Tuesday, November 23, 2021

Review - Second Sleep

Title:   Second Sleep
Author Diane Stanley
Publisher:  HarperCollins
Genre:   Middle Grade
Format:  Audiobook ARC
No. of Pages:   288
Date of Publication:   November 2, 2021
My Rating:   5 Stars

DESCRIPTION:

To get Max and Rosie’s minds off their mother’s mysterious disappearance, their grandmother, Mozelle, suggests that they visit the old log cabin where their mom spent her summers as a child. This is a place where, when it gets dark, you go to bed. But according to Mozelle, their mother had her happiest dreams during her nights at the lake.

That first night, Max and Rosie travel in their dreams to an almost impossibly beautiful place where they meet a wonderful new group of friends. But was it really just a dream? Or is there something extraordinary and magical about this compound by the lake?

As Max slowly grasps what is really going on, he wonders if he might have found the key to the mystery of his mother’s disappearance—and how to bring her safely home.


MY THOUGHTS:
 
Max and Rosie are missing their mother. She was there one day and then she wasn't. Their father isn't overly concerned. Apparently she went to help an old friend and doesn't want any of them to worry but the children do anyway. 

Their grandmother Mozelle has the perfect idea. She takes Max and Rosie to an old cabin where their mother used to go. Mozelle tells the children that when it is dark, you go to bed, no matter the time. Also, this is the time for the best dreams, dreams their mother had.

So, the children listen to Mozelle and on their very first night they do travel in their dreams. They experience joint moments of magic that they feel are quite real. Going to sleep never felt so good. This second sleep is just as mysterious as their mother's disappearance, but does slowly begin to make things appear clearer to both Max and Rosie.

Max finds the dreams and the people they meet in them as a means to figuring out why their mother left and how they can possibly bring her back to the family. 

I don't read much middle grade, and I also don't read many fantasy stories with magical elements, but I found Second Sleep to be an enjoyable read, and loved looking through the eyes of Max and Rosie as they sought answers. 

I had this ARC for review as a computerized audiobook and I will say that it was done quite well. Not sure if NetGalley will continue producing review copies in this format, but if they do, I will continue to download them and listen to them.

Many thanks to HaperCollins and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Diane Stanley is an American children's author and illustrator, a former medical illustrator, and a former art director for the publisher G.P. Putnam's Sons. Born in 1943 in Abilene, Texas, she was educated at Trinity University (in San Antonio, TX) and at Johns Hopkins University. She is perhaps best known for her many picture-book biographies, some of which were co-authored by her husband, Peter Vennema. (source: Wikipedia)

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