As Zelda and Langston explore the far reaches of the dreamscape together, they find themselves growing closer and closer. But what they uncover along the way pushes them towards a truth neither of them wants to face. Will it turn out that he's the guy of her dreams, or is she the girl of his?
Full of mind-bending artwork, Adam Rex's A Little Like Waking is a tender, insightful read that defies time, space, and expectation that's perfect for fans of Every Day and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. (Pub Date: Aug 01 2023)
The summary compares the show to Eternal Sunshine, but I think it was very The Truman Show. And a little heads up in case you're like me and got the target audience confused, but this is meant for younger readers than your usual YA. So you'll find more lighthearted jokes, silly situations, have a more adventure-driven story, but it's not for kids either.
3.5 rounded up to 4, because there is too much here worth 4 stars or even 5, even if the story itself read like a 3.
Zelda doesn't know she's living in a dream until she meets Langston. A boy that hadn't been in her little town until she's almost hit by a car when she's hurrying in a bike to her Geography test. After this, her world is a mess. Why does everyone know her name, even people she doesn't know? Why are her classmates flying? Why is her cat who died years ago speaking like an erudite? And if she's dreaming, how does she wake up? She and Langston and Patches, her cat, go out on a quest to the end of the dream, even though they're not even sure if they're even the one who is dreaming.
The book is complete with artwork showing key scenes and the town when Zelda is stuck. The tone sometimes is reminiscent of fairy tales, I mean, we even have a forest with a wizard, so the drawings felt like a good complement.
It's also a quick read, and such a different one, I'd say that if you're in doubt, it won't take much of your time if you give this a chance. However, the constant jokes that I'll underline that DID make me laugh most of the times, they also got on my nerves. The story gets a good conclusion, and I liked how the weird elements of the dream came together there, sometimes as a nice plot twist I didn't see coming. However, it got convoluted at times too. This could be my fault for thinking this was your usual contemporary YA romance, so I'm not used to books for younger audiences or how their rhythm is or even the tone of the storytelling, still, I didn't like it much, especially how repetitive situations could get until we got to the point. The romance had a good development, but the start of it was too weird and awkward (even though there is a reason for this, so I suspect it's on purpose). Another thing I didn't like is that the book deals with heavy themes but, probably because it's all in a dream, they aren't treated as seriously as they should, and when you're talking to younger readers, I think they should have.
It's a weird book, but its weirdness ends up being refreshing. I guarantee its a different experience worth having.
Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
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