Eleven-year-old Julie can’t take it anymore. Her parents constantly use her as a weapon in their faux-jovial but vicious battles with each other. At night, she has terrible nightmares, in which her dueling parents vacuum her up, slice her open or otherwise torment her horribly. Between stress and lack of sleep, she’s losing her mind. One night, Julie wakes on a film stage in Slumberia, the world in which her dreams are filmed. When the selfish, sociopathic actress who plays Julie escapes back into Julie’s own world, the adventure begins. Julie must put an end to her terrible nightmares, escape to her home and stop her double from wreaking havoc in the waking world. A Pilgrim’s Progress–style quest through the allegorical Slumberia leads to revolution among the “dreampeople,” an end to the nightmares and new strength in the face of her parents’ constant arguments. There’s no depth to this heavily exclamation-mark–laden adventure, but Julie’s entertaining and humorous quest leads to a satisfying conclusion. (Fantasy. 8-10)
