Customer Reviews

Dream Life

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Usually I side with Groucho Marx: I wouldn't want to belong to any club that would have me as a member. But I'd make an exception if I could join the do-gooder Blue Moons, hang out at their secret clubhouse and bike ride all over Manhattan solving mysteries with Claire Voyante. Oh wait -- I can! If you (or your daughter or niece or other favorite cool girl) are in love with New York and a bit more of a fashionista than Nancy Drew, you won't be able to resist the latest addition to the Dream Girl series. Claire is one part beatnik, one part social klutz and altogether lovely to spend time with -- even if you don't believe in supernatural powers.

Although Dream Life is a sequel to Lauren Mechling's first book, Dream Girl, Dream Life is the first book I have read in the supernatural journey that is Claire Voyante's world. That being said, Mechling first and foremost succeeded in creating a book that you can pick up and jump right into, without needing any back story from the first publication in the series.

Claire is a typical high school girl with a not-so-typical gift; ever since her grandmother, Kiki, gave her an onyx and ivory cameo necklace, Claire has been having black and white dreams that are major tips in solving some pretty influential mysteries. To make Dream Life even more intriguing, Claire isn't just solving mysteries around New York, she (albeit, mistakenly) aligns herself with a secret society of do-gooders called the Blue Moons, who give her quite the mystery to solve-find a missing pink iPod that holds the secrets of a new and absolutely huge project to save the Brooklyn Bridge from real estate developer slimeball, Sink Landon.

Admittedly, Dream Life was a little slow to start for me, which I attribute to not reading the first book and really not knowing the characters the characters who knew each other so well. However, the book surprised me with its ability to catch-and keep-my attention to the end. Claire is a remarkable and rememberable heroine that you find yourself rooting for in her entire series of problems, not just with solving mysteries, but also rifts with her friends, her complicated boy troubles and dealing with her eccentric parents. Through reading so many young adult books and seeing the amount of quirkiness young adult authors portray in their parental characters, it is my belief that YA authors write parents with the exaggerated qualities they had in parents growing up, with a myriad of additional attributes they wished their parents had and Dream Life had that ten-fold with a Paris-crazed mother with a love of the Zodiac and her parents' insane Paris-themed house parties. But most of all, I fell in absolute love with Claire's grandmother, Kiki, who reminds me of every genuinely close friend I have ever had that I could divulge anything to without feeling a hint of judgment.

Lauren Mechling not only presents a fabulous mystery novel that captures the attention of young adults and older adults alike, but also is the first author since the creators of Sex and the City to turn New York City into a character in itself. Being the wannabe-fashionista that I am (read: If I had money, oh the clothes, shoes and accessories I would buy), I really enjoyed the fashion appearances in this book as well. Kiki's hand-me-down vintage dresses Claire wears and the footwear described in her best friend Becca's wardrobe are enough to make even the savviest of fashionistas swoon.

I loved being given the opportunity to be a fly on the wall in Claire's life; from her stance as a Half Moon in the Blue Moon society, solving a mystery that proved me wrong when I thought I had everything figured out, to finally figuring out who she is as a person and knowing her own level of morality, which makes Claire completely and utterly real.

I would recommend this book to anyone craving a serving of hilarious, page-turning, on-the-edge-of-your-seat read that lets you breathe a sigh of relief when you think things can't get much worse.

Pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed Dream Life.
I bought the original book for my neice & enjoyed it very much myself.
I decided to purchase this follow up for her as well (not being a huge fan of sequels) my expectations were not high.
But the mix of humor and humanity made me stay up until nearly 3 AM reading this little gem.
It was clever and even touching at times.

I loved DREAM LIFE! Its a must read for someone who wants to immediately be sucked into a quirky and fun narrative! I would defiantly recommend this to a friend or any fellow reader! Amazing!

I think this book might be even better than the first. I really love all of that secret society intrigue and there is lots to be had in Dream Life. Claire's world has gotten even more surreal and before she knows it, she's hobnobbing with New York's elite and solving mysteries at the same time. All in a day's work for Claire, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite YA heroines.

Mechling has once again given us an addictively readable book with that same mix of supernatural and just plain old mystery. I could totally see Claire hitting the town with Nancy Drew, although Nancy never dressed this fabulously.

All of the characters I grew to love in the first book are back and grandmother Kiki is even more amazingly chic and zany. I just love this character so much. Another wonderful character in the book is New York itself. Mechling has given us an almost alternative New York where anything is possible. I am sold and want to move there immediately.

I can't wait for more from this series. I'm hoping there's more to come, because I don't want to leave Claire, Kiki, and the gang behind.

Often I'll read a book for the company it provides, and Claire Voyante is someone I definitely wanted to hang out with for more than one book, so I am delighted to have Dream Life in my life. For anyone who didn't have the pleasure of meeting Claire in Dream Girl, prepare to be swept along on her latest metropolitan adventure, complete with sneaks, thrills, wisecracks, mysterious girls, cute boys, and, of course, puzzling psychic visions!

I loved DREAM GIRL, the first book in this quirky series about half-French girl detective Claire Voyante, and I think its follow-up is even better! Part mystery, part romance, part behind-the-scenes glimpse at NYC life, DREAM LIFE is unputdownable. Funny, touching, in parts eerie -- altogether a real tour de force. We want more!

I couldn't wait for this to come out after I read the first book. Her fresh vision and great sense of humor make this one of my favorite teen novels. All the little idiosyncratic characters are a delight!

This companion novel/sequel to DREAM GIRL does not disappoint at all: Claire and her eclectic group of friends and family are all here again, helping us enjoy the heck out of reading contemporary chick lit mystery with a twist of magic. Lauren Mechling proves once again that fluff reading can also be smart, and that smart girls can read fluff.

The most outstanding thing about this series is its gold medal-worthy characters. Claire is not your average teen chick lit heroine: she's smart, she's snarky, and she has a way of narrating that will leave us chuckling and wondering why we didn't think of it ourselves. Likewise, I'm flabbergasted at the way Lauren writes atypical supporting characters, ones whose existence lies beyond being merely a plot device, or the MC's loyal, opinion-less sidekick.

In fact, even though DREAM LIFE is at its core a gentle mystery novel, I loved the way everything didn't revolve around the mystery. As in real life, there is more than one issue in a person's life, and so it is with Claire. Lauren blends the mystery element with family eccentricities, friends' troubles, choppy romantic waters, and more, to create a well-rounded, enjoyable, yet utterly relatable tale.

Similar to DREAM GIRL, the mystery aspect of this novel requires a bit of suspension of disbelief in order to believe. Secret society novels are rather overdone, and the creed of the one in DREAM LIFE is, well, a little silly and ridiculous. Still, one cannot deny Lauren's skill at writing these novels. If you haven't yet read this series, I highly recommend you pick it up. As far as lighthearted yet intelligent fluffy mysteries go, you can't get much better than this.

A good novel is like chocolate: you wolf it down and then regret only that you couldn't make it last. This sequel to the delightful Dream Girl is pure Callebaut chocolat.

In it, Claire Voyant delves into blue-blood secret societies and New York City politics. Claire is among the more captivating protagonists I've encountered: lovable but never cloying, sincere but able not to take her self too seriously, and smart as hell. With her indelible wit and zest for her characters, Lauren Mechling has written another novel that readers-- teens and adults alike-- will not be able to put down.