Tag Archives: dreams

Hafsa's Way by Aisha Saeed

MMGM Review: Hafsa’s Way by Aisha Saeed

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Hafsa’s Way
Aisha Saeed
Nancy Paulsen Books
Published March 10, 2026

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Hafsa’s Way

In this inspiring stand-alone companion to New York Times bestseller Amal Unbound , Hafsa defies her family’s patriarchal expectations by pursuing her dreams and insisting that her married sister pursue hers.

Hafsa intends to be a doctor one day, so she’s thrilled to be accepted into Bukhari Summer Science Camp for kids who share her dream. Her parents, however, do not share her enthusiasm. They don’t support the idea of girls being doctors, the camp is expensive, and they don’t want to send her off to the big city of Lahore unsupervised. But when her brother-in-law offers to pay, and he and her sister invite her to stay at their house instead of in the dorms, her parents grudgingly give in.

Hafsa couldn’t be more excited, but things get off to a shaky start when it immediately becomes apparent that she accidentally signed up for the wrong program. And since she’s the only one not staying in the dorms, her fellow students treat her like an outsider—and a country bumpkin. On top of all that, she’s worried about her sister, who seems to have set aside her own career goals to please her in-laws.

But Hafsa’s way is to forge ahead, whether that means finding ways to pursue her medical studies, immersing herself in the climate studies program, or taking a pivotal field trip to the zoo—where an encounter with an elephant leads to several unexpected outcomes. It’s not easy to negotiate being part of a community—and a family—that doesn’t support her dreams, but Hafsa’s never been the type to take no for an answer. She’s determined to grab any chance she can for a better future, no matter what the odds are stacked against her.

My Review

I had no idea where this story was headed as I read the first few chapters. Hafsa has big ideas, and I love that there were people in her life who supported her dreams. I like that her dreams shifted a little bit as the story progressed, too. That feels very relatable to me, and definitely something that seems relatable to a lot of young readers.

The story includes many different types of characters. I think readers who aren’t very familiar with life in Pakistan will appreciate that. Some scenes showed Hafsa with her family in their small town. Other scenes showed Hafsa walking through a big city. Still others showed her experiencing a privileged life in a fancy house with hired help.

Yet, in all those places, she faces different kinds of challenges. Some of the girls at the camp were less invested in the curriculum than she was. Others were even more interested. Hafsa made judgments about some of the people she met. She had to reevaluate those ideas as she learned more about each person.

I also really appreciated the relationship between Hafsa and her older sister. While Shabnam’s life was more complicated than Hafsa realized, she still felt a strong connection to her sister, and a desire to see her sister happy. I like that the story made them consider each other’s perspectives more, and to lean into one another’s strengths.

One thing that’s interesting to me is how gradually the plight of the elephant emerges as a central component of the story. At first, Hafsa doesn’t even realize she’s made this connection with the animal. That relationship grows as the story moves forward.

I also really appreciate that the effort to help the elephant wasn’t limited to Hafsa’s labor. What made the experience so powerful was that it brought to fruition all the relationships that Hafsa had invested in throughout the story. It celebrated the power of community and working together.

The author’s note at the back of the book relates the real-life story that inspired Hafsa’s Way. I love the book even more knowing that it was inspired by real events. If you liked The Elephant’s Girl by Celesta Rimington or The Boy Who Met a Whale by Nizrana Farook, be sure to check this one out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Hafsa spends time at her newly married sister’s house and watches her sister interact with her new husband. She hears them laugh, sees them hug one another, and is glad they’re happy.

Spiritual Content
References to Muslim prayer practices.

Violent Content
A devastating storm sweeps through the town where Hafsa is staying, damaging buildings and homes. Some people are left carrying belongings through floodwaters.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday

I’m sharing this post as a part of a weekly round-up of middle-grade posts called Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday. Check out other blogs with posts about middle-grade books today on Marvelous Middle-Grade Mondays at Always in the Middle.

Review: A Barista’s Guide to Love and Larceny by Caroline Bonin

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A Barista’s Guide to Love and Larceny
Caroline Bonin
Feiwel & Friends
Published January 13, 2026

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About A Barista’s Guide to Love and Larceny

This cozy fantasy romance combines magic, college life, and first love into a sweetly brewed and delicious read about a girl roped into investigating a company’s dangerous product!

Dani Lionet is no stranger to working hard. But now she’s attending her dream university, and must manage classes, shifts at the local cafe, and maintaining her partial scholarship—all while trying to keep her unique ability under wraps. That way, no one else can take advantage of it like her parents used to.

So when a visiting professor calls Dani out on her ability, she’s terrified. Yet, it seems Professor Silva just wants to pay her to use it to help investigate a soon-to-be-released lucid dreaming product with horrible side effects. Dani is hesitant, but she needs the money, and it would help her new friend who was part of the product’s clinical trials. Meanwhile, she has a swoony distraction in Kass, her endearingly cute new regular at work.

But then Silva’s plan evolves into stealing the formula. Can Dani help with this “group project,” learn to embrace her ability, and get to know Kass? Or will it all fall apart?

My Review

I really enjoyed the magical college atmosphere of this book. It’s set in the real world, but with magical abilities and disciplines. The main characters attend a magical college, which I love as a concept. Dani also works at a coffee shop, which added even more cozy vibes.

My favorite thing about the book is how well all the different elements integrate into the story. Truthfully, I’d call the romance part of the book more of a subplot compared to the heist/group project that Dani and her friends commit to. I love that Dani’s romantic relationship doesn’t eclipse her other friendships. The story strikes a great balance, showing Dani falling head over heels while still anchoring her in other relationships, in part because she’s on this heist team and they have a tight deadline.

Dani has an unusual magical gift, which she feels ashamed of early on in the story. As the book progresses, though, she learns to think about her ability differently. Her feelings were so relatable. How often do we have a weird talent that seems useless or embarrassing? It takes courage and effort to reframe how we feel about that stuff, and her journey with that was really cool.

I almost wish this book had come out in November, since the story wraps up at Christmas. It would have been a really fun one to read leading up to the holidays. That said, I think it works perfectly as a cozy story to read on a chilly day or evening while bundled up with a mug of coffee, tea, or hot cocoa.

If you’re looking for a wintry, magical heist in a college setting with a strong romance subplot, definitely put A Barista’s Guide to Love and Larceny on your reading list.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 15 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
Some characters can do magic. One character has fae ancestry.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. A few scenes show characters trapped in their nightmares, acting out what happens in their dreams.

Drug Content
Teens drink alcohol at a bar and at a party.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

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The Marrow Thieves
Cherie Dimaline
Dancing Cat Books
Published May 22, 2017

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Marrow Thieves

In a futuristic world ravaged by global warming, people have lost the ability to dream, and the dreamlessness has led to widespread madness. The only people still able to dream are North America’s Indigenous people, and it is their marrow that holds the cure for the rest of the world.

But getting the marrow, and dreams, means death for the unwilling donors. Driven to flight, a fifteen-year-old and his companions struggle for survival, attempt to reunite with loved ones and take refuge from the “recruiters” who seek them out to bring them to the marrow-stealing “factories.”

My Review of The Marrow Thieves

I picked up this book without reading the back cover copy, so I was not prepared for the story at all. In a way, I think that was really good because it allowed me to feel the full force of my shock as I took in what was happening in those opening scenes. THE MARROW THIEVES isn’t an easy read, and it’s not supposed to be.

The writing is really beautiful though, if that makes sense. It’s not overly poetic or lyrical necessarily, though it does drift that direction especially in its descriptions of nature and the natural world. It’s raw and gripping and there’s a desperateness about it that made me feel like I needed to keep reading.

The characters are really well-crafted. I felt like I knew them and could picture them, and sometimes even predict what they were going to do. I loved Miig so much. And Rose, Wab, and Minerva! Such great characters.

I think the only thing that felt weird to me was how little French thinks about his brother, who’d been captured. At first he thinks of him a lot, but then not so much for the rest of the story. I didn’t expect that, especially with how much the story focused on family and those left behind.

Besides that, though, this book totally gripped me. It’s dark and a bit grim, but also threaded with hope and strength and courage. I think readers who liked THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy or maybe THE FEVER KING by Victoria Lee would definitely enjoy this one.

Content Notes for The Marrow Thieves

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
All central characters are Indigenous.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. One scene shows some intimate touching. References to sex. Kissing between two men. Two men in the story are married.

Spiritual Content
Shows some beliefs and traditions of Indigenous people.

Violent Content – Trigger warning for gun violence and violence against women and children.
Situations of peril. Multiple scenes showing violent capture or fighting. More than one woman shares her story which involves brutality against her. A child is murdered. Those who’ve escaped the schools or recruiters often have horrible scars.

Drug Content
A couple characters smoke tobacco. One character gets high on some kind of pills.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog.

Review: Fortune’s Fall by Katherine Barger

Book Review and Content, Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

Fortune’s Fall
Katherine Barger
Anaiah Press
Published November 3, 2020

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About Fortune’s Fall

While her classmates prepare for elite careers across America, Nyssa Ardelone trains for her secret job as the president’s dream interpreter. But when her mentor lies to the president about the prophecy in his latest dream, Nyssa must figure out why before the lie unravels. What she learns could destroy her own future.

Fearful of a rumored rebellion, the president has launched a gas attack on Nyssa’s hometown, and her mentor lied about the dream to protect the survivors from more harm. When Nyssa learns her parents were injured in the attack, she flees with a stranger sent to steal the antidote—a stranger who claims to know her.

Together, they race to deliver the cure as well as an interpretation of another prophetic dream only Nyssa can provide. But a devastating loss dulls her caution, and she learns too late that not everyone is trustworthy. To survive the president’s deadly pursuit, Nyssa must break every rule she’s ever followed, learning along the way that faith is the only thing that can save her.

My Review

I feel like Biblically-inspired fiction as a topic is always a little dicey, so while I was super fascinated with the idea of this tale, I was a little nervous that it might fall flat or be too political or the characters too perfect.

Instead, though, I found a really gripping dystopian setting with a controlling, paranoid leader right up there with President Snow from The Hunger Games. The story world has advanced technology paired with this earthy, simple feel that I thought really worked well together.

I liked the characters a lot, especially some of the minor ones, like Greer and Nyssa’s mentor and Cass. (I hope they all reappear in a sequel!)

The story kept me really intrigued and I thought the pacing was pretty good. At times I felt like things maybe happened too easily, like I wanted the process of achieving a smaller goal to be more complex, but the story moved quickly enough, that those bumps didn’t pull me out of enjoying it at all.

I think readers who enjoy dystopian books, especially MATCHED by Ally Condie, will like this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Most characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Nyssa feels some attraction to a couple of the boy characters.

Spiritual Content
Some resistance members believe in God and the Bible, something that’s been outlawed for a long time. They tell Nyssa that dreams and the ability to interpret them come from God.

Violent Content
References to torture. Prisoners are hanged for their crimes. Nyssa is there but tries not to look, so it’s not described in any detail. A fighter uses a biological weapon to kill soldiers. The same weapon was used on civilians before the story began. Soldiers treat an older man roughly, killing him. A man cuts a boy’s face.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of FORTUNE’S FALL in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support running this blog.

Review: Wicked in Rhyme by J. L. Smith

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, Paranormal, , , , , ,

Wicked in Rhyme (Wicked Unearth Series)
J. L. Smith
Published February 20, 2019

Amazon | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About Wicked in Rhyme

Inez Finley is just like most ten-year-olds. Her life is filled with love from her family. Mainly from Grandma Esther.

Her parents love her, too, but Grandma is the only one Inez can truly talk to about the dreams she has.

Especially after one of them comes true on the schoolyard. She is the only one who understands what Inez can see and what the woman in the old photo in Dad’s office has to do with it.

My Review

It’s not often that I review serial or short fiction, but in this case, I wanted to help out a fellow book blogger and share something about her book.

“Wicked in Rhyme” is four chapters introducing Inez Finley, a bright, empathetic girl with vivid dreams. Even in these first few chapters, Inez’s special relationship with her grandmother comes through. There’s also a really fun element of mystery and intrigue as Inez realizes her dreams aren’t just dreams. But unlocking their secrets won’t be easy.

I found myself drawn in and deeply interested in Inez’s story and her dreams. I would definitely read more of her story.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Inez is Black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Inez has a dream that something bad happens to someone, and then it does.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of “Wicked in Rhyme” in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog.

Review: Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor

Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

Muse of Nightmares
Laini Taylor
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published on October 2, 2018

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Muse of Nightmares
In the wake of tragedy, neither Lazlo nor Sarai are who they were before. One a god, the other a ghost, they struggle to grasp the new boundaries of their selves as dark-minded Minya holds them hostage, intent on vengeance against Weep.

Lazlo faces an unthinkable choice—save the woman he loves, or everyone else?—while Sarai feels more helpless than ever. But is she? Sometimes, only the direst need can teach us our own depths, and Sarai, the muse of nightmares, has not yet discovered what she’s capable of.

As humans and godspawn reel in the aftermath of the citadel’s near fall, a new foe shatters their fragile hopes, and the mysteries of the Mesarthim are resurrected: Where did the gods come from, and why? What was done with thousands of children born in the citadel nursery? And most important of all, as forgotten doors are opened and new worlds revealed: Must heroes always slay monsters, or is it possible to save them instead?

Love and hate, revenge and redemption, destruction and salvation all clash in this gorgeous sequel to the New York Times bestseller, Strange the Dreamer.

My Review
My favorite thing about Muse of Nightmares was watching the way all the side stories and history of what seemed like peripheral characters came together. I loved the redemptive moments especially. No spoilers! Just know that there are several characters who have great moments where they rise above their emotional baggage and they’re all fantastic.

I’m a huge fan of sister stories, so I loved that Muse of Nightmares begins with a sister story. It took me a really long time to figure out the way Kora connected to Lazlo and Sarai’s stories, but once I did, I felt like I couldn’t read fast enough. So much emotion and such high stakes! I loved it.

Like Strange the Dreamer, this book has a more mature tone that makes it feel less like a young adult novel. Lazlo and Sarai are both young (okay, I think Lazlo is twenty maybe?) but their issues and their behavior make them feel much more like adults than teens. Still, I really enjoyed the story and the rich story world.


Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Cultural Elements
Since this is a fantasy, there are made up races and ethnicities. The story begins in a more temperate climate with a brown-skinned people and progresses to a desert climate of brown-skinned people. A separate race of gods have blue skin. A couple of characters have blond hair and pale skin and are from a cold (think Scandinavian) place.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Some very sensual scenes showing kissing and touching between girl and boy. Two female characters also have a relationship and share sleeping space. Two male characters begin to feel some attraction toward one another. One culture views gay relationships as wrong, but the other (the culture where the story takes place) accepts all different kinds of relationships. There are some references to sex and some nudity. No descriptions of sex itself, but some descriptions of activities leading up to it.
In the past, the gods took human slaves and used them to bear their children. No descriptions of rape, but obviously the survivors bear some trauma from the experience, and there are some references to what happened, like a man overhearing his wife screaming.

Spiritual Content
A blue race of humans have magical abilities (one specific ability each) and call themselves gods. Muse of Nightmares explores the history of the gods – where they came from and how they came to be in Lazlo’s world.
Ghosts remain in the world while they’re under the control of a powerful goddess.

Violent Content
Ghosts attack a group of humans.
Sarai relives some old memories, including one in which she steps over the dead bodies of two women and sees a lot of blood on them and on an ally’s hands.

Drug Content
Some references to drinking alcohol.