Padma Wulandari

Second Sleep

Book by Diane Stanley

DETAILS

Publisher : HarperCollins (November 8, 2022) Language : English Paperback : 304 pages ISBN-10 : 0062658042 ISBN-13 : 978-0062658043 Reading age : 8 - 12 years Grade level : 3 - 7 Item Weight : 7 ounces , The time by the lake is everything perfect about a childhood summer…and maybe it also holds the answers Max needs. Give this tender middle grade novel to readers who love the mystery, friendships, and touches of magic in novels by Rebecca Stead and Laurel Snyder! To get Max and Rosie’s minds off their mother’s mysterious disappearance, their grandmother, Mozelle, suggests that they visit the old log cabin where their mom spent her summers as a child. This is a place where, when it gets dark, you go to bed. But according to Mozelle, their mother had her happiest dreams during her nights at the lake.  That first night, Max and Rosie travel in their dreams to an almost impossibly beautiful place where they meet a wonderful new group of friends. But was it really just a dream? Or is there something extraordinary and magical about this compound by the lake? As Max slowly grasps what is really going on, he wonders if he might have found the key to the mystery of his mother’s disappearance—and how to bring her safely home. Read more

REVIEW

I have always enjoyed middle grade novels. I am older now, but I’m still reading and loving them! However I haven’t had a chance to review any until now. Second Sleep is a wonderful book. It has mystery, friendship, and touches of a dreamlike magic which makes sense since it’s all about dreams. Max and Rosie’s mother has disappeared. No one knows where she went, and no one knows when she will return. Without their mother Max, Rosie, and their father start drifting away from each other. So their grandmother suggests they visit the old log cabin their mother used to spend her summers in. The first night Max and Rosie travel in their dreams to a strangely beautiful place. They meet new friends that seem so real that they wonder whether it was actually a dream. Max slowly starts to realize that this wonderful dream world might be the key to finding his mother and bringing her home. This was such an interesting book, and honestly, I’m still trying to wrap my head around some of it. Max is trying to figure out how to navigate his life without his mother, and one of the things that really helped him was his friends in the dream world. I'm going to try and explain this, but I do think that half of the appeal is that it doesn't totally make sense. After all, magic is never as fun when it's explained all the way. The dream world is filled with all the different kids who've spent summers in the lake. The fascinating thing though is that it's all the kids from years before. For example, Max befriends a girl named, Lila who is 40ish years old in his time. But in the dream world, Lila is the same age as Max. As the days go by, Max starts to realize that this dream world holds clues to his mother's disappearances. And it might even help him bring her home. I thought that Ms. Stanley did an amazing job in keeping the plot moving with so many surprises. But I loved how there was a lot more emphasis on how much the characters were growing. The dream world was doing amazing things on Max and Rosie especially with the influence of their new friends. And the beautifulness of the nature around them. I would totally recommend this beautiful, magical book. There is a brief mention of a gay marriage. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher through Netgalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion, a positive review was not required.

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