Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - The Dreamers

What the f*** did I just read?

This book centers around several characters during the outbreak of an infectious disease. It's a virus causing a sleeping sickness, but other than that, the parallels to the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic are way too accurate.
All the denial. All the measures to contain the disease, too little too late. All the careless decisions, all the irrational behaviors, all the selfish acts. All the conspiracy theories and specific vocabulary. You'd think it was a book written during lockdown... only it was published in January 2019, a whole year before the pandemic started. I still can't wrap my head around it, how closely someone can predict so many little details in human behavior. (I wonder how many people who read this in 2019 thought they had a déjà vu.)

The writing is beautiful. For the most part, the sentences are short and simple, written in present tense. This way, you get immersed quickly and have the impression to be part of the events that are unfolding in front of your eyes. Which was brilliantly done in my opinion. On the other hand, there are passages of beautiful, whimsical descriptions and quotable sentences, too. It's a very atmospheric book with eerie, melancholic vibes.
There are quite a few characters the book follows and although you don't get to know all of them intimately, it is enough to get attached to them and root for their individual journeys. I actually got very emotional towards the end.

It's definitely not a book for people who like plot driven, action packed stories. Not much happens here. It's really more of a character study, and the ending might disappoint if you are waiting for a big twist or reveal or explanations. Instead, it raises some philosophical questions, which I personally liked. It fit the atmosphere of the story.

Content Warnings

spearly's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I've unintentionally read way too many books about a pandemic during our actual pandemic.

A college girl falls asleep and can't be roused awake. An entire college dorm floor is quarantined, but the virus is new and unknown, and soon, the entire town of Santa Lora is cordoned off before the virus can spread to the rest of the world.

This was a cool read! I'm usually not a huge fan of 3rd person POV but it really worked in this case. We really got to see the way this virus quietly infiltrated the lives of of these small-town folk.

The end leaves readers with questions, but personally, this still worked a lot better for me than Wilder Girls (which was my last pandemic read). Sometimes not knowing has to be enough.

Given the nature of the way this was written, I can't speak much to the characterization. Matthew made me mad, that's for sure. People were certainly acting stupid, given the dangers of the virus, but hey, people are being equally as stupid during our very real virus, so I guess Walker gets points for accuracy.

I wouldn't say this is a great read if you're trying to use reading as an escape from these ~trying times~ but maybe in a few years?

Content Warnings

brooke_burns's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I couldn't put this book down; it was a bit of a slow start, but once

the illness started seriously spreading and the town was sealed,

I kept reading until I finished at 4:00 a.m. Ultimately, I didn't appreciate that

it seems like Mei was ultimately a casual of her relationship with Matthew

but I really recommend the book.

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