Book Review: Dreams Factory by Jerome Hamon, Suheb Zako, and Lena Sayaphoum

Dreams Factory is a graphic novel by Jerome Hamon, Suheb Zako, and Lena Sayaphoum. It was translated from French by Jeremy Melloul. The story is set in London, 1892. Like most children in the working-class town where she lives, Indira works the coal mines every day without protest. But when her little brother Eliott disappears, nothing matters anymore. She embarks on a desperate quest to find him and discovers that he is not the only child to have mysteriously disappeared. All clues seem to point to the same person: Cathleen Sachs, the wealthy owner of the coal mines. But why would she kidnap these children? 

Dreams Factory is a highly engaging story. First off, the art is simply splendid, and well worth a look all on its own. I did like the story, and the sibling devotion and complications are many layered and very well done. I thought the more fantastic elements could have used a bit more explanation or fleshing out however. I know the mystery of exactly what is happening is part of the suspense of the story, and it did have me at the edge of my seat. But I do have to admit that the last few pages had me a little confused and I am not at all sure of the particulars of what happened there. Maybe I am just not understanding, but I looked at the ending several times and still have some questions. Perhaps I still missed something, or am not putting the pieces together correctly and it will come to me later. I think expanding on the world and character building in the story would have made it even better. That being said, I still enjoyed the read and will be on the look out for more from this creative team and think the book will be enjoyed by a wide range of readers. 

Dreams Factory is a well written and beautifully illustrated story. It captured my imagination and held my attention well past the time I finished reading it despite some flaws. 

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