Life is But a Dream

Mar 14, 2012 Giselle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, own, contemporary

Did you know that Schizophrenia typically appears between the ages of 16 and 25? How old are you? Scary, huh? I've always been fascinated, if a bit terrified, by this illness. I got a chance to learn a lot about it in one of my psychology classes at University and it's not a disorder that many really understand. Life Is But a Dream takes us in the mind of Sabrina - in a mental facility because of this incurable illness.

There is so much sadness, underneath it all. We go into Sabrina's mind and se...more Did you know that Schizophrenia typically appears between the ages of 16 and 25? How old are you? Scary, huh? I've always been fascinated, if a bit terrified, by this illness. I got a chance to learn a lot about it in one of my psychology classes at University and it's not a disorder that many really understand. Life Is But a Dream takes us in the mind of Sabrina - in a mental facility because of this incurable illness.

There is so much sadness, underneath it all. We go into Sabrina's mind and see her delusions, her perceptions, and even when she thinks she's completely happy, you can feel her helplessness; it's brilliantly written. You get a grip of how this illness takes away your sense of the world. However, I could never completely connect with Sabrina. I felt like she held the reader at arm's length in a way that made it hard to me to really be able to sympathize for her. No doubt is it distressing, but I felt this in a more general sense of the illness, than towards Sabrina herself.

Alec - in the mental facility as well - quickly falls for Sabrina, and she him. The romantic element is a sweet way to give a little light to the otherwise gloominess of the story. I was happy that she found someone to be herself with, although I didn't particularly like how he was feeding her conspiracies that negatively affected her mental state. Especially that he is otherwise healthy, thus should have realized this wasn't helping her.

The book consists of Sabrina trying to understand, to accept, who she is. It's a fairly short novel of a little over 200 pages, even so I did find the story was moving too slowly for my taste. I felt myself longing for something deeper to unravel. Nonetheless, there is a definite beauty in the slow, painful way that it's told. Flashbacks throughout the novel also helps us understand how her illness started, unfolding to the events that led her to the facility.

Life Is But a Dream opens our eyes to a mental disability that is often misunderstood. Brian's portrayal of schizophrenia is impressive; he makes us see the despair, as well as the beauty in such a sensitive subject. For those who enjoy books dealing with mental disorders, this is one that will make you see the world in a completely new way.

"Is the world crazy--or is she?" - quote on cover

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Dec 07, 2011 Darkfallen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc

I have always had a thing about books dealing with mental illness, so when I read the synopsis for this book I was hooked! I mean a girl struggling with schizophrenia in a mental institution? Ummmmm YES PLEASE!

That and schizophrenia is something I know very little about, but have always wondered about. So deciding to pick this up was an easy decision to make.

Sabrina is a 15 year old girl that has come to realize that she doesn't see the world like everyone else does. When she was a child she alw...more I have always had a thing about books dealing with mental illness, so when I read the synopsis for this book I was hooked! I mean a girl struggling with schizophrenia in a mental institution? Ummmmm YES PLEASE!

That and schizophrenia is something I know very little about, but have always wondered about. So deciding to pick this up was an easy decision to make.

Sabrina is a 15 year old girl that has come to realize that she doesn't see the world like everyone else does. When she was a child she always thought she just had a vivid imagination, and everyone applauded her for it...but she's not a child any more. Her parents and her best friend Kayliegh seemed to be more annoyed then anything by what she sees and draws. They are always telling her she needs to grow up, but what they don't understand is this isn't a figment of Sabrina's imagination. For her the world really does look different. After her delusions take a turn for the worse she finds herself in the Wellness Center, and there she meets Alec. A boy that she knows she is supposed to be with. So when he tells her that the medicine is just the worlds way of trying to control her she believes him, and stops taking them. Little does Alec know, Sabrina really does need those pills.

By the time she finds out it just might be too late...

This book was one twisted ride that is for sure. The story is told from Sabrina's POV and at times left me feeling confused and slightly lost. Especially when she would flashback, and I was left standing there wondering how we got out of the Wellness Center and into her bedroom, or the mall? Eventually I got used to the sudden jumps back and forth and was able to keep up, but I felt that is could have maybe been done a a little different so the reader would never have been lost. Like maybe put the flashbacks in italics or something. Other than that the writing style was great! I think it really helped get you into the mind of a person with schizophrenia in a way that was believable. There was no doubt for me that Sabrina saw the things she saw, and towards the end, when everything started to unravel, I couldn't put the book down.

Over all I say this is a good read and for anyone out there that wants to know what it's like to live inside the world of schizophrenia should pick it up and give it a try. That and the relationship between Alec & Sabrina was so sweet in a naive kind of way;)(less)

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Apr 07, 2013 Amanda rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, reviewed-books, favourite-books

5 stars.
"I'm not crazy. At least...I don't think I am, anyway."

Life is But a Dream is beautiful tale about Sabrina, an artist diagnosed with schizophrenia. She has always been seen as special. Before, it was in the way where she was delicate and rare. Now it is because she is sick. Her parents check her into the Wellness Center. Just as she is getting better, she meets Alec, the boy from her dreams, and he tells her it's the world that's crazy, not them. She believes him wholeheartedly, stops ta...more

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Jun 12, 2012 Stephanie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, high-school, realistic-fiction, ya

Sabrina has always been a little odd: she daydreams, builds fairy coves, sees the whole world like a Van Gogh painting, acts very impulsively and is very naive. This isn't seen as a problem until the event that leads to her admittance to the Wellness Center. Sabrina is not entirely convinced that she wants to be "fixed." She likes her daydreams and the colors she sees in the sky. When she meets Alex, another patient at the Center, she hopes that maybe he will accept her the was she is.

Really, re...more

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Mar 13, 2012 Kat rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, psychological, 2012-read, updated

4 1/2 stars

From the opening pages I was completely immersed in the story of Sabrina and I had no trouble loosing myself in this book. Told in alternating past and present, with flashbacks to Sabrina’s childhood, I initially found myself questioning whether Sabrina was really ill or just a daydreamer of a girl with an over-active imagination.

Life is But a Dream is beautifully, intensely written. As I read the book I was more and more enamoured with Sabrina and couldn’t help but want the best p...more

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Mar 28, 2012 Heather rated it 5 of 5 stars

Sabrina is young, 15, and I thought that was too young for schizophrenia, but I was informed by my 15 yr old that they just studied it in Health and that it isn't too young. So my tax dollars at work, he learned something! But I do think it's unusual. Still it happens to Sabrina and though she's delusional she's strong in some ways. She was taken advantage of and her mind just built a different, though pretty world around the ugly things kids did to her. In fact, she escaped from reality all the...more Sabrina is young, 15, and I thought that was too young for schizophrenia, but I was informed by my 15 yr old that they just studied it in Health and that it isn't too young. So my tax dollars at work, he learned something! But I do think it's unusual. Still it happens to Sabrina and though she's delusional she's strong in some ways. She was taken advantage of and her mind just built a different, though pretty world around the ugly things kids did to her. In fact, she escaped from reality all the time and by escape, she got totally engrossed in her fantasy so that she lost track of time, days, what was going on around her. Her delusions are beautiful, fairies and painting the sky, she's searching for heaven. No, she's not suicidal.

I have no way of judging if Brian James did a good job of portraying what it's like to have "acute schizophrenia." I have nothing to compare it to and the only research I saw that he did was pick up a hitchhiker who shared with him what it was like to have schizophrenia.* But this isn't a "Guide for Schizophrenics." It's just a fictional account of a girl falling into her delusional life, believing the boy she meets in therapy that says the drugs are just going to make her a robot person. Alec. Alec the angry boy who falls for the delusional girl that paints pretty pictures for him that calm him down. But he doesn't realize how serious she is. And she doesn't realize he doesn't believe in her dream. That they will walk into the sun in the ocean, hand in hand and the world will fall to dust all around them and they will be in heaven. What he sees as metaphor she sees as reality.

I think Alec is so busy being angry at the world, at his parents, at his doctors, that he doesn't really take the time to really hear her. He listens and Sabrina believes he's the only one that's ever understood her, but the things he tells her only feeds her paranoia and just when she's getting better, he undoes everything. He tells her they are the only normal ones. And tells her how to fake taking her medicine. And that if she takes her medicine, she'll become one of them. Sabrina has been noticing her escaping has not been working and now she realizes it's the medicine. They are changing her. And her paranoia sets in deep. Unknowingly, Alec makes her much, much worse because they never tell each other what their diseases are,they just describe what the doctors say is wrong with them. The word schizophrenia never comes up.

I think Mr. James tells a great story about a girl coming undone and no one really hearing her. A story about a young girl who knows she's not right, she's special but she doesn't quite understand why it's wrong to be this kind of special. And she's not sure why she should let go of this specialness since it is who she is. Mr. James definitely got that right. As a person that has to take many psychiatric drugs on a daily basis, I fight with that too. And I understand not wanting to change who you are. As soon as Sabrina starts being more lucid, she starts missing her dreams, her escapes from reality. Facing reality is scary and dreaming is much more preferable. So when she feels her escape being taken away, she feels like she's changing, losing herself. I totally identify with her. It's kind of like when you're drinking and you're uninhibited so that you're more social. You'd like to be that way all the time, right? But you can't drink all the time, there are rules. For Sabrina, they are taking away those feelings that she uses to cope as she gets better. It's a good thing, but it's hard to lose when you've always had it.

The story is really beautifully written as Sabrina's delusions are descriptive and original. She's artistic so her delusions are as well. Mr. James isn't flowery in his descriptions yet they are poetic and painted all the same. After the fateful meeting with Alec, I could feel the ball rolling down the hill as Sabrina's mind gained momentum toward her explosive rock bottom, until no one could be trusted, even her own reflection. It's very intense, almost like waiting for a thunderstorm. When they separate her from Alec, she wants to leave the hospital immediately. No one realizes the true effect he's had on her, not even Alec.

I enjoyed reading this story so much. It was told from Sabrina's point of view and it was so mesmerizing reading her thought process. She was lucid at times, remembering to pretend to act normal and other times, completely lost. So foreign to any mental illness I've ever known. And so frightening. And the story was completely different in a good way. Told from the point of view of the person with the mental illness, the victim of the disease, it never vilified her as something evil or soul sucking or a potential murderer. She was the victim of a disease, a "chemical imbalance". I was almost giddy to see it described like that. Why, oh, because that's what many mental illnesses are. And the medicines bring balance back and make a person stable.

I don't know much about schizophrenia. The little I do know is that I'm glad it isn't the disorder I have. But I have been told by mental health professionals that people with the disease can lead very productive lives. So there's hope. And that's kind of where I was left at the end of this book, with some hope. And I applaud Mr. James for his writing, for the inventiveness of Sabrina's delusions and dreams and for writing from the sick person's point of view. Thank you for not making her someone to be hated or pitied. Yes, this is personal for me.

**Brian James, the author, reached out to me on Goodreads to let me know it he did a lot of research on schizophrenia and that his mention of the hitch hiker was merely a shout out for all his valuable and brave sharing of what his daily life is like living with the illness.

Thank you to MacMillian and Feiwel and Friends for allowing me to read an ARC of this via NetGalley.
This in no way influenced my review of this novel.(less)

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Nov 07, 2011 Jessi (Reading in the Corner) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Books set in psychiatric institutions fascinate me. Their world is completely different from anything that we experience on a regular basis--the doctors, the regimens, the interactions. It also takes a lot of careful consideration to craft a character living in a setting like this. Brian James created a very interesting world here, but for some reason, something didn't 100% click for me with this one.

The main character, Sabrina, is locked up in a psychiatric facility and diagnosed as schizophren...more Books set in psychiatric institutions fascinate me. Their world is completely different from anything that we experience on a regular basis--the doctors, the regimens, the interactions. It also takes a lot of careful consideration to craft a character living in a setting like this. Brian James created a very interesting world here, but for some reason, something didn't 100% click for me with this one.

The main character, Sabrina, is locked up in a psychiatric facility and diagnosed as schizophrenic. She's slowly progressing towards normal when Alex enters her life and turns everything upside down. She rather quickly spirals backwards into her delusions.

Sabrina is really a fascinating character to follow. James really takes you straight into her head and determining the dreams and delusions from reality is next to impossible at times. Seeing the world through Sabrina's eyes shows the reader both the beauty and the terror that can come with such a life. It was really difficult for me, as a reader, to watch her (view spoiler). I liked her so much as a character that I wanted her to recover and have a shot at a normal life.

Alex...well, as a love interest he was a bit of a disappointment to me at times. I wanted Sabrina to have someone who loved her and her wacky way of thinking, feeling, and seeing things. Alex seemed like that person...at least at first. I don't think that he was ever able to grasp the severity of Sabrina's disease, and I didn't like how (view spoiler). He redeemed himself quite a bit in the later parts of the story.

I'm not exactly sure what makes this more of a three star than a four star book for me. I definitely enjoyed reading it, but it wasn't the sort of book that I was racing to pick up each whenever I had time to read. The pacing is a bit slow and the world didn't pull me in as much as I was expecting. The most exciting moments come rather late in the story, and while those moments were incredibly well-written, they were simply difficult to GET to because of the slower pacing at the beginning. I wouldn't warn anyone away from this book if they're interested, just be aware that it's not a fast-paced read.(less)

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Jul 07, 2012 Sandy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: medical-issues, teen

There are tons of books about kids with cancer and kids with autism, but I've never encountered one about someone with schizophrenia. Getting inside of Sabrina's head was interesting, and Alec was a nice counterpart as both an outsider and an insider to Sabrina's treatment.

What was actually most disturbing to me was (view spoiler)...more

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Feb 16, 2012 Kelly rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-fiction, read-in-2012

2.5.

This story, set in a psychiatric ward, follows Sabrina through her struggles with schizophrenia. It's told both in the present and in flashbacks. Unlike many books dealing with schizophrenia, this one is actually about schizophrenia and not dissociative identity disorder. James doesn't conflate the two.

That said, the writing never quite worked for me. I felt too distanced from Sabrina to build sympathy for her. It makes sense because it's Sabrina's voice, but it felt more like it pushed me...more

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Mar 24, 2012 Christina (Reading Thru The Night) rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance, 2012, ya-love

first - AHHHH, look at that cover?! Isn't that just one of **the** most beautiful covers you've ever seen? Fabulous!

I'm a lover of all things crazy. And especially mental illness crazy. If the setting is in a psychiatric ward or old school insane asylum, I'm sold. Sign me up, close the deal, finalize the deed. Because of this reason, obvs I was the perfect candidate to read this book.

Sabrina is diagnosed with schizophrenia and after one shattering incident involving her and her school mates, he...more

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Mar 15, 2012 Jessirae rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley

Life is But A Dream by Brian James is anything but ordinary. He brings in this honest, surreal and captivating story about a girl, Sabrina, who is diagnosed with schizophrenia. Brian James managed to take a simple story of a girl trying to recover and managed to take it and twist into this story of beauty and brilliance.

I had no idea what to expect with Life is But A Dream. I wasn’t expecting to step into a mind of a schizophrenic and be filled with wonderment and have this slightly exhilarating...more Life is But A Dream by Brian James is anything but ordinary. He brings in this honest, surreal and captivating story about a girl, Sabrina, who is diagnosed with schizophrenia. Brian James managed to take a simple story of a girl trying to recover and managed to take it and twist into this story of beauty and brilliance.

I had no idea what to expect with Life is But A Dream. I wasn’t expecting to step into a mind of a schizophrenic and be filled with wonderment and have this slightly exhilarating feeling in my stomach. Not only did Brian James, amaze me, he impressed me with his beautiful writing. Every word in this book was more than descriptive and vivid, it was was imaginative. Everything was simple, but exuded this colorful incredibility with each phrase and sentence. I lost myself in those descriptions more than once.

I enjoyed the fact that Life is But A Dream was seen all through Sabrina’s eyes. I’ve never read a book that deals with an illness this severe and I was more than glad to have read it and experienced it such a way that the person who was sick is the narrator. I was able to sympathize with Sabrina and possibly understand her, if only a little. I really felt for her. I wanted to reach out to her because I knew she just needed someone by her side.  

I love how magical and colorful and life-like everything was to Sabrina. She truly did see things differently; from the ever-changing sky, to the different colored rocks, to the sounds of the wind and the static that surrounds her world. I thought the world and the heaven she saw was beautiful. The way Sabrina describes her surroundings is like a fantasy and a dream. It felt like what she was seeing was real and just within reach.  

I thought Brian James did a great job creating and developing Sabrina’s character and her personality. Sabrina was very intriguing character from the very beginning and was even more pleasing in the end. I was so wrapped up with Sabrina that I sometimes found myself questioning whether she really was crazy or not. She seemed more real than anything else in the book.  

When Sabrina meets Alec, everything seemed to be going good for her. She found someone she could connect with and relate to, but it became obvious that Sabrina was spiraling downward instead of getting better. I thought having Alec as Sabrina’s love interest was a nice addition to the story. I enjoyed their talks and the time they spent together and I loved how Alec really did care for Sabrina from the beginning until the very end. Like him, I wish things didn’t go down that way with Sabrina. I get that Alec was trying to help Sabrina in his own way, but I thought the things he told her were a little irrational and I found him to be slightly cynical towards the world in general. Also, I did think their friendship and likeness for each other moved too quickly and this could possibly be the reason for Sabrina’s downfall.

I do have to comment that the pacing to this story is slower than I’m comfortable with. It’s not until fifty percent in where the story picks up the pace a bit. I also had trouble with the transitions between Sabrina’s past and present. Sometimes they blended and were unclear. I do not know if this was intentional due to Sabrina’s illness and her state of mind, but it did leave me disoriented at times. More than once I had to reread previous pages in the book to catch up with Sabrina’s ever changing thoughts. However, the overall writing of this book makes these issues minor in comparison.

All in all, Life is But A Dream was a fascinating and heart-felt story. It’s beautifully written and is seemingly able to transport you into the strange entrancing mind of Sabrina’s heaven.

  4 out of 5 stars  

*Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan for allowing me to read an eARC of this book. In no way do they influence my thoughts in this review. It is solely my own.    

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Feb 28, 2012 Nicola rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: cover-appeal, young-adult

Reading Life is But a Dream was a very interesting experience for me. I was really intrigued by the description and was interested in seeing how it would be played out. The cover is also just lovely! It's so light and airy, much like the whole tone of this book. I had huge expectations for this one and while it didn't really live up to them, it was still a good read that I'd recommend to anyone with an interest in books dealing with mental health issues.

The writing in this was a bit hard for me...more Reading Life is But a Dream was a very interesting experience for me. I was really intrigued by the description and was interested in seeing how it would be played out. The cover is also just lovely! It's so light and airy, much like the whole tone of this book. I had huge expectations for this one and while it didn't really live up to them, it was still a good read that I'd recommend to anyone with an interest in books dealing with mental health issues.

The writing in this was a bit hard for me to get used to. It's just such a different style and a bit hard to read fluidly, really! I do think it reflected Sabrina's character well but it made the book a bit slow for me. Another thing about the writing that I found hard to get into was the flashbacks. They were so random with no real break between sitting in the therapist's room and thinking back to last year. I suppose this can also reflect Sabrina's mental state but as a reader, I found it confusing.

Other than that though, I genuinely did like this book and I'm so glad I read it. It is fascinating to step into a mind so different to a ''normal'' mind and it was really easy to see where Sabrina was coming from. Her world was beautiful and fascinating, all she knew, why on earth would she want medication to make it all dreary and normal? I can imagine how she must have felt and how scary it would be to have it all stripped away when it's all you've known. Alec was really well written and definitely believable. I loved their interactions with each other and their different ways of viewing the world. They understood each other yet at the same time had very different experiences.

There is definite character development throughout this book, with both Sabrina and Alec. It was great to watch them change and grow. They have lots of set backs along the way and the ending was not predictable to me at all. For the most part, I thought this was a good book. I just found it didn't really grip me like I thought it would and was a bit disappointed in that. I think there are a lot of people who will like this one and most people will find something to take from it.(less)

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Jan 20, 2013 Bookworm1858 rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: amazon-vine, netgalley, ya-read, read-2012

This book caught my interest from the song lyrics for "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" as well as my deep love of contemporary novels. By the time I picked this up, I had read Ultraviolet (review to come) and had high expectations for the writing and characterization (yes Ultraviolet is about a character with a neurological phenomenon while this is about a character with schizophrenia but both are about female teenagers placed involuntarily in mental facilities.

I have never really thought of myself as...more This book caught my interest from the song lyrics for "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" as well as my deep love of contemporary novels. By the time I picked this up, I had read Ultraviolet (review to come) and had high expectations for the writing and characterization (yes Ultraviolet is about a character with a neurological phenomenon while this is about a character with schizophrenia but both are about female teenagers placed involuntarily in mental facilities.

I have never really thought of myself as a reader who pays attention to the writing, preferring instead to focus on the plot and how the characters make me feel. But it is something I've been noticing and happily the writing in this was glorious and intense, capturing Sabrina's unique perspective on the world. I did have one problem which was the alternating between present in the center and flashbacks to the past. They were usually sudden and had me questioning if they were memories tinged with Sabrina's interpretation or complete fabrications; Sabrina is not an entirely reliable narrator.

But I do still think character is important so if you can't sympathize with her, then even the gorgeous writing probably won't be enough for you. I really felt for Sabrina, who mostly lives in her head and has been largely ostracized by her classmates. She has different priorities than their popularity-obsessed minds, looking outside of the narrow high school bubble. In particular there was one boy who treated her abominably without repercussion and certainly didn't help her healing.

Besides our main character Sabrina, there is also the mysterious Alec, who in some ways appears as an entitled rich jerk whose rich dad got him in a mental facilities instead of juvenile detention. He seems to be the only one who can understand Sabrina and encourages to stop taking her medication and to hold onto her beautiful thoughts. But in some ways Alec also seems like a figment of Sabrina's imagination which had me alternating my interpretation. I've read one review that came down on the side of made-up but the last pages had me saying he was real.

Overall: A powerful contemporary with beautiful imagery and an intriguing main character.

Cover: I love the colors of the leaves and the sky but I don't like Sabrina's hair on the ground.(less)

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Mar 22, 2013 Kalyn Schwartz rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is about someone sent to a mental institute just because she's different than anyone else. Throughout the story there were many different twists and turns. It made me want to keep reading more. The detail was good and I felt it wasn't too repetitive. I recommend this book to teenagers, especially the ones who think they're in love. This book puts a whole new spin on love and proves that things are not always what they seem to be. I enjoyed this book because it kept me interested and ma...more

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Nov 21, 2012 Shonna Froebel rated it 3 of 5 stars

This teen novel is told from the point of view of 15-year-old Sabrina. She has alway had a good imagination, and until recently her parents encouraged her use of imagination and creativity. Her best friend has also been drawing away from Sabrina's stories and pictures, in favour of an interest in the opposite sex. But an incident at school, coming to light to the reader as the novel progresses, has resulted in Sabrina being sent for treatment in a youth mental health facility. Sabrina struggles...more

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Sep 22, 2012 Abbe Hinder rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, feiwel-friends, serious-topics, meh, female-pov, reviewed

3.5/5-If only this book was as good as the summary, it would have been a better read. The cover really drew me in because of her glowing blue eyes and the beautiful leaves that draped over her. It's so beautiful.

Told from Sabrina's perspective, a story about loss, love, and freedom. James Brian could have done a much better job with this. The idea behind this story isn't very original and it showed because there wasn't anything special about the book. The characters were a bit confusing and were...more 3.5/5-If only this book was as good as the summary, it would have been a better read. The cover really drew me in because of her glowing blue eyes and the beautiful leaves that draped over her. It's so beautiful.

Told from Sabrina's perspective, a story about loss, love, and freedom. James Brian could have done a much better job with this. The idea behind this story isn't very original and it showed because there wasn't anything special about the book. The characters were a bit confusing and weren't clear about the way they were supposed to be presented. Sabrina was very confusing since she saw things differently than others which made it hard for me to understand some of the things.

What annoyed me the most was the writing style because it was smooth and easy to read, instead it was choppy, confusing, and annoying. Brian James didn't use quotation marks for when a character was speaking which I thought wouldn't make any difference to me, but it did because when I thought a character was talking, they really weren't. Life Is But A Dream is not a book full of action and intense moments you'd think would be in a story about escaping a mental hospital. Not at all. I was really let down that there wasn't any chase scene, fights, and adults looking like fools. I was expecting at least something, even when they were trying to escape the hospital, it let me down. The relationship between Sabrina and Alec is a bit boring and typical, I wished Alec was different and didn't stand up for Sabrina as much, then it would have been different.

Even though I didn't like the constant details of everything Sabrina saw, I liked having a vague picture of it. When she explained about the clouds and the static that was controlling people, I thought that was cool because in a way, its true. People are being brainwashed to believe in things that are broken instead of opening their eyes and seeing how awful the world is. I also liked the ending because Sabrina was forced to look inside herself and a very hard decision about whether she actually needed help or if the doctors were playing a cruel joke on her to keep her to stay.

I would recommend this book to people who don't really care about action in books, but more about the message. The message in this book is an easy one but with a different way of saying it since Sabrina is a bit different from other people.(less)

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Jun 18, 2012 Lewis Buzbee rated it 5 of 5 stars

Life is But a Dream is a beautiful and brave and necessary book. And it’s one of those books that to paraphrase the story does the book a disservice. Sabrina is a teenage girl who is schizophrenic, and who, in the course of her treatment, meets a boy she believes she has a special bond with. But this is not a book “about” schizophrenia, nor is it a romance. It’s a book, in the end, about what it means to be human, about how to find your place and identity in the world, and how to hold on to the...more

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Jun 12, 2012 Liviania rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have read several books by Brian James, but he's never made much of an impression. While none of his books struck me as particularly memorable, I enjoyed reading them. Still, I felt some trepidation when I began LIFE IS BUT A DREAM. Mental illness is not well understood and stories are one way to spread knowledge and empathy.

It is extremely common to hear tales about how people with schizophrenia, manic depression, or other illnesses are more creative when they don't take their medication. Tha...more I have read several books by Brian James, but he's never made much of an impression. While none of his books struck me as particularly memorable, I enjoyed reading them. Still, I felt some trepidation when I began LIFE IS BUT A DREAM. Mental illness is not well understood and stories are one way to spread knowledge and empathy.

It is extremely common to hear tales about how people with schizophrenia, manic depression, or other illnesses are more creative when they don't take their medication. That their medicine turns them into low-functioning zombies. It's a dangerous meme. Everyone has a right to make their own decisions about treatment as long as they aren't dangerous to themselves or others. But sometimes people avoid treatment that could help them based on nothing more than hearsay.

Sabrina seemed like a poetic dreamer when she was a child. But eventually, she was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Then she had to be put into a mental wellness center. She's on the mend when Alec enters her life. He convinces her that it's the world that's crazy, not them, and that they can escape together and live without drugs. It's pretty easy for Alec to say, since he's your basic rich kid for attention issues.

I loved getting lost in Sabrina's narration. It's easy for the reader, at first, to think Alec may be right. Then the things Sabrina lies to herself start coming to light and her narrative frays around the edges as she spirals down. It's pretty rough to see her regress after she stops her medication regime. Meanwhile, Alec is blithely oblivious to the damage he's causing.

But despite LIFE IS BUT A DREAM being intensely shaped by Sabrina's worldview, you can tell that Alec matures. The scene wherein he realizes Sabrina is actually schizophrenic is a brutal wake-up call. And, in the end, things do work out well. Sabrina, after all, must choose her treatment for herself. Alec's words wouldn't affect her so much if she hadn't believed she wasn't ill at the beginning of LIFE IS BUT A DREAM.

James has written an affecting and realistic portrait of schizophrenia. Even better, he created a wonderful protagonist who happens to have schizophrenia, just as she happens to fall in love and come of age. (less)

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Jun 09, 2012 Majibookshelf Juhina & Farah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Life is but a dream was definitely a foreign and interesting journey! Getting to see how a schizophrenic person thinks and what really goes inside their mind fascinated me. All that paranoia, the voices, the feeling as if Sabrina, the protagonist is watching a different channel or listening to a different radio station from the rest of the world, as if the whole book is set in her mind. At the beginning, Sabrina lived in her own little colorful world, but as the days passed while she was in the...more

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May 25, 2012 Whatchyareading added it

Shelves: contemporary, christine, young-adult

This book is not one I would normally read, but I found myself drawn to it. Maybe it’s because I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be lost inside your head, like in I Never Promised You a Rose Garden. Being such an avid reader, I find myself lost in daydreams and what-ifs more often than most people I know, but what if one day I couldn’t differentiate between reality and fiction anymore? I’ve seriously thought about this happening. So, ultimately, I think I was drawn to Life Is But a D...more This book is not one I would normally read, but I found myself drawn to it. Maybe it’s because I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be lost inside your head, like in I Never Promised You a Rose Garden. Being such an avid reader, I find myself lost in daydreams and what-ifs more often than most people I know, but what if one day I couldn’t differentiate between reality and fiction anymore? I’ve seriously thought about this happening. So, ultimately, I think I was drawn to Life Is But a Dream because I wanted to know how Sabrina deals with her diagnosis and her reality and fiction interweaving into one big reality that other people can’t see.

The story starts with Sabrina at the Wellness Center. She’s been there for a little while and has seemed to acclimate to her environment and schedule. Then she meets Alec and things aren’t so linear anymore. We get flashbacks intermingled with the present as Brian James shows us Sabrina at a young age, whose parents and friends delight in her imagination and creativity, to scenes where she’s trying to understand why they want her to ‘grow up’ and stop pretending. You’re never really sure who will be in the flashbacks, although they tend to center around Sabrina’s friend or her parents, or what age Sabrina will be in them, but they give us very useful insights at her slow descent into her specific mental illness. There’s no ‘aha!’ moment, though. This was a very gradual thing and Sabrina was good at hiding what she thought other people might not like her to say or do.

To say I enjoyed this book sounds wrong because it’s about a subject matter that is very touchy and often overlooked. I was taught at a young age, mostly by society, to avoid those people who talk to themselves or seem off-balanced. If they didn’t fit in, look at them with pity and then give them a wide berth because you don’t want to catch their crazy. And we kid about it, too, calling each other insane or crazy for doing silly things. Thinking about it, I do that quite a bit. I really need to stop. It’s not cool.

I liked and empathized with Sabrina. I wanted her to get better. I wanted her to be understood by her doctor, her peers and most importantly, by her parents, which is why I liked Alec… at first. He seemed to ‘get’ her. I thought they were going to be good for each other, but it becomes apparent very quickly that Alec has issues of his own he needs to sort out.

The writing itself and the way speech was formatted in the book was very well done. I liked how the idea of this all being a dream translated to having speech in italics instead of emphasized by quotation marks. It made everything float together nicely, like you were drifting along in one of Sabrina’s paintings. Unfortunately, things do start getting real and a bit scary for Sabrina. I was actually scared for her several times during the book because no one understood how much she needed someone to take notice of what was actually happening in her mind. Where’s House when you need him?

This is a stand-alone book, so we do get a sort of conclusion. Brian leaves it open-ended, but you get the feeling of optimism, which is the best way to leave Sabrina, in my opinion.

Overall, it was good. Kind of sad and it felt like you were drifting along with the clouds at times. Mellow. The girl on the cover is younger than I imagine Sabrina to look, which threw me off a little every time I looked at it, but not a big enough hindrance to really annoy me.

Life Is But a Dream comes out TODAY through Macmillan. The only waiting required to read this is how long it takes you to get to your local bookstore or library.

Reviewed at WhatchYAreading on March 27th, 2012.(less)

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May 24, 2012 Misty Baker rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have to be honest and say that I’m not quite sure how to go about writing this review. Under normal circumstances I have an “absolute” feeling when finishing a book. I know what I’m going to say about it and I know how I’m going to rate it. Neither can be said when it comes to “Life is But a Dream.”

On one hand it was a spectacularly written example of schizophrenia and how it not only effects the person who has it, but the people surrounding it. In the other, you have a novel that is so full o...more I have to be honest and say that I’m not quite sure how to go about writing this review. Under normal circumstances I have an “absolute” feeling when finishing a book. I know what I’m going to say about it and I know how I’m going to rate it. Neither can be said when it comes to “Life is But a Dream.”

On one hand it was a spectacularly written example of schizophrenia and how it not only effects the person who has it, but the people surrounding it. In the other, you have a novel that is so full of flowery, elaborate and lengthy descriptions (where the lead character Sabrina is concerned) that I found myself wanting to skim to get to the overall plot of the book.

What I DO know…it was heartbreaking and eye opening.

“Sabrina, an artist, is diagnosed with schizophrenia, and her parents check her into the Wellness Center. There she meets Alec, who is convinced it’s the world that’s crazy, not the two of them. They are meant to be together; they are special. But when Alec starts to convince Sabrina that her treatment will wipe out everything that makes her creative, she worries that she’ll lose hold of her dreams and herself. Should she listen to her doctor? her decision may have fatal consequences.”

I have been a fist-hand witness to several psychological diseases in my life. I’ve read about several more, but schizophrenia has never been on the top of that list. “Life Is But A Dream” by Brian James single-handedly opened my eyes to this life altering disease, and he did so in a genuinely beautiful way, not only explaining the complexities of its origin but more importantly…illustrating the horrors that can occur when it’s not treated properly.

First let’s talk about Sabrina (the lead in Life is But a Dream.)

I adored Sabrina.

Though she had her fair share of issues, the most debilitating of those being mental illness, she felt very real, AND without even trying made me see the beauty that life has to offer. Schizophrenia is a breading ground for hallucinations and is characterized as: being unable to tell the difference between real and unreal experiences. In Sabrina’s case, her delusions are very child-like, and focused around her powerlessness to understand why we (as adults) loose our sense of wonder, our need to be carefree and embrace life’s mysteries with enthusiasm vs pessimism. She sees the world full of color, while the rest of the world is stuck in the black and white, and because of her brilliantly sculpted arguments (thanks Mr. James) by the end of the book I felt myself agreeing with her.

Alec is NOT sick, just trapped in a world of his own self-destructive making. And though he fuels Sabrina’s disease by encouraging her to live in her head (and stop taking her medication) his confidence in her, and the fact that he clearly cares for her (which is confirmed in the final moments of this novel) makes up for his misguided actions. Making him (ultimately) one of the most sad but honorably endearing characters I’ve had the pleasure of reading.

So where does the confusion come in on my part? The language used. I can appreciate flowery, and in some cases I’m warmed by it. But when Sabrina is at her very worst, when she is off her meds and struggling to understand her surroundings, the rants get slightly out of hand and had me feeling much more anxious for answers than entranced by the journey.

If you like sometimes dark, very serious literature with a bit of floral fluff and a good message…this is the book for you. If you are turned off by poetic stylings and pages of imagery (regardless of how wonderfully crafted it is) you should probably take a pass.

Happy reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: Maturity is a high price to pay for growing up.(less)

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Mar 29, 2012 Melanie Goodman added it

Sabrina is checked into the Wellness Center for schizophrenia. Her parents and doctors are concerned about her erratic behavior, delusions, and hallucinations, though Sabrina is often content living in a world set apart from reality. Her treatment of therapy and medication is effective, but it also dulls the colors that make up Sabrina’s life and artwork. When Sabrina meets Alec, who is also being treated at the Wellness Center, he convinces her that her unique perspective is beautiful, not craz...more Sabrina is checked into the Wellness Center for schizophrenia. Her parents and doctors are concerned about her erratic behavior, delusions, and hallucinations, though Sabrina is often content living in a world set apart from reality. Her treatment of therapy and medication is effective, but it also dulls the colors that make up Sabrina’s life and artwork. When Sabrina meets Alec, who is also being treated at the Wellness Center, he convinces her that her unique perspective is beautiful, not crazy, and that she should stop taking the medication that the doctors are using to control her.

As Sabrina is swept up in a forbidden romance, she rebels against the doctors and the medication and her parents, increasingly losing her grip on what is and isn’t real. Sabrina’s world can indeed be beautiful, but it can also be confusing, disorienting, and scary. Soon, Alec discovers that Sabrina’s condition may be worse than he ever realized.

Brian James manages to convey Sabrina’s narrative in a way that feels very true, but that has its drawbacks. James’ descriptions of the world Sabrina sees are breathtakingly gorgeous and thought-provoking. He provides an insider’s perspective of schizophrenia that depicts both the creativity and the terror of the illness, getting into his character’s head nearly as convincingly as memoirs written by people who know schizophrenia firsthand.

However, the numerous lengthy descriptions packed into this extremely short novel slow down the plotting considerably, the disjointed and confusing head space of the narrator make the book similarly hard to follow from present to flashback and back again, and Sabrina’s mental illness makes her a difficult narrator to connect with emotionally. In many ways, the things that make Sabrina believable are the very same things that make Life is But a Dream a tough read.

At just over 200 pages, Life is But a Dream might be perceived as a quick and easy read, but its intensity, jumbled movement through time, and highly descriptive language make it a novel better digested at a slower pace. My extremely high expectations for this novel were not quite met, but James’ insight into the narrator’s mind makes Life is But a Dream recommendable to those with an interest in mental illness.(less)

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Mar 27, 2012 Amanda rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really wasn't interested in this book. In fact, I had numerous opportunities to pick it up for review, but never did. I'm generally not a fan of contemporary YA novels, as I tend to find them boring. I am, however, generally a fan of novels that take place in psychiatric wards, and I find the exploration of human mental conditions really fascinating. Life is a But a Dream takes a somewhat different approach to the "girl dealing with a mental condition" storyline. Instead of going hard and grit...more I really wasn't interested in this book. In fact, I had numerous opportunities to pick it up for review, but never did. I'm generally not a fan of contemporary YA novels, as I tend to find them boring. I am, however, generally a fan of novels that take place in psychiatric wards, and I find the exploration of human mental conditions really fascinating. Life is a But a Dream takes a somewhat different approach to the "girl dealing with a mental condition" storyline. Instead of going hard and gritty, author Brian James offers a more artistic and abstract story centered around a mis-understood teen.

Sabrina doesn't quite seem to live in the real world. At least, that's what her parents think. It's considered normal for someone to get lost in their imagination, but Sabrina seems to spend too much time in her own thoughts, almost completely disconnected from the world. Once she settled into her new life at a local Wellness Center (where she's diagnosed with schizophrenia), she meets a boy named Alec who convinces Sabrina that the treatments will change her into something terrible, and that they are meant to be together.

While I really didn't have high hopes for this novel, I was pleasantly surprised by it. The writing is absolutely gorgeous, filled with strong imagery and powerful emotions that transports readers to a different world with its own rules. This is honestly one of those few times that a novel borders on poetry and pure beauty in terms of terms. It was this incredible style that really pulled me through the story (though I didn't like the use of dashes instead of quotations when denoting dialog).

Much of the story is very subtle, but as it goes on it grows in power until the plot reaches an incredible climax -least in the context of the story. While I enjoyed this for the most part, it did seem a little slow at times, and I can see how some readers may have trouble with this -just not enough going on and not enough opportunity to develop a strong relationship with the characters.

At its core, this is a novel about someone searching for acceptance. More than anything, I felt like Life is But a Dream was a sort of metaphor for misunderstood teens who can't seem to find acceptance from society or even their own family -usually this occurs with more creative types (and yes, I can relate a little bit).(less)

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Feb 27, 2012 Nicole rated it 5 of 5 stars

Life is But a Dream grabbed my attention as something I might like to read just based on the cover. I know that you should "never judge a book by its cover" but unfortunately an interesting cover is what draws a reader in at first glance if looking for the next good read in a book store. After then reading that the book was about a girl with a mental illness I figured it’s definitely up my alley as a book I must read. I have many students that come into my library searching for books with this s...more

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Feb 21, 2012 Amy Jacobs rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own

I don't know what to say about this book. Was it intriguing? Yes. Did it have great writing? Most of the time, yes. Beautiful cover? Check. Maybe I am in a reading funk lately and the young adult stories are just not as refreshing. I really wanted to enjoy this book -- which I did -- but not as much as I was hoping.

Sabrina is in Wellness Center or psychiatric hospital. She has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and her parents put her their for treatment. The author takes us inside Sabrina's mind...more

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Jan 03, 2012 Lacey rated it 4 of 5 stars

First Thoughts:

At first I didn’t know what to think about this book, the imagery was past amazing, the colors and images this author painted were so beautiful and creative but at the same time the idea was a little bit strange and almost unconvincing.

The plot of the story was a bit off, the way the author switched back from past and future tense was at times a bit disorientating but after a while I was able to adjust to the authors structure and the confusion went away. But I did think the sub-...more First Thoughts:

At first I didn’t know what to think about this book, the imagery was past amazing, the colors and images this author painted were so beautiful and creative but at the same time the idea was a little bit strange and almost unconvincing.

The plot of the story was a bit off, the way the author switched back from past and future tense was at times a bit disorientating but after a while I was able to adjust to the authors structure and the confusion went away. But I did think the sub-plots were well written, I felt the author did a great job on creating different stories that helped tie the main story together; without them this book wouldn’t have been as well written and put together as it was. As for the characters I felt that they were well created. I felt that Sabrina was well crafted, her frame of mind and actions synced together so well that I really did believe her to be a schizophrenic. She was so full of life and creativity, she was a likeable character and she made a great transformation throughout this book. At times she morphed from one person to the next until at the end she finally settled in to someone she was meant to be from the start. As for Alec, he was just as likeable, he had that way about him that instantly drew you to him; that mysteriousness and “bad rap” definitely clued me into his type of character. He himself also made a transformation, he went from someone who was isolated and anger filled to someone worth loving. As for the other minor characters, they were artfully placed, though I didn’t always feel a connection with them, I did find them to be real to the story and world. As for the description like I mentioned earlier I found it to be beautiful and artistic. I really thought the way the author used the sight of Sabrina to describe schizophrenia was so perfect to those of us who always viewed schizophrenia to be multiple personalities (I mistake I had made but now don’t). The description also created the story, it revealed answers to the questions in the book and it provided insight in the world of someone who sees the world different than me and you. As for the writing style, the only issue I had was the structure of the scenes; I felt that things could have been better organized. And another issue I found was the end, though I liked the end result I felt that it was rushed. I would have liked the ending to be more drawn out, so that as us the readers could better savor all the changes taking place. But it was a beautiful story filled with such beauty and creativity.

Goodreads Summary:

Alec and Sabrina are crazy in love. Problem is: Sabrina’s really crazy.

Sabrina, an artist, is diagnosed with schizophrenia, and her parents check her into the Wellness Center. There she meets Alec, who is convinced it's the world that's crazy, not the two of them. They are meant to be together; they are special. But when Alec starts to convince Sabrina that her treatment will wipe out everything that makes her creative, she worries that she'll lose hold of her dreams and herself. Should she listen to her doctor? Her decision may have fatal consequences.

Last Thoughts:

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a book that is filled with great description and beauty and to those who enjoy reading about characters with mental illness; this one was really well written in the aspect of the disease. I would also recommend this to anyone who loves a book where love is a key element but isn’t necessarily the main element. I wouldn’t recommend this book if you don’t like books with sharp transitions and abrupt endings. I also wouldn’t recommend this if you don’t like romance; this book at times did get cheesy. But in the end I enjoyed this authors writing, the description to me was over the top and helped make the story as likeable as it was. I will definitely be looking forward to what else this author has in store for his readers.
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Apr 07, 2012 Nereyda Gonzalez rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc

***ARC provided by Feiwel & Friends for review***

I was instantly captivated by the cover and book description for Life Is But a Dream. It is definitely unlike any other story I have ever read. We meet Sabrina, and artist who is diagnosed with schizophrenia. Her parents have checked her into The Wellness Center where she meets Alec. She is instantly drawn to him because she knows they have met before, in her dreams. Alec is also instantly drawn to Sabrina because she is unlike any other girl...more

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Feb 02, 2012 Itsjustme-wendy rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was very sadly realistic. This is an inside view into the mind of a Schizophrenic Teenage girl. I once knew a young girl who was diagnosed with schizophrenia and she was very much like Sabrina in this story. I am always against drugging our children, but in severe cases like these - it could really save their lives!

"Nurses visit me constantly. They come as often as circus clowns emerging from a tiny car. Bringing medicine after medicine. They fill me with an entire diet of pills in sm...more

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Dec 12, 2011 Laura Ashlee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, 2011

Review will be posted at Owl Tell You About It on release date.

Achingly beautiful. Those are the two words that come to mind upon finishing this book. I sincerely hope that this book gets all the buzz it deserves and does well. With so many hyped books coming out next year, it would be easy for this one to fall between the cracks. Don’t let that happen! It really is beautiful.

This book is both a look at the world through the eyes of a girl while her mind slowly unravels and a gorgeous love story...more Review will be posted at Owl Tell You About It on release date.

Achingly beautiful. Those are the two words that come to mind upon finishing this book. I sincerely hope that this book gets all the buzz it deserves and does well. With so many hyped books coming out next year, it would be easy for this one to fall between the cracks. Don’t let that happen! It really is beautiful.

This book is both a look at the world through the eyes of a girl while her mind slowly unravels and a gorgeous love story about two troubled teens who find solace in their understanding of one another. I will say that the quick progression of Sabrina and Alec’s relationship was a little off-putting. I had to remind myself of the desperate and intense emotions that comes with being a teenager. I can only imagine that those emotions would taken to another level if suffering from the psychological and social disorders that these two have. What’s so beautiful about it all is that they get each other. In the same situation most people would decide Sabrina or Alec was crazy and walk quickly in the other direction. Because they’ve both felt what it’s like to be weird or outcast (or “special,” as Sabrina would say) they develop a deep connection.

The book isn’t just about Sabrina and Alec’s love. It’s mostly about the world Sabrina lives in vs the real world. She struggles to hold onto what is real and what isn’t. What I loved about Sabina’s illness what that it was written in a way that’s easy to understand. It’s easy to see how she gets confused. Her obsessive fixations on some things seem to take her away from real life. It’s so easy to sympathize with her character when experiencing the whole thing through her eyes. She’s constantly afraid of what will happen. She doesn’t want to change. She doesn’t want to become fake, like all the people she sees around her. She most definitely does not want to lose Alec. It’s all very engaging. I could hardly tear myself away from the book.

Within her stay at the hospital, she sorts through her memories. I slowly got to discover what happened to her and why she ended up there in the first place. That part was almost as interesting to me as her developing relationship with Alec and the progression of her illness. I just needed know how things ended up this way. There was also a small focus on her relationship with her parents. I think that part was a little more understated, but it was there. I am glad they’re not the terrible parents that always seem to inhabit teen books.

To sum things up, I thought this book was terrific. Everything really leaped off the page. It was a very visual experience for me. The writing was beautiful and I can’t wait for it come out so I can go get my very own finished copy. (less)

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Apr 25, 2012 Reynje rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemp-or-realistic, e-book-kindle, read-2012, young-adult

Life Is But A Dream is an unusual, intense book that tackles the subject of truth as perception from the angle of mental illness.

Sabrina is a schizophrenic teen, checked into the Wellness Centre after events that are slowly revealed through a series of flashbacks. Using these snapshots of the recent past and Sabrina’s childhood, James sharpens the image of Sabrina-in-the-present, where she meets and becomes close to fellow patient Alec. Sabrina is convinced that there is a connection between sh...more Life Is But A Dream is an unusual, intense book that tackles the subject of truth as perception from the angle of mental illness.

Sabrina is a schizophrenic teen, checked into the Wellness Centre after events that are slowly revealed through a series of flashbacks. Using these snapshots of the recent past and Sabrina’s childhood, James sharpens the image of Sabrina-in-the-present, where she meets and becomes close to fellow patient Alec. Sabrina is convinced that there is a connection between she and Alec - that he originates from the dreams that texture her world.

…mine [dreams] aren’t like that. Mine stay around even when I’m awake. They are everywhere around me, shadows that I see out of the corner of my eyes. Sometimes they are more than shadows. […] Those dreams aren’t dreams at all but windows into other places. Those special dreams exist in the small places where two words rub up against each other.”

James’ portrayal of Sabrina’s schizophrenia is definitely one of the strongest elements of this book. He seamlessly weaves Sabrina’s delusions into her narration, creating a rich and evocative voice that effectively communicates the way her mind merges the real and the unreal.

In a similar way, James clearly conveys Sabrina’s confusion and fear at the idea of separating these worlds, of tearing out the part that makes her feel special.

-But why is it so wrong for me to just perceive what I perceive? – I ask her. – Everyone’s always said I should believe in myself. Until I stopped believing what they wanted me to…

Dr Richards is trying to take away the part of me that makes me special. That is what she wants. It’s what my parents want too. But it’s not what I want. I don’t want to see things their way. […] The thought of a world that plain frightens me.

In this respect the novel highlights the power of perception, and how Sabrina defines herself by the way she sees the world. The story is largely focused on Sabrina’s internal journey, and the potentially fatal consequences of the choices she must make.

However, despite the first person narration, there is never a real sense of closeness to Sabrina. As readers, we might see through her eyes, but we are never fully in her shoes, living her experiences as intimately as the point of view might suggest.

Life Is But A Dream also subtly touches on the theme of bullying, particularly the repercussions for Sabrina, without being heavy handed with the messaging. It’s handled in a manner that feels both relevant and respectful, while drawing attention to the very real emotional impact for victims of bullying.

While this is at times a distressing book to read, given the struggle Sabrina undergoes, its undeniably moving and thought provoking. At least, until the resolution. This was where I felt a considerable disconnect with the story and dissatisfaction with the manner in which it was concluded.

It’s worth mentioning here that certain points (and characters) in this book are highly subjective and reader interpretations of what exactly is real and what is part of Sabrina’s schizophrenia will vary. If taken on a completely literal basis, I find the way the Sabrina is compelled to confront her illness slightly problematic and unrealistic, particularly when it comes to the role Alec plays. The emotional engagement I had felt up until this point waned. While I felt happy with the note on which Sabrina’s story ends, the manner in which it arrived there rang somewhat hollow to me, and I felt it undid some of the complicated crafting that gone into the plot previously.

Still, Life Is But A Dream is a complex, beautifully written book – with a great deal of empathy for the characters and the respective challenges they face.

This review also appears at The Midnight Garden
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