The lost Dreamer

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The lost Dreamer

Title:

The lost Dreamer

Author:

Huerta, Lizz, author.

Series:

Lost Dreamer ;

Series Number:

Summary:

Indir is a Dreamer, descended from a long line of seers; able to see beyond reality, she carries the rare gift of Dreaming truth. But when the beloved king dies, his son has no respect for this time-honored tradition. King Alcan wants an opportunity to bring the Dreamers to a permanent end--an opportunity Indir will give him if he discovers the two secrets she is struggling to keep. As violent change shakes Indir's world to its core, she is forced to make an impossible choice: fight for her home or fight to survive. Saya is a seer, but not a Dreamer--she has never been formally trained. Her mother exploits her daughter's gift, passing it off as her own as they travel from village to village, never staying in one place too long. Almost as if they're running from something. Almost as if they're being hunted. When Saya loses the necklace she's worn since birth, she discovers that seeing isn't her only gift--and begins to suspect that everything she knows about her life has been a carefully-constructed lie. As she comes to distrust the only family she's ever known, Saya will do what she's never done before, go where she's never been, and risk it all in the search of answers.

Audience:

Ages 14-18. Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers.

Grades 10-12. Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers.

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

378 pages ; 24 cm

Genre:

Fantasy fiction.

Subject Term:

Dreams -- Juvenile fiction.

Clairvoyance -- Juvenile fiction.

Mothers and daughters -- Juvenile fiction.

Secrecy -- Juvenile fiction.

Publisher:

Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers,

Publication Date:

2022

ISBN:

9781250754851

Publication Information:

New York : Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers, 2022.

Call Number:

YA HUERTA

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003617860	Young Adult	HUERTA	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

A lush, immersive debut fantasy about a group of women whose way of life is threatened by a new king; a fierce celebration of community, sisterhood, and finding our power.

Indir is a Dreamer, descended from a long line of seers; able to see beyond reality, she carries the rare gift of Dreaming truth. But when the beloved king dies, his son has no respect for this time-honored tradition. King Alcan wants an opportunity to bring the Dreamers to a permanent end--an opportunity Indir will give him if he discovers the two secrets she is struggling to keep. As violent change shakes Indir's world to its core, she is forced to make an impossible choice: fight for her home or fight to survive.

Saya is a seer, but not a Dreamer--she has never been formally trained. Her mother exploits her daughter's gift, passing it off as her own as they travel from village to village, never staying in one place too long. Almost as if they're running from something. Almost as if they're being hunted. When Saya loses the necklace she's worn since birth, she discovers that seeing isn't her only gift--and begins to suspect that everything she knows about her life has been a carefully-constructed lie. As she comes to distrust the only family she's ever known, Saya will do what she's never done before, go where she's never been, and risk it all in the search of answers.

With a detailed, supernaturally-charged setting and topical themes of patriarchal power and female strength, Lizz Huerta's The Lost Dreamer brings an ancient world to life, mirroring the challenges of our modern one.

Author Notes

Lizz Huerta is a widely-admired Mexi-Rican short story writer and essayist, published in Lightspeed , The Cut , The Portland Review , The Rumpus , Miami Rail , and more. Her short story "The Wall" is included in the anthology A People's Future of the United States . Huerta has also been a 2018 Bread Loaf Fellow, a five-time VONA Fellow, and the winner of the LUMINA fiction contest, selected by Roxane Gay, who called her writing "a menacing inescapable seduction." She has appeared on CSPAN's BookTV to discuss the erasure of Mexican American Studies in Arizona, and has taught creative writing to homeless youth through San Diego nonprofit So Say We All.

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 8 Up--Huerta introduces a planned duology inspired by Mesoamerican myths, in which she alternates narratives with connections revealed near book's end. Indir is a Dreamer in a family of multigenerational Dreamers whose visions serve Alcanzeh's kings. The newest monarch openly disdains the Dreamers, causing imbalance in the Waking World. When Indir loses her ability to dream, she faces banishment to survive. Elsewhere, young Saya has always been manipulated by her mother in the name of safety. Separation from Celay may be the only way Saya can understand her growing powers. Elisa Melendez and Inés del Castillo take turns, respectively, as Indir and Saya. Debut narrator Melendez is the weaker half, her performance marred by noticeable, sometimes gasping, nose breathing. Del Castillo, more practiced with dozens of credits, deftly manifests Saya with curiosity, frustration, and hope. VERDICT Impatient historical fantasy purists might want to choose the page.

Publisher's Weekly Review

In Huerta's mesmerizing debut, a duology starter inspired by ancient Mesoamerican mythology, seers Indir and Saya fight for survival amid revolution in the city of Alcanzeh. Pragmatic Indir is descended from generations of Dreamers--prophet-like individuals capable of seeing beyond the Waking World and into the world of spirits in service to their king. Before the king dies, he urges Indir to keep her most recent Dreams secret from his shrewd son, Alcan, who intends to destroy the seers when he ascends the throne. Meanwhile, reserved Saya, a seer unfamiliar with Dreamer rites, travels with her controlling mother, who uses Saya's gift for personal gain. When Indir and Saya become inexplicably linked, their lives are thrust into chaos as deception and faith collide. The narrative's focus on the girls' individual interpersonal relationships and internal arcs occasionally overshadows intriguing and necessary worldbuilding, which lessens the stakes and urgency. Nevertheless, Huerta weaves Mesoamerican history into the novel's unique setting with authority. Indir and Saya's alternating first-person perspectives ably balance intimate characterization, sprawling lore, and lush prose in a languorously paced volume. Ages 14--up. Agent: David Patterson and Aemilia Phillips, Stuart Krichevsky Literary. (Mar.)