Seven teens wake up in a white room, completely blank but for seven individually designed chairs, and are told by a mysterious, godlike figure that they're there to help make their dreams come true.
The premise is actually more interesting and less creepy than I made it sound. The group embark on a series of dreamlike scenarios that are intended to help each member overcome one of their fears and develop the strength to achieve their dreams. The only catch is that the teens never know what's real and what's a scenario, or who the scenario is meant to help, and failure to rise to the occasion is always a possibility.
It's a cool idea, and I applaud the message of developing confidence and inner strength. Unfortunately, there were a few problems with this book that kept me from completely enjoying it. The characters were fairly flat, and it was difficult to care about or fully appreciate the transformation that they supposedly had to undergo before leaving the white room.
The main two characters, Andy and John, were especially lacking. Andy, the narrator, was an almost completely blank slate. We find out a bit more about her toward the end of the book, but she's not nearly flawed enough to be interesting or developed enough to be believable. Love interest John is the same way: handsome and kind . . . and nothing else. Andy literally falls for him in eight and a half seconds. (She counts!) I felt like the story would almost be more enjoyable if the author had cut Andy and John out entirely and focused more on the spoiled rich girl, surly rocker, timid wallflower, alien-obsessed nerd, or insecure fat kid. Andy and John were just so static; their characters had nowhere to develop.
In fact, the strongest chapter might have been the one in which the POV switched over to sullen bully Roy. I was actually invested in his character arc, rooting for him to change, and I felt like there was a real risk that he wouldn't be able to.
The book also could've benefited from another round of editing; there were a few awkward turns of phrases ("would have been losing my time" when "would have been wasting my time" sounds more natural) and not-quite-organic dialogue from the teens. I did get this from NetGalley, so maybe the finished version is more polished.
The images and cover were lovely; I found myself looking forward to each chapter break just for the illustrations.
All in all, good idea and good message, but I think another few workshopping sessions and editorial reviews could have transformed this book from mediocre to amazing. C.
Review based on an uncorrected ARC received from NetGalley.
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