Silver (1) - Dream a little dream by Kerstin Gier
And now to the second series for teens Kerstin Gier wrote - Silber Dream a little dream (or. German Silber Das erste Buch der Träume French Silber 1) I read it in German where it had 411 pages. Age: 13 (girls [& boys???? depends!)
When Olivia "Liv" Silber moves to London, she strands in the house of her mother's boyfriend and his kids instead of in the beautiful house of her dreams – which her mother initially promised. As if this wouldn't be bad enough, Liv begins to dream very vividly, of demons and a group of boys… a group of boys she encounters the day after in school, one of them her new stepbrother! Grayson and his friends have a secret – they are bound by contract to a demon. For a favour of some kind, they have to help him escape from his prison... Since Liv could never say no to playing detective and doesn't believe in demons, she joins when the boys ask her to… but yet again, few is what it seems.
I really love this book, it's funny, tense, the characters are great (completely different than Gwendolyn (or Gwyneth) and Gideon of Ruby Red), and the story itself is wonderful. The ideas are fascinating, really really original. The doors to someone else's dreams? The keys and everything? That's something, that's for sure! I just wonder about how they got their powers – we know it's because of that book and the demon, but I'd like to have more input about him than the (really stupid) names.
Spoiler:
I wonder who he is – was – and why the dream world didn't end when Liv did that trick. Is there more, what's really up?
To the characters: Liv is a really smart girl who can definitely think on her feet – and kick some ass in the process. She's creative and far more curious than healthy for her, she's also easy to love, funny and has a unique look at a few thinks. She loves detective stories and doesn't believe in love… just like her sister, Mia.
Mia's sheep-gaze is wonderful, by the way.
Well, the other members of her family that we know would be Princess Buttercup, formerly known as Dr. Watson, the family's dog. She and Lottie are a tack-team made in heaven. I love the scene in which they flirt with Grayson's uncle! They are so cool – especially Lottie. She's a mother figure, loving, seems sometimes a little naive, but is far more clever than you'd think. And she's fierce as a lioness, if need be. I hope we learn more about her.
Liv's real mother's a catastrophe. I never got why children would feel awkward with their parents around, but with that mom? I so get that! Good God, I wonder how often Liv and Mia died of humiliation. Don't get me wrong, Liv's mother is a good person with her heart at the right spot, she's easy to love. But she is just a walking disaster of a Mom – at least in this book, I don't know whether or not that changes later on.
Grayson, her new brother, is quiet, calm and trusting. Down to earth – I like him, of course. He's interesting and loyal. His twin, Florence, is far more active, even a little hyper. She's practical and can get on your nerves pretty well, but she's not that bad a person. But she and Grayson's girlfriend in one room with him? Damn, that isn't even funny. They are so controlling, he probably feels like their marionette.
As for the other boys here… Arthur's a pompus ass. Was he born with a stick were the sun never shines, or did someone tell him he had to be more stiff than the Queen? If so, he manages rather well. But he still has a good heart.
Spoiler:
Annabel on the other hand... Good God, she's so creepy!
There's only one other person I'd like to go into, and that's Henry (okay, that sounded just wrong). Henry's the perfect challenge for Liv. He's a walking enigma, but they have enough in common – their curiosity, their love for detective stories and rationality etc – that they work out. I'm sorry for his family, though. They are really just… well, there aren't even words. I'm sorry for his little sis, too.
Plus, the story was tense and, as I said unique.
In brief:
I give this book a star for characters, plot, ideas and style. Plus SoGH.