Book Review: To Dream In Daylight by Candace J. Thomas

 

To Dream In Daylight by Candace J. Thomas is a new adult novel. From childhood, Adri and Simon have always been there for each other, through every loss, triumph, joy and heartbreak. They’re perfect for each other, but there’s an unfortunate catch — they’ve only ever met in their dreams. Each of them thinks the other one is just a figment of their imagination, but what if they weren’t? All it takes is one video clip to change their lives forever. When timid Adri finds herself going viral overnight thanks to an embarrassing video, all she wants to do is disappear forever. But on the other side of the country in Portland, Simon sees the video and realizes for the first time that his soulmate — the girl of his actual dreams — is real. Simon’s desperate search for Adri leads him through the streets of Chicago, hoping against all odds that they will finally find each other in the waking world instead of losing one another forever to the haze of their dreams.

To Dream In Daylight is as much about both Adri and Simon figuring out what is important to them as it is their finding each other. I got lost in Simon's search for Adri, and felt for Adri as she struggled with figuring out just what she wants to do. I liked Adri, and her quirky nature even if she seemed to let others override her good sense a little too often. I enjoyed getting know them both, and I really enjoyed the cast of secondary characters. I thought Simon's sister and Adri's found family were such interesting people- and some that I might have like to know myself. Simon's physical journey, just missing Adri at so many points, was almost as stressful for me as it was for him. As Adri faced her demons, and Simon searched and had panic attacks, I found myself wanting to read faster to see how it all worked out and trying to look away because something else was going to keep them apart or cause some kind if pain in mere moments. This was a very compelling read, and it had me hooked from beginning to end. My only complaint is that I was left wanting more. Once they find each other, what's next? So many decisions and choices- and I want to know where they go from here. I am greedy like that.

To Dream In Daylight is a sweet contemporary romance and coming of age story.

Book Review: Margo Thinks Twice by Monica Arnaldo

Margo Thinks Twice by Monica Arnaldo is a picture book. Margo is an imaginative, adventurous little girl who has just one problem — worry has found its way into her life. She sometimes feels nervous and uncomfortable, especially inside the wild world her imagination creates. Whenever her mom gives instructions, Margo’s mind turns the everyday advice into worst-case scenarios. Mom tells Margo to be careful with the craft glue, and Margo imagines becoming stuck to all the furniture and decorations in her room. Mom advises Margo not to swing too high, and Margo envisions ending up on the roof.

Margo Thinks Twice is a picture book about a young lady that takes the words of her mother to heart. Every warning her mother gives leads Margo to consider the worse case scenario, the illustrations of which a fun and contain little clues toward the final conclusion. Now, I both really like this book, and have some reservations with it. I thin the illustrations are wonderful- they capture Margo’s very real worries while still including humor and additional important information. I like that at no point, even in the illustrations, are Margo’s fears mocked or belittled. Her worries are treated as legitimate and important by her mother, along with a solution that can help both of them worry a little less about everything being perfect.

I was not thrilled with the worries it left me, as a mom, that I might be causing anxiety in my kids with such simple requests and common phrases, and that they haven’t told me. Granted both my kids tell me everything, included things that I have no need to know, such as the exact number of goldfish they ate or left behind at lunch, so I am not overly anxious. However, it is not necessarily that it raised my awareness of how some seemingly simple things can be anything but to my children- or anyone really. Literature, and art of all sorts, is intended to get people thinking and maybe make them a little uncomfortable- or at least wake them up a little or insight emotion. So, that this mean the author has done their job.