setting is the exclusive Forge School, a institution devoted to cultivating the most creative minds in the country. These individuals are given complete creative freedom in their work all while under the constant camera coverage of the Forge Show. This is where people can watch their favorite students work and go about their normal lives on the campus. But all is not as fantastic as it seems and Rosie is on the fast track to find out just how screwed up Forge is under the surface.
The story itself starts out really great, with some interesting world building and character building but it does slow down toward the middle…making that portion a bit difficult to trudge through. I liked the idea of the school and even the vault of dreamers, because they are both such wild ideas that I haven’t too many similar ideas out in the book market right now. I do wish we had been able to see a more fleshed out version of her family, other than the little bits of flashbacks, but I did enjoy having Rosie as a narrator. She even had me wondering at times if she was a reliable one or not, which made the book even more fun.
Fair Warning: This book ends on a massive cliffhanger! Like a screaming at the top of your lungs, “How could you stop there?!” kind of cliffhanger. I can’t even believe it and unfortunately i can’t even hint at what it is because so much of the books fun lies with not knowing.
In conclusion The Vault of Dreamers is a fun thrill ride of a dystopian! It might now be the most plausible story, but I still enjoyed it and I look forward to seeing how the series will continue.
----
The Vault of Dreamers brings two different ideas together for one weirdly fascinating ride. On one hand we have a very typical dystopian, “Everything is too perfect to be perfect” type story, and on the other we have a “Big Brother is always watching” story. They’ve been blended together in a way that makes the progress seem like a high stakes gamble,
I really enjoyed O’Brien’s book Birthmarked because her writing style is sort of comforting, so I immediately knew she would give me a story that I would enjoy reading and I wasn’t wrong. I did have some issues with it as far as believability goes, but I appreciated the overall story too much to dwell on it. Our setting is the exclusive Forge School, a institution devoted to cultivating the most creative minds in the country. These individuals are given complete creative freedom in their work all while under the constant camera coverage of the Forge Show. This is where people can watch their favorite students work and go about their normal lives on the campus. But all is not as fantastic as it seems and Rosie is on the fast track to find out just how screwed up Forge is under the surface.
The story itself starts out really great, with some interesting world building and character building but it does slow down toward the middle…making that portion a bit difficult to trudge through. I liked the idea of the school and even the vault of dreamers, because they are both such wild ideas that I haven’t too many similar ideas out in the book market right now. I do wish we had been able to see a more fleshed out version of her family, other than the little bits of flashbacks, but I did enjoy having Rosie as a narrator. She even had me wondering at times if she was a reliable one or not, which made the book even more fun.
Fair Warning: This book ends on a massive cliffhanger! Like a screaming at the top of your lungs, “How could you stop there?!” kind of cliffhanger. I can’t even believe it and unfortunately i can’t even hint at what it is because so much of the books fun lies with not knowing.
In conclusion The Vault of Dreamers is a fun thrill ride of a dystopian! It might now be the most plausible story, but I still enjoyed it and I look forward to seeing how the series will continue.
Found an advance review copy of this book at a book sale and it was pretty dang good tbh! The story idea has an original twist, the pacing is solid, and the protagonist is relatable n cute.
This review was originally written on Read.Sleep.Repeat.
After reading (+ loving) the Birthmarked Trilogy, I knew I had to pick up Caragh O’Brien’s next novel. And I’m happy to say that this book did not disappoint, I liked it overall.
Sophie is a girl attending the Forge School for talented artists and as per her contract, she has to take a sleeping pill and sleep exactly for 12 hours. But one night, she skips her pill and ends up discovering something she wasn’t expecting. Dealing with the things she’s seen isn’t easy when the Forge School is also littered with cameras, documenting everything for a reality show revolving around the students at the school.
In general, I liked the main character, Sophie, and her determination, spontaneity and her snark. I loved how she interacted with other characters and how she was different from the other students that attended the Forge School (not to say that she was above them but she just thought differently about the whole thing). Seeing Sophie struggle with what was happening in the school was very interesting and I enjoyed it immensely.
The plot itself was very complex but well thought-out. I loved seeing how dreams and the students were all connected but saying anything further feels spoilery. Despite the well-written plot, it sometimes felt dragged on and the pacing was terribly slow. Only in the 2nd half of the book do readers get a chance to get some answers and as such it was kinda slow to get into. But the slow plot wasn’t that bad because readers get a chance to learn more about the other students and I loved reading all about Burnham (one of Sophie’s friends) and the other friends that Sophie made.
Another thing that I did not enjoy was the romance. The romance started out as Linus, a kitchen boy, helping Sophie pass the 1st stage of the reality show so she can stay at the school. From there, it turned a little insta-lovey and sometimes annoying. I didn’t really see what connection Sophie and Linus had and I didn’t see why she felt so protective of him. The whole romance irked me with its hastiness, lack of depth and typical YA tropes (i.e. innocent girl, experienced guy, a brooding dude who claims that “guys don’t get upset”, etc.) I just didn’t really get the romance but as a whole, it was not that big of a part of the novel so it was manageable.
As I was writing this review, I realized something. The ending was superb and well-written, a truly wonderful ending, but in hindsight, as readers, we get basically no questions answered. So many things happened leading up to the ending and while Sophie’s questions are answered, some of the side-characters are completely forgotten and (dare I say it) abandoned because of their lack of importance in Sophie’s life. I can see how this book has room to be a part of a companion duology to answer some of these questions and I am kinda hoping that it will be the case.
Overall, The Vault of Dreamers is an interesting and thought-provoking novel about the mysteries of an arts school and a filmmaker who changes everything. If you’re looking for a new dystopian novel in a world of predictable ones, I highly recommend this one.
After reading (+ loving) the Birthmarked Trilogy, I knew I had to pick up Caragh O’Brien’s next novel. And I’m happy to say that this book did not disappoint, I liked it overall.
Sophie is a girl attending the Forge School for talented artists and as per her contract, she has to take a sleeping pill and sleep exactly for 12 hours. But one night, she skips her pill and ends up discovering something she wasn’t expecting. Dealing with the things she’s seen isn’t easy when the Forge School is also littered with cameras, documenting everything for a reality show revolving around the students at the school.
In general, I liked the main character, Sophie, and her determination, spontaneity and her snark. I loved how she interacted with other characters and how she was different from the other students that attended the Forge School (not to say that she was above them but she just thought differently about the whole thing). Seeing Sophie struggle with what was happening in the school was very interesting and I enjoyed it immensely.
The plot itself was very complex but well thought-out. I loved seeing how dreams and the students were all connected but saying anything further feels spoilery. Despite the well-written plot, it sometimes felt dragged on and the pacing was terribly slow. Only in the 2nd half of the book do readers get a chance to get some answers and as such it was kinda slow to get into. But the slow plot wasn’t that bad because readers get a chance to learn more about the other students and I loved reading all about Burnham (one of Sophie’s friends) and the other friends that Sophie made.
Another thing that I did not enjoy was the romance. The romance started out as Linus, a kitchen boy, helping Sophie pass the 1st stage of the reality show so she can stay at the school. From there, it turned a little insta-lovey and sometimes annoying. I didn’t really see what connection Sophie and Linus had and I didn’t see why she felt so protective of him. The whole romance irked me with its hastiness, lack of depth and typical YA tropes (i.e. innocent girl, experienced guy, a brooding dude who claims that “guys don’t get upset”, etc.) I just didn’t really get the romance but as a whole, it was not that big of a part of the novel so it was manageable.
As I was writing this review, I realized something. The ending was superb and well-written, a truly wonderful ending, but in hindsight, as readers, we get basically no questions answered. So many things happened leading up to the ending and while Sophie’s questions are answered, some of the side-characters are completely forgotten and (dare I say it) abandoned because of their lack of importance in Sophie’s life. I can see how this book has room to be a part of a companion duology to answer some of these questions and I am kinda hoping that it will be the case.
Overall, The Vault of Dreamers is an interesting and thought-provoking novel about the mysteries of an arts school and a filmmaker who changes everything. If you’re looking for a new dystopian novel in a world of predictable ones, I highly recommend this one.
(From www.pingwings.ca)
Received from the publisher, for free, for review consideration. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Summary from Goodreads:
Oh, how I wanted to love this book. I was really intrigued by the world building and science involved, but I struggled with the characters and the story, especially the ending.
The premise was interesting, with the Forge School being broadcast as a reality show, but Rosie, the protagonist, never grabbed me. Her romance with Liam (an employee at the school) was sweet, but as with Rosie, I didn’t feel anything for his character.
My interest in this book was purely plot based. I found Rosie and some her actions really frustrating at times, but I did enjoy the story initially, and later on liked the is-she-crazy-or-isn’t-she aspect of it all.
As for the end of the story, I was confused. It wasn’t totally clear to me what had happened, and then I was left wondering if this will be part of a series or not, because if it isn’t, I would have huge issues with the ending. And if it is part of a series, I may be curious enough to pick up the sequel eventually to see what happens.
I didn’t love this book, sadly. I liked much of the story, up until the end, but didn’t feel anything for the characters and end was too unclear for my liking.
Received from the publisher, for free, for review consideration. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Summary from Goodreads:
From the author of the Birthmarked trilogy comes a fast-paced, psychologically thrilling novel about what happens when your dreams are not your own.
The Forge School is the most prestigious arts school in the country. The secret to its success: every moment of the students’ lives is televised as part of the insanely popular Forge Show, and the students’ schedule includes twelve hours of induced sleep meant to enhance creativity. But when first year student Rosie Sinclair skips her sleeping pill, she discovers there is something off about Forge. In fact, she suspects that there are sinister things going on deep below the reaches of the cameras in the school. What’s worse is, she starts to notice that the edges of her consciousness do not feel quite right. And soon, she unearths the ghastly secret that the Forge School is hiding—and what it truly means to dream there.
Oh, how I wanted to love this book. I was really intrigued by the world building and science involved, but I struggled with the characters and the story, especially the ending.
The premise was interesting, with the Forge School being broadcast as a reality show, but Rosie, the protagonist, never grabbed me. Her romance with Liam (an employee at the school) was sweet, but as with Rosie, I didn’t feel anything for his character.
My interest in this book was purely plot based. I found Rosie and some her actions really frustrating at times, but I did enjoy the story initially, and later on liked the is-she-crazy-or-isn’t-she aspect of it all.
As for the end of the story, I was confused. It wasn’t totally clear to me what had happened, and then I was left wondering if this will be part of a series or not, because if it isn’t, I would have huge issues with the ending. And if it is part of a series, I may be curious enough to pick up the sequel eventually to see what happens.
I didn’t love this book, sadly. I liked much of the story, up until the end, but didn’t feel anything for the characters and end was too unclear for my liking.
Hot diggity I need book 2. I spent the last portion of the book slightly afraid that tropes were going to start appearing and they didn't so that was very exciting but man I super enjoyed this book and really wanted to read it all in one fell swoop. It's a very different idea, which I love -- a callback to The Hunger Games and The Selection with a new twist of the Reality TV show idea.
(I'm also just super excited that Linus did not betray her in the end because I had been burned too many times)
(I'm also just super excited that Linus did not betray her in the end because I had been burned too many times)
I thought the concept sounded interesting and I seriously thought there would be more about dreams in this book. I was sorely disappointed. This book is not about dreams. In fact, it's about the lack thereof. Though, this book did have enough redeeming qualities to earn it three stars. But that's it.
The actual plot was fairly interesting. I found the whole points aspect entertaining and the boarding school really cool, but I didn't find it all that realistic for parents to just send their kids to this place. Especially with everything that ended up coming out at the end, I'm really questioning the judgement of these parents. Though, I will hand it to Caragh M. O'Brien for creating an interesting and unique plot.
The execution though...it could have been better. I felt as though I had been dropped into something without any context. The story should have started a good week earlier, or so. Maybe even a month earlier. It began on the first occasion Rosie stopped taking the sleeping pill, but I had nothing to compare it to. No situation of what it was like to take the sleeping pill. I feel like the story could have been a ton stronger if we got that extra background. Usually when something out of the ordinary happens, one likes to see the ordinary as well. That way there's a sense of change and difference. What even made Rosie not take her sleeping pill? I guess we'll never know.
Rosie was a really flat character, too. She was strong--I can give her that--, but that's where her good traits end. She's selfish, annoying, and didn't really have a personality. She seemed really immature as well, which is one of my biggest pet peeves in books.
One last complaint, INSTA-LOVE??? REALLY??? Not to mention, the love interest was as flat as a brick. Everyone was flat. Welcome to the world of flat-like-pancakes characters.
I feel like I'm being cruel. This book really did have potential. I read it over the course of maybe two days and I did honestly enjoy it. I couldn't put it down, it definitely held my attention, and the plot wasn't completely cliché. I just really couldn't stand the characters and the way it started. It wasn't horrible and I recommend giving it a try if you think the plot sounds interesting. It might just be me.
-Book Hugger
For more reviews like this, check out my blog at http://www.bookhuggerreviews.com
The actual plot was fairly interesting. I found the whole points aspect entertaining and the boarding school really cool, but I didn't find it all that realistic for parents to just send their kids to this place. Especially with everything that ended up coming out at the end, I'm really questioning the judgement of these parents. Though, I will hand it to Caragh M. O'Brien for creating an interesting and unique plot.
The execution though...it could have been better. I felt as though I had been dropped into something without any context. The story should have started a good week earlier, or so. Maybe even a month earlier. It began on the first occasion Rosie stopped taking the sleeping pill, but I had nothing to compare it to. No situation of what it was like to take the sleeping pill. I feel like the story could have been a ton stronger if we got that extra background. Usually when something out of the ordinary happens, one likes to see the ordinary as well. That way there's a sense of change and difference. What even made Rosie not take her sleeping pill? I guess we'll never know.
Rosie was a really flat character, too. She was strong--I can give her that--, but that's where her good traits end. She's selfish, annoying, and didn't really have a personality. She seemed really immature as well, which is one of my biggest pet peeves in books.
One last complaint, INSTA-LOVE??? REALLY??? Not to mention, the love interest was as flat as a brick. Everyone was flat. Welcome to the world of flat-like-pancakes characters.
I feel like I'm being cruel. This book really did have potential. I read it over the course of maybe two days and I did honestly enjoy it. I couldn't put it down, it definitely held my attention, and the plot wasn't completely cliché. I just really couldn't stand the characters and the way it started. It wasn't horrible and I recommend giving it a try if you think the plot sounds interesting. It might just be me.
-Book Hugger
For more reviews like this, check out my blog at http://www.bookhuggerreviews.com
It took me a little while to get into this one but once I stuck with it and it got going, I really enjoyed it.
It was definitely different and I'm still not sure exactly what went on with the end, but I want to find out, and want the next book now. Really good and enjoyable!
It was definitely different and I'm still not sure exactly what went on with the end, but I want to find out, and want the next book now. Really good and enjoyable!