Book Review: The Vault of Dreamers (The Vault of Dreamers #1) by Caragh M. O'Brien

The Vault of Dreamers 

(The Vault of Dreamers #1) 

by 

Caragh M. O'Brien 

Pub September 16th 2014 

by Roaring Brook Press 

ARC for Review

Summary
The Forge School is the most prestigious arts school in the country. The secret to its success: every moment of the students' lives is televised as part of the insanely popular Forge Show, and the students' schedule includes twelve hours of induced sleep meant to enhance creativity. But when first year student Rosie Sinclair skips her sleeping pill, she discovers there is something off about Forge. In fact, she suspects that there are sinister things going on deep below the reaches of the cameras in the school. What's worse is, she starts to notice that the edges of her consciousness do not feel quite right. And soon, she unearths the ghastly secret that the Forge School is hiding—and what it truly means to dream there.

Could Someone Tell Me Whats Up With the Eye?

Why is this not tagged as horror? I feel like it should be there are a lot of insane people running around and the things happening at the forge school are nothing short of horrifying. I’m not going to lie folks this one wasn’t my type of read. There will be no gushing of any kind in this review. HOWEVER, having said that I could not put this book down. I wanted to know what the heck was really going on and wether or not Rosie would resolve anything. Just when I thought I came to a stopping point…BOOM something would happen and I would have to just keep going. The author did a wonderful job of keeping the reader engaged. Definitely YA to the core Rosie has a love interest but its all superficial I think she does develop feelings for the boy but in all honestly i’d like to see her end up with someone else.

The story, as I mentioned there are a lot of crazy things going on in this school there is an explantation as to how the school came about and that was all good and well. What was either not explained or I totally missed is the part where the dean goes bonkers and starts going all Island of Dr. Moreau on these poor kids. I really enjoyed the Forge Show angle it kind of reminded me of the hunger games and the way the audience interacted w/ the contenders. As the story progresses something happens within Rosie and she story takes a different more sinister turn.

The characters, Rosie our main girl does not by any account seep extraordinary. Heck she is told several times how ordinary if not awkward she is. This girl goes from zero to hero based on all the drama she brings to the show. That isn’t all of it though once she is cornered by the deranged dean she is doomed. The reader knows she is special to the dean but the specific as to how is not revealed. Don’t get me wrong the why is very much spoken about but not the why her…Does that make sense? Like what is different between her and lets say her friend Janice…The result is told however particular is not explained it is still a mystery. UGH I’m not doing a good job of explaining its just hard I don’t want to give away any spoilers. Trust me when I say you want to read all the twists and turns from the beginning. Organic baby! Linus, he is Rosie’s love interest but I’m not really a fan he was pretty cryptic and Rosie didn’t trust him…Actually she didn’t trust anyone. I’d have to say thumbs down to this guy he is good looking and her first kiss so I’ve probably once again favored the wrong guy. Burnham, this is the guy I want for Rosie without being prompted he is the sole reason she remains on the show and he wants to find out what is going on just as much as she does. I want her to fall in love with him and live happily ever after. The rest, every character added richness and depth to the story but I didn’t care for several of them.

The end, boy oh boy can it get anymore cliffy? This is where the fantasy slash Sci-Fi portion comes into play heavily. Several things happened that are beyond explanation but I am looking forward to finding out what happens next. As I mentioned before this one wasn’t for me I thought it was twisted and morbid and really crazy all around…thats not my usual cup, if its yours then eureka this one is for you!! I will say that I am fascinated enough to want to continue this series. I hope the second is better than the first and I’m eager to find out.

My Rating

3.5 Show, School, Filmmaker, Blip Reading, Sleep Pod, Dreams, Mining, Seeding, Dean, Ash, Kitchen, Kiss, Game, Failing, Pills, Yellow, Coma, Note, St. Louis, Contract, Crowbar, Time Loss, Hopeful Discovery, Leap of Faith Stars!

Purchase Through

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About the Author

Caragh M. O'Brien is the author of the BIRTHMARKED trilogy and THE VAULT OF DREAMERS, both from Macmillan/Roaring Brook Press. Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Ms. O'Brien was educated at Williams College and earned her MA from Johns Hopkins University. She recently resigned from teaching high school English in order to write young adult novels. For more information, visit http://www.caraghobrien.com.