The Dreamatics is a heartfelt, wonderfully imaginative middle-grade fantasy about the cast of the Lunarian Grand, an acting troupe that performs the nightly dreams of 10-year-old Luna Grande.
Dormir, the "lowliest of low assistants," is content working as a stagehand for the Lunarian Grand. It's not as glamorous as the stage, but it means viewing shows "based on the Everything-Filled Life of a girl named after the moon"--a play of light, a smell in the air, a cast of well-known faces are all ingredients for a perfect dream for Luna. But after a sudden and tragic loss, Luna's world--and thus the nightly workings of the Lunarian Grand--is transformed. The Bad Dreams ("from the Wrong Side of the Bed") take over and before long, Luna is swearing off sleep for good. Dormir knows they must stop the Bad Dreams and help Luna, but what can a mere stagehand do?
Michelle Cuevas (Confessions of an Imaginary Friend) uses Dormir's cuddly, comic first-person point of view to bring surprising whimsy to a story of grief and loss. While weighty themes often lead to more somber tales, The Dreamatics dares to use imagination and magic as tools not to end grief, but to work through it. Cuevas never trivializes Luna's loss or the Dreamatics' quest to restore her good dreams, instead opting to use this inventive world as a vehicle for exploring grief and its effects in both the short- and long-term. The Dreamatics brings life and light to what can be a very dark place. --Kyla Paterno, freelance reviewer