Lucid

Oct 06, 2012 Giselle rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, own, mind-fuck

Ok ok.. I think I loved it. But I'm not sure. This was just very .... You know the movie Inception? Yeah, kinda like that. I'm so lost, yet I love it... I think.

For one thing, Lucid is a book that makes you think. You have to piece every single moment together to begin to understand what just happened. And this is what you will see yourself doing after you turn the last page. Then you will want to immediately read it again in a new light, so you can grasp the puzzling nature of the plot.

I'm not...more Ok ok.. I think I loved it. But I'm not sure. This was just very .... You know the movie Inception? Yeah, kinda like that. I'm so lost, yet I love it... I think.

For one thing, Lucid is a book that makes you think. You have to piece every single moment together to begin to understand what just happened. And this is what you will see yourself doing after you turn the last page. Then you will want to immediately read it again in a new light, so you can grasp the puzzling nature of the plot.

I'm not sure how many of you watched Momento!? But that movie, you're watching it with no idea what the frick is going on. You end it with no better idea of who killed his wife - at all. So you watch it again, hoping that after seeing the ending you will see things clearer. Lucid if kind of like that. Although not nearly as complex (I mean I watched Momento 4 times and I'm still not convinced I know who the killer is), it makes you think, it makes you relive every single event that happened in the book so you can grasp exactly what was happening to Sloane and Maggie. Being so intricate, you have to be ready to work on your own verdict on its conclusion. It's not a clean-cut ending, you have to dissect it and interpret it. I guarantee it's one that you will need to discuss with others who have also read it. This may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I relish in books that make me second guess things, and leave me with a need to decipher every page. These are the type of books that I get to remember for a long time.

Before this perplexing--and quite emotional--ending, we get a journey into the lives of two very different girls with a big secret - when they go to sleep at night, they dream of each other's day. From the first page, you'll be found wondering what exactly is happening to these girls. Is one of them schizophrenic? Is there a paranormal side to the book? Are they both real? If not, which life is real, and which one is just a dream? A very fascinating concept for sure. It boggled my mind over and over, then the more I thought about it, the more freaked out I became. However, this "situation" is only one part of this very deep, and incredibly touching novel.

Beautiful and heartbreaking; after everything is said and done, this novel is really about love. Real love, love that is raw, and natural, and all encompassing. A love that belongs to you and no one else. Both of these girls are searching for The One, and I loved how they would not settle for anything but, nor for the wrong reasons. They love themselves first. Their self respect is admirable, and the same can be said for the responsibilities they take on. I truly enjoyed both protagonists immensely, all the while constantly wondering if anything I was reading was even real; was either of these wonderful girls just a dream? A vision? A past life? Infinite theories aside, I found myself surprised by how deeply moving this book had become. There's love and joy and family, but there's also grief and fear and panic and dread that are all running running rampant in this plot. Then when their lives begin to collide, the panic they felt, I felt too. I didn't know what was real at all anymore. The identity crisis and confusion is complete insanity and, my word, I savoured it, and loved every second where another piece of my mind got blown to bits. Poof.

An incredibly unique reading experience that will leave your mind to mush, and your heart to pieces. Fans of movies such as Black Swan, Momento, and Inception will absolutely find their next fix inside Lucid.

--
An advance copy was provided by the publisher for review.

For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

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Oct 09, 2012 Blythe rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: YOU. Yes, you. You haven't read this yet, have you? Yeah, fix that. Come back when you're done.

Shelves: highly-anticipating-2012, i-need-this-book, i-want-it-right-now, judge-a-book-by-the-cover, 2012-favorites, cried-my-eyes-out, didn-t-see-that-coming, exceeded-my-expectations, favorites, hand-me-some-tissues, to-review

Giselle knows her shit.

Undecided on my rating. 4 stars? 5 stars? 4.5 stars? I DON'T KNOW. Review to come. Maybe. Probably not. Yeah, probably not.

Edit: You know what. 5 stars. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Everyone needs to read this book. Why hasn't everyone read this book?

Edit x2: I think I'll be doing everyone a favor by not writing a review for this. Or should I say a "proper" review. But, since I most likely will not even attempt writing a review for this (for your benefit), I want to s...more

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May 18, 2013 Keertana rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: why-the-hype

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Forget everything you've been told about Lucid. Everything. I'd be hard-pressed to come up with a title of a novel I've been more mislead by, and not in a good way. Lucid promises to be an original, mind-boggling, and paranormal tale of two girls who can't discern their reality from their dreams, much like what happens to Leonardo DiCaprio's wife in "Inception." Lucid, I have to admit, certainly delivers on this front, but only during the last twenty percent of this novel. For t...more Rating: 3.5 Stars

Forget everything you've been told about Lucid. Everything. I'd be hard-pressed to come up with a title of a novel I've been more mislead by, and not in a good way. Lucid promises to be an original, mind-boggling, and paranormal tale of two girls who can't discern their reality from their dreams, much like what happens to Leonardo DiCaprio's wife in "Inception." Lucid, I have to admit, certainly delivers on this front, but only during the last twenty percent of this novel. For the other eighty percent, we are slowly flipping the pages, bored senseless by the normalcy of the two lives we are presented and if, you're like me, banging our heads as Adrienne Stoltz has managed to cleverly weave two love triangles in one. While Lucid is by no means an excellent novel, its ending saved it from being a disappointing one.

Maggie and Sloane have the same name, but they could not be two more different individuals. Maggie is a teenage actress living in Manhattan with a widowed mother who is more careless than responsible and a beloved younger sister who Maggie dotes on, but also takes full care of. Sloane, on the other hand, has a loving family, a younger brother, a best guy friend who is always there for her, and a normal school life. In fact, the only tragedy to hit her life is the death of Bill, a childhood friend. For Maggie, romance enters her life in the form of Andrew and Thomas while Sloane is torn between James, the enigmatic new guy who wins her heart with his intellect and good-looks, and her life-long best friend, Gordy. What makes Sloane and Maggie connected, though, more than just their names is the fact that they dream of each others lives at night and now, they can't tell who is real and who is simply a figment of their own imagination.

Quite frankly, it took me awhile to get into Lucid. If I hadn't been reading this on a read-along, I most probably would have abandoned it at its half-way point. Each chapter switches from the perspectives of Maggie and Sloane and at first, I found myself zooming through Maggie's chapters to get to Sloane. Maggie, as an actress, is aloof and distant from the reader for much of the story, failing to form the immediate emotional connection that Sloane garners because of the normalcy of her life. As the novel wore on, though, I found that I began to care for both heroines and the stark differences between their narrations were very clearly felt, which is an obvious plus point in the direction of this debut author.

Unfortunately, though, the eighty percent of this novel shrouded in dullness is also filled with angst. We have Maggie, who likes Andrew, who has a girlfriend. We also have Thomas, who is an agent, who likes Maggie, who is seven years younger than him and isn't even a legal adult. Ew. On the other hand, we have Sloane, who is besotted with James - and I don't completely blame her - but he, too, is rather mercurial. Although Gordy is never a viable love interest because of the attention Sloane lavishes on James, our feelings towards James oscillate from love to hate rapidly. One of the most unique aspects of this novel is that by the end, some of this makes sense. My mixed feelings towards James, for instance, are perfectly explained and kind of mind-blowing in their subtle genius. Others, though, are merely present for drama, angst, and for the sake of prolonging the novel longer than it needed to be. Folks, the beginning of this story is not a fun ride - not at all.

Thankfully, though, the plot slowly gives away to a descent into madness. We see aspects of Maggie's life crop up in Sloane's and vice versa and, at first, we aren't sure what to think. When the ending arrives, it is stunning and explains so much - but not enough. It seems to be too obscure for me to fully fall in love with this novel, yet decent enough that I did like it. Nevertheless, I can only recommend Lucid to the most patient of readers, those who can barrel through angst and love triangles to finally get to the rather genius ending within. And, to them, I simply say this: good luck.

A huge thanks to Jasprit for reading this along with me! Without her, I would have undoubtedly given up and never been shocked by the utterly brilliant ending. :)

You can read this review" and more on my blog, Ivy Book Bindings.(less)

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May 19, 2013 fяσzєη rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: covergasm, owned-physical-copies, boooooring, cant-believe-i-finished, coverlove-booksuck, dickhead-heroes, dont-understand-why-its-hyped, everyone-likes-it-but-me, hot-mess, i-am-disappoint, insta-love, pile-of-crap, sorry-excuse-for-a-romance, unlikable-heroines

1.5 stars, and I'm being merciful here. Maybe there were things I missed because I skimmed through most of the book, but it was impossible NOT to skim. I really did not give a crap about any of the characters, especially Sloane, who annoyed me to the point where I wanted to break a kitten's neck. I mean goddamn, everything in this book was so ridiculous, especially the boy-craziness, and guuuuuuuurl was there a lot of that. I feel like on every paragraph there had to be something about one of th...more

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Jan 02, 2013 Ari J Bookzilla rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Ari J Bookzilla by: Laplumedelyla

Shelves: favorites, 2013-absolute-favorites, want-own-in-print, clean-read

I open my eyes. I'm still smiling.

MIND. BLOWN. That's how I feel right now. And if I'm honest, half the time I felt like I was tripping.

It has been a long while since I've cried confused tears because of a book. Because I don't know if they were happy, or sad, or just a mixture of both.
I cried for Maggie, and I cried for Sloane, and in the end I still didn't know who I was crying for, really.

Halfway through this, my biggest complaint was that nothing is really happening. I mean, things were hap...more

I open my eyes. I'm still smiling.

MIND. BLOWN. That's how I feel right now. And if I'm honest, half the time I felt like I was tripping.

It has been a long while since I've cried confused tears because of a book. Because I don't know if they were happy, or sad, or just a mixture of both.
I cried for Maggie, and I cried for Sloane, and in the end I still didn't know who I was crying for, really.

Halfway through this, my biggest complaint was that nothing is really happening. I mean, things were happening, but nothing to even give you an inclination of what is really going on. And this made me want to turn to the last page and just see what is going on so I can go back to reading the book without being distracted with guessing. Don't do that, people. It will do you no good. Trust me on this one, you need to read everything to understand what happened.

Maggie, a New York actress who is for some reason extremely cynical about love, finally finds it in the most wonderful person. He is perfect in every possible way.
Sloane, a small town high school girl who is obviously grieving a forbidden (in a way) love that she lost, finds it again.

The book is extremely smart. It keeps you guessing until the very end. Every time you think you have it figured out, whatever you're thinking, you're probably wrong. Because what I got from the ending didn't even cross my mind. Maybe it's just me?

I loved Andrew, I loved Jade and Max, I loved Gordy and I loved Bill. I loved Maggie more than Sloane and felt guilty because of it since I've connected with both girls so much. And because I secretly wanted Maggie to be the real one if the book should go that way. James I didn't like, because I had a thing for Gordy. Sorry, James. You're probably a nice guy.

The writing grips you from the beginning, you just know you're in for one hell of a ride. You can distinguish between the girls voices in the beginning, but as the lines start to blur they become more and more similar and I felt just as they both did, confused and disoriented. The girls feel so real with their monologues, their day-to-day routine, their personalities were just amazing. I think they would have been great friends.

I need to discuss the ending but obviously, I can't do that without spoiling anything. I'm not sure I should even put it under a spoiler tag because I know how irresistible those are, and I want everyone to draw their own conclusion from that ending. It definitely makes you want to go back and reread the whole thing now that you know what's going on, because - the clues were there all along.

I can't recommend this book enough. Really, it is one of the best thought out books I've read. Nothing makes sense until it finally does. And I promise you will need tissues, and I promise you will be as confused as I am if they're because you're happy or sad with the ending. I am so happy that this book was my first of 2013. I needed to start this year with a good book. Read it.(less)

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Aug 24, 2012 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Sloane and Maggie are two complely different girls with the same full name. Maggie has dark hair and lives in New York working as an actress. Her mom is never around but she loves her sister Jade. Sloane has blonde hair, two loving parents, brothers, great friends, and goes to high school in Connecticut. But when they go to sleep they dream about the other one's day. At first I was a bit confused about how they know that the other one is indeed dreaming their life but I guess they figured it out...more Sloane and Maggie are two complely different girls with the same full name. Maggie has dark hair and lives in New York working as an actress. Her mom is never around but she loves her sister Jade. Sloane has blonde hair, two loving parents, brothers, great friends, and goes to high school in Connecticut. But when they go to sleep they dream about the other one's day. At first I was a bit confused about how they know that the other one is indeed dreaming their life but I guess they figured it out from observing during the dream. They do talk about attempting to find the other girl by looking them up where they live but have never found them.

Then for a big part of the book the dream part kind of takes a backseat. I felt the main theme of the book was about finding love and allowing yourself to be loved and even how to love. Both girls are unsure if they can ever find love and if they do how do they know it is real? Seems like a serious thing to think about at 17 but honestly I have thought about it since I was 17 so it felt real and relatable to me. Maggie is dating Thomas but is it because she likes him or that he might be able to give her career a big break but she also met Andrew, a film student who is becoming her best friend and maybe more. Sloane has a great best friend named Gordy but falling for the new guy James and also not over the loss of her best friend Bill.

These girl's struggle to find love is at times beautiful and other times heartbreaking. I felt especially sad over Sloane's loss of Bill. With Maggie I just wanted her to hurry up and get with her new friend Andrew and I wanted Sloane to get with her friend Gordy. But these girls were very unsure of who to give their heart to. They are very vulnerable with many family and friend problems. I really became attached to the characters. It is hard for me to explain why I loved them. The writing was just very emotional. But then when I got towards the last 100 pages I was completely confused!

The dream worlds and different girls lives collide and I didn't have a clue who was who and had to look at the chapter titles which shows which girl is currently narrating. The ending was so sad (was totally balling my eyes out) and sweet but at the same time I can't honestly even tell you what the heck happened?!?!?! I have been questioning people that read it and have yet to truly figure out for sure what the ending means!!!! That is my biggest compliant. I love dream books and understand they come with confusion, which is part of the fun and mystery, but by the end of the book I would like to finally have everything spelled out to me and be sure of what happened which I wasn't. But don't let the weird ending put you off. The story was very beautifully written and I really cared about what happened to these girls.

If I fell in love, I wouldn't be lonely. Not that I am. But how do you fall in love? Is it really something that conveniently "just happens" to you? Or is it something that you have to make happen, see your opportunity and don't let it get away? Even though I'm only seventeen, I have this scary conviction that if it was going to happen, it would have happened already. I mean it's even happened to Sloane. Even though I'm the only one who knows that.

Doing a reasonable imitation of Ryan's voice, Andrew waggles his eyebrows: "Mags. I want you. To have sex with me. So that you'll thin I'm getting Macauley to give you a role, but I'm also having sex with five other actresses, promising them the same thing."
"Hey. At least I'd get to have sex with him"
That stops him cold. It also revealed that he is utterly and overwhelmingly jealous. I love, love, love that.

"We're both lucky we found each other. I mean, I don't know what I'd do with the rest of my life if I ever lost her. Crazy, huh?"(less)

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Oct 12, 2012 Maja rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: alternating-povs, contemporary-fiction, failed-to-impress, ya

I think I liked the idea much more than I liked the book itself. It was just too... contemporary and focused on boy troubles for my taste. The last part, however, was a game-changer, and it totally made me sob.
So I'm officially torn.

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Jan 12, 2013 Suz rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-read-2012

Lucid is a powerfully emotionally gripping new debut that is sure to tug at readers heart strings and have them aching with the characters. Stoltz and Bass have really teamed up and written a powerhouse phenomenal new young adult novel, with an interesting twist. It's a beautifully crafted heartbreaking tale, that reaches out and allows readers to feel with the characters and the odds they are facing. It is truly one of the most fascinating reads, that I've had the pleasure of enjoying all year...more Lucid is a powerfully emotionally gripping new debut that is sure to tug at readers heart strings and have them aching with the characters. Stoltz and Bass have really teamed up and written a powerhouse phenomenal new young adult novel, with an interesting twist. It's a beautifully crafted heartbreaking tale, that reaches out and allows readers to feel with the characters and the odds they are facing. It is truly one of the most fascinating reads, that I've had the pleasure of enjoying all year. The transition between the dream worlds, the two girls lives (Maggie and Sloane), and the confusion and mystery were definitely enough to capture my attention.

This dymanic duo, have definitely cultivated a wonderfully engaging, heartbreaking, painful, and confusion mystery that will stun, wow, and captivate anyone. The characters are so well developed, the twist in the story arc is incredibly intriguing, and the massively unexpect cliffhanger at the end make it such an incredible read. It's a wonderfully confusing and distorted way of looking at life from two different sides of the coin. For me, personally, it's rare to find a gem such as this novel that can actually make me feel torn and sympathetic to both dream worlds and both girls, at the same time. In a way, it's magnificently disturbing and beautifully written.

Lucid holds the desires, dreams, and hopes of two girls caught up within each others dream worlds, and trying to decipher which one is real and which one is fake. The alluring thing, when it comes to this book, is the fact that it's so incredibly relatable and brilliantly stunning in the storytelling details that it's hard not to be drawn into its web of conflict, confusion, and chaos. It is probably one of the most unique and original stories, that I've read in quite some time. I wouldn't be so quick to pass this book up, as I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys heartfelt emotionally gripping stories that will pull at their heart. It is definitely worth the read.(less)

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Oct 08, 2012 Annabelle Marie Veronica rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: best-books-in-the-world, blew-my-breath-away-amazing, books-that-made-me-cry, cried-my-freaking-eyes-out, arcs, favorites, gorgeous-cover, i-love-a-guy-in-this-book, i-own, magic, fantasy, paranormal, romance, wish-there-was-a-sequel

*****FINAL RATING: 5.00 STARS*****

CATCHALL
Wow. I mean, wow. Just, wow. I was literally speechless after I finished this book. It was completely and utterly amazing and I positively loved it. I was just absolutely blown away. I won't be the first or the last person to make this comparison, but this book is a lot like Inception. The first time you read it, you don't really understand exactly what's going on but you love it anyway because it's that incredible. As time goes on and you read it again...more

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Nov 04, 2012 Anna Smyth rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: own-physical-copies, sounds-good, all-time-faves, amazing-reads, favorites, favourite-couples, favourite-secondary-characters, friendships-i-adore, heroes-i-adore, heroines-i-adore, let-me-love-you, made-me-an-emotional-mess

WHAT JUST HAPPENED.

Rating: 5 beautiful stars

In the beginning I didn't like this book,at all.I disliked both main characters as well as some of the others characters and I hated one of the love interest,James.I was ready to give it a low rating.
And then in the middle of the book something happened.
I fell in love with it.I adored both Maggie and Sloane and the others characters especially their families and Andrew.I was giddy and excited and when the strange things started to happen and we don't k...more

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Mar 09, 2013 Eric Townsend rated it 4 of 5 stars

You know how many stories, whether in book or movie form, start with something like “Let me start at the beginning…”? Well I want to start with the ending. See, I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about Lucid until I got to the last 15% or so of the book. The ending sold me, I’m not going to immediately rush to see where this fits on my top x books ever list or anything crazy like that, but it solidified Lucid as a good read. It’s dramatic, intense, and it will rip your heart out if you let it. Th...more You know how many stories, whether in book or movie form, start with something like “Let me start at the beginning…”? Well I want to start with the ending. See, I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about Lucid until I got to the last 15% or so of the book. The ending sold me, I’m not going to immediately rush to see where this fits on my top x books ever list or anything crazy like that, but it solidified Lucid as a good read. It’s dramatic, intense, and it will rip your heart out if you let it. There is such a powerful array of emotions and both MCs trying to get a grip on what they think is reality that you can’t help but be swept into their plight.

Speaking of the MCs, I did enjoy reading about both Maggie and Sloane. However, every review I’ve read seems to pick a favorite, and mine will be no different as I did connect more with Sloane. She’s more reserved, she’s the book lover and desires to be a writer, all things I feel an intimate connection to. Her personality just meshes with mine. That doesn’t mean I didn’t connect with Maggie too, just not in the same way. I liked Maggie, her backbone, her sense of humor and take charge attitude were very appealing. In the end I just can’t not feel closer to a book lover you know? ^.^

The romances. Oh boy. See this is why I can’t jump up and down and squee over the awesomeness that one of my best bookish/twitter/bloggy friends Annabelle from Sparkles and Lightning finds in Lucid. We weren’t just given one love triangle, Stoltz gave us two. I understand, symmetry between the two characters, some things need to be similar so that the worlds can stay intact, etc. etc. but that didn’t make it drive me crazy any less. Don’t get me wrong, the love triangles were pretty well done, though I thought the Thomas/Andrew one was pretty obvious in its result. Regardless, multiple love triangles was just a bit much for my taste.

The plot was done in a slow buildup fashion, no two ways about it (ironically enough). As I said, the ending portion of the book was riveting, but it took quite a while to get there and some of the early-to-middle parts developed just a tad slower than I would have preferred. On the other side of the coin some of my favorite lines were in those sections, so maybe keeping everything in was worth it after all. I certainly wouldn’t want Jade’s character to be lessened even in the slightest, it was fantastic, so I’ll take the development speed in stride in this case. Little sister characters always get me darn it.

The psychological discussions and debates (even if mostly one sided) were enjoyable. I love that sort of material, and while I wasn’t blown away by the therapy bits, they were done well. I don’t know how much more Stoltz could have delved into the character’s “condition” so maybe going into the amount of detail that there was is a good thing. I do know that I need to read another good psychological book (maybe a mind-fuck, those are fun) after reading Lucid to keep that inner-mind vibe going.

Overall Lucid was a good read. There were certainly elements (mainly one) that I wasn’t fond of, but they didn’t overshadow the many positive aspects. I’m not going to rate it a perfect 5/5 (sorry Annabelle) but I think a solid and positive four reflects upon the book pretty accurately. Neither character was perfect and neither were either of their lives, so maybe the rating for them matches that.

Rating: 4/5(less)

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Dec 30, 2012 Nikki rated it 3 of 5 stars

Okay, I... what?

I'm giving this 3 stars because I think I liked it? I'm not quite sure. I guess I liked the idea of it more than the actual thing.
I was so close to not finishing the book several times. The writing... it just didn't do it for me. It was too narrative, and I felt like I didn't get a good picture of things many times. The only thing I was able to picture semi-okay was whatever Maggie narrated about where she went, and only because I live in New York as well. I felt like the explan...more

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Nov 02, 2012 Teresa rated it 4 of 5 stars

It's a hard knock life being a moody teenager, but being a moody teenager with a parallel life makes the knocks a lot harder.
That is the case presented in Ron Bass and Adrienne Stoltz's first young adult novel, Lucid, in which 17-year old Maggie lives a charmed life as a burgeoning young actress in New York City. The trouble is Maggie goes to sleep every night and dreams that she is Sloane, a straight-A student living in the suburbs of Connecticut. Both of these girls dream of the other at nigh...more It's a hard knock life being a moody teenager, but being a moody teenager with a parallel life makes the knocks a lot harder.
That is the case presented in Ron Bass and Adrienne Stoltz's first young adult novel, Lucid, in which 17-year old Maggie lives a charmed life as a burgeoning young actress in New York City. The trouble is Maggie goes to sleep every night and dreams that she is Sloane, a straight-A student living in the suburbs of Connecticut. Both of these girls dream of the other at night and envy what the other has, all the while questioning their own sanity.
Ultimately, it is these parallel lives that capture a fascinating portrait of realistic teenage anxiety amidst a backdrop of psychological suspense. The complex landscape leaves readers guessing whether there is a paranormal or mental illness element throughout the novel. These two worlds of Maggie and Sloane draw the reader in from the very first page as the opening line starts off with "My name is Maggie Jameson, or rather, Sloane Margaret Jameson...” Chapters interchange with Maggie and Sloane’s lives, as one girl falls asleep and the other lives in their dreams, giving the novel a vacillating and intriguingly divergent narrative structure.
Bass and Stoltz work together as screenwriters, which may play a role in the book’s succinct voices and confessional tone. Their characters are relatable in their modern-day prose, capturing the anxieties of adolescence and the never-ending hormonal surges. From their racing insecurities over potential love interests ("Do I really want Thomas, or just want him to want me?") to sexual stirrings ("I love the way his lower lip is like a shelf carved out of something I'd like to touch."), Maggie and Sloane give the novel a real sense of teenage colloquialism.
Maggie epitomizes the aspirational teen seen in the more materialistic young adult novels, as if she would be a plausible character in the Gossip Girl series by Cecily Von Ziegler. From namedropping chic New York restaurants like "Rose Bar,” and shoes like "Louboutin,” Maggie is the paradigm of the affluent fashion-forward teenager. These frivolous elements envelop the reader into a sense of exclusivity and New York joie de vivre.
On the other hand, or rather, life, Sloane is the relatable girl next door of the Taylor Swift genus, except with more dimensions outside of the “Boys are stupid!” mantra that Swift advocates. Sloane's representation of normalcy gives the reader the same sense of envelopment that Maggie offers, without the frills. For a point of reference, Maggie is the Teen Vogue to Sloane's Seventeen Magazine.
Deeper issues burrow into the girls’ psyches, which gives the novel a much-needed sense of depth that saves it from being too superficial. Sloane is still reeling from the recent death of friend, Bill, which is further complicated by being the object of desire for best friend Gordy, who she sees in a brother-like capacity. Maggie yearns for the normal life of Sloane, since her hectic life is exacerbated by the fact that her Elle Magazine editor of a mother is too busy to care for her and her little sister, Jade.
More introspectively, the economics of how these girls see each other points out gender through multiple and telling lenses. The female gaze plays into the novel in various ways as the girls objectify not just the male figures in their lives, but also themselves and their alternate dream personas. In one particularly telling scene, Sloane dreams of Maggie looking at her ballerina-like body in the mirror, critiquing herself as Maggie while envying her thinness and elegance as Sloane. This double-rainbow of multiple gazes gives the novel a sense of how body image and sexuality is formed in the novel; Sloane desires the aspirational actress body that Maggie has while Maggie dreams of having the curvaceous body of Sloane. Envy and feelings of inadequacy play huge roles in not just teenage body insecurity, but also in the mechanics of how the heterosexual female gaze operates. The commodification of looks in the novel reveals a theoretical approach to gender that can be read deeper from the surface.
Another aspect that differentiates this novel from being another YA cliché is the mental turmoil coupled with coming of age tropes. Maggie and Sloane evoke a sense of pathos in their struggles with keeping these dream lives a secret while quietly reveling in the triumphs of their alternative personas. However the novel’s tone grows increasingly more disturbing as the delicate walls separating the two lives begin to converge, which brings up another overarching conflict of reality versus fantasy. The girls constantly question which world is real and which isn’t, which subverts the trope of teenage insecurity in a more philosophical manner. By bringing mental instability into the equation, there are more stakes at risk which makes this book an even more compelling young adult read.
What the novels fails to address is how teenagers can seek treatment for psychological illness, regardless of whether the paranormal element plays into the novel. While Maggie's mentions her turmoil to her therapist, she is treated with doubt and derision. This might turn off those looking to read more proactive depictions of resolving mental ills of the young, which seem especially relevant in today’s society. The novel unravels so many mental knots for the characters that it becomes difficult to tie them neatly back up in a socially responsible way.
Nevertheless, this book is juicy in the vein of reading the troubled diaries of two intriguing teenage girls. It is definitely the psychological suspense that makes the book worth seeking on the shelves of bookstores and libraries, despite its generic cover. For those who are fans of double narratives and psychological drama amidst trying to grow up as a teenage girl, this book is definite one to pick up and hard to put down.(less)

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Oct 25, 2012 Rachael rated it 4 of 5 stars

Aside from sharing the same full name, Sloane and Maggie couldn’t be more different. Sloane is the good girl, a dedicated student and loving daughter; for the most part, she’s content with the life she has, though sometimes she wishes it were a little more exciting. Maggie, on the other hand, is living the high life as an up-and-coming actress in New York City, though she rarely admits that it sometimes gets lonely amidst all the glitz and glamour. But even though these girls’ lives seem to be t...more Aside from sharing the same full name, Sloane and Maggie couldn’t be more different. Sloane is the good girl, a dedicated student and loving daughter; for the most part, she’s content with the life she has, though sometimes she wishes it were a little more exciting. Maggie, on the other hand, is living the high life as an up-and-coming actress in New York City, though she rarely admits that it sometimes gets lonely amidst all the glitz and glamour. But even though these girls’ lives seem to be the complete opposite, they’re actually not—because every night, each dreams that she’s the other. At first, it’s a delicious little secret, a sweet escape from their own lives once they close their eyes, but soon, things start to get messy. As people from their dream worlds start to bleed into their waking states, neither Sloane nor Maggie is sure anymore what’s real and what’s imaginary.

For me, Lucid was a book that held so much promise. I was captivated by the idea of two different people who dreamed each other’s lives, only to find out that only one of them might be real. And for a while, I was quite enchanted by this; I enjoyed watching how Sloane would react to what went on in Maggie’s life and vice versa. After a while, though, I started to get bored because unfortunately, I just couldn’t quite connect with either Maggie or Sloane and the pacing was lagging too much to maintain my interest, though I briefly became more interested in the plot again as it began to pick up, once the dream and waking worlds started to blend together. Ultimately, though, I was rather dissatisfied. The ending was too ambiguous and open ended that it felt like none of the questions of identity that were posed in this story were answered. Unfortunately, while I loved the concept for this book, in the end, I felt that it failed to fully deliver.

Lucid will still be enjoyed by fans of Dream Girl by Lauren Mechling, And Then Everything Unraveled by Jennifer Sturman, and Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson.

reposted from http://thebookmuncher.blogspot.com (less)

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Oct 22, 2012 Liviania rated it 4 of 5 stars

Adrienne Stoltz and Ron Bass are debut authors, but they are neither new to writing nor collaborating. They've been writing screenplays together for years. Their time in the business definitely adds authenticity to Maggie's experiences as a young, talented actress trying to get a breakout part.

Maggie is only one of the narrators of LUCID. The other is Sloane. Only one of the girls is real, and both girls belief themselves to be the real one. Whenever they go to sleep, they dream the other girl's...more Adrienne Stoltz and Ron Bass are debut authors, but they are neither new to writing nor collaborating. They've been writing screenplays together for years. Their time in the business definitely adds authenticity to Maggie's experiences as a young, talented actress trying to get a breakout part.

Maggie is only one of the narrators of LUCID. The other is Sloane. Only one of the girls is real, and both girls belief themselves to be the real one. Whenever they go to sleep, they dream the other girl's life. Maggie lives in New York with her often absent mother and younger sister. She doesn't go to school, instead opting for a GED so she can focus on her career. Her life changes when she meets two guys: talent agent Thomas and film student Andrew. Sloane is a normal girl, living in Connecticut. Bill, her best friend, died the year before and she's still recovering from his death. The hot new guy might help her escape her funk, but it means further denying the feelings she has for other best friend Gordy.

As I'm not a fan of love triangles, I wasn't overjoyed to get two for the price of one. But I was intrigued enough by the rest of LUCID to give that aspect of the story a pass. It's not obvious which girl is fake. (There was one scene that gave it away for me, and I'm curious to find out what gives it away for other readers.) Both Maggie and Sloane's lives are pretty fully realized. They have family, friends, hobbies, post-high school goals - neither is one dimensional.

It makes reading LUCID sort of painful, because you know one of the girls has to go away in the end. (Living a second life in your dreams, to the point where you can't believe it isn't real, is sort of crazy.) Both girls have their bad sides, but I didn't want either girl to disappear just because of a few character faults.

LUCID is the perfect read for anyone looking for a good psychological, character-driven tale. It's full of good and bad boys, cute and ugly dogs, grief, anger, and hope for the future. I had fun reading it and hope Stoltz and Bass decided to collaborate on a young adult novel again. (less)

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Mar 14, 2013 Alex rated it 5 of 5 stars

Holy crap. Just.... holy crap. This book was insane!

I am not going to write much of a review on this, because I feel this book is better if you don't know a lot going in. I actually just picked this book up at random from the library shelf, and with such a vague summary - the book I had just had two sentences on the inside flap, not this long summary that Goodreads has - I really wasn't sure what this was going to be about. Trust me: it's better that way.

I was very confused the first several c...more

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Dec 04, 2012 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars

(This review can also be found on my blog The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl).

When I first heard of Lucid by Adrienne Stoltz and Ron Bass, I knew it was one of those books that I definitely had to read. At first I thought I was going to be disappointed with this book, but it completely took me by surprise!

Lucid tells the story of two girls - Maggie and Sloane. They are as different as night and day except for one thing, they each dream of each other. As the story progresses,...more (This review can also be found on my blog The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl).

When I first heard of Lucid by Adrienne Stoltz and Ron Bass, I knew it was one of those books that I definitely had to read. At first I thought I was going to be disappointed with this book, but it completely took me by surprise!

Lucid tells the story of two girls - Maggie and Sloane. They are as different as night and day except for one thing, they each dream of each other. As the story progresses, each girl falls in love and is afraid that maybe theirs is the world that is actually just a dream. The question is which girl is just a dream and which one is real?

Merriam-Webster defines the world lucid as "having full use of one's faculties: sane." I think the title of this book definitely suits it. Everyone around Maggie and Sloane think they may be going insane. Also, since this is a book about dreaming, Lucid works well.

I don't really like the cover besides the fact that it's shiny. Other than being shiny, the cover is a bit to boring and plain for my liking. I wish it was a bit more decorative instead of just a girl lying in a bed upside down.

The world building for Maggie and Sloane was fantastic! I love how the authors made each girl seem real and like their reality was the real one. It was difficult to tell who was real and who wasn't right up until the very end.

The pacing started out so very slowly for the first half of the book. In fact, it was so slow, that I felt like I was torturing myself reading it, but I really hate not finishing a book. Plus, I was hoping it would get better. Luckily, it get way better. It was almost as if I was reading a whole different book with how suddenly the pacing changed! I found myself reading the second half of the book like there was no tomorrow. It was just so good!!

I enjoyed both the characters of Sloane and Maggie. Although, if I'm honest, I did like Sloane a bit better than Maggie. Sloane seemed to be more grounded whilst Maggie was just a bit too all over the place for my liking. Plus, I felt more like I could be friends with Sloane. There are a few points in the book where the characters come across as being older then they are judging by their language. Plus, Maggie's seven year old sister sounded more like she was Maggie's age. I've never known a seven year old to speak and act like her!

The dialogue was a bit boring at the beginning of the book, but like the pacing, it definitely gets better in the second half. As I stated in the previous paragraph, there were times when the characters appeared to be much older than they actually were. I think the authors seemed to forgot how teenagers talk (as well as seven year olds). There's some acting terminology that's not really explained like the word "flunky" which I still don't know really what that means. There's quite a bit of swearing in this book, so this is definitely more on the side of mature young adult.

Overall, I did really enjoy this book even if the first half was painfully slow. The ending of the book was quite good and unpredictable albeit a bit confusing. I'm still a bit confused about the ending, but maybe that's just me.

I'd recommend this book to everyone aged 16+ due to the language and themes.(less)

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Feb 19, 2013 Jessthelawnmower added it

Lucid
First reaction: Dafuqqqq????
Second reaction: wait what let me read that again
Third reaction: what is this do people expect me to think this is some kind of book
Fourth reaction: how am I even supposed to rate this? Like what? I picked up this book, intrigued, not nearly expecting this indescribable insane 343 paged thing. But I read it, and stayed up til 2:15 in the morning to do so, and this is how I wonder how the heck this book even got published. So someone wrote it, and other people rea...more Lucid
First reaction: Dafuqqqq????
Second reaction: wait what let me read that again
Third reaction: what is this do people expect me to think this is some kind of book
Fourth reaction: how am I even supposed to rate this? Like what? I picked up this book, intrigued, not nearly expecting this indescribable insane 343 paged thing. But I read it, and stayed up til 2:15 in the morning to do so, and this is how I wonder how the heck this book even got published. So someone wrote it, and other people read it, and decided to actually spend money to make this book? I don't even know how that happens.
I still don't know what happened. Someone, or quite a few people, must have been smoking something strange for this book to actually have made it into my hands. No offense to the authors, it was a good writing style, and a plot to remember, but the ending? What were you thinking?!?!? So who was real? And what was this whole thing with Andrew and Bill? And hello, Sloane's boyfriend? Must I remind you about him? One moment Sloane was trying to have sex with him, then she's in her room with Bill? Like seriously, this book is the most confusing thing I've read since Watership Down, even more confusing than Before I Fall.
I'm just so confused. WHO THE HECK IS REAL????? I feel robbed. This book had a captivating plot line, but the ending is driving me nuts. Makes zero sense. So I'm supposed to be content with Andrew and Maggie and Sloane smiling at each other, then the last chapter is just "I open my eyes. I'm still smiling." So Sloane just gets to carry on her life? So after Bill was "let go," and she just forgot about James, and Maggie's sister Jade, and Sloane can just carry on her life? And I completely think that Maggie should have been the real person. I felt like she was, but then the authors changed their minds.
Fifth reaction: Okay, so it does make sense that since Sloane was the one who was in love with Bill, and Andrew turned out to be Bill, that Sloane is the real one. But this whole book is still screwed up.(less)

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Jan 03, 2013 Taylor rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was a roller coaster ride for me. I laughed, I cried, I scratched my head in utter confusion. I even got irritated to the point where I had to share my frustration with my mother who simply says, "It must be a good book, and you must really like it."

Gotta love moms...

Yes. I did in fact really like this book. I found the cover to be lovely (I love purple and the upside down sleeping girl cracks me up)and I found the premise very intriguing. Most people will automatically think of Ince...more

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Dec 13, 2012 Lora Sukiasyan rated it 5 of 5 stars

I chose “Lucid” by Adrienne Stoltz and Ron Bass, because a friend recommended it to me. It is about two girls, Maggie and Sloane, who dream they are each other during the night. Their lives are completely different from each other, both girls have a boyfriend that they really love and they believe that the other person is just their imagination. However, their lives start converging, it becomes hard to tell reality from dreams, and eventually they’ll have to find out. My favorite quote has to be...more

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Oct 15, 2012 Navdha rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: not-what-i-expected, oh-my-god, reaallly-gooood, still-dumb-struck, i-cried-okay

How many books have you read that had you gripped from the beginning with their promising synopsis and never once disappointed you till the very end (with the disappointment being of the book ending)?

I think you can probably count such books on your one hand. Believe me when I say that Lucid is going to make that list of your few very special books. It is one of those books that you would want to start re-reading right after you’re done with it. The whole book is like a puzzle where you don’t kn...more

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Mar 11, 2012 Bistra Ivanova rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Хм, хм, хм, сега да си давам сметка защо хората четат глупости и ги дочитат докрай - ами просто са зарибяващи и след всяка глава си казваш: Ох, само още една, да видя какво ще стане после :-) Отдавна не ми се беше случвало :-)

В това конкретно YA романче героините са две момичета. Едното е wanna-be актриса в Ню Йорк с шантава майка и починал баща. Когато вечер заспи, сънува другата - ученичка от малък град с прекрасно семейство и т.н. Фактически двете момичета си делят денонощието, като всяка Е д...more

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Jan 29, 2013 Amanda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: loved-it

***CONTAINS SPOILERS
I give this book a 3.5.
I loved it. The writing style was terrific and made me a laugh out loud, even in public and on the train, which I usually don't do to avoid looking insane. I really liked both MCs and their background and surrounding people and settings and whatnot were great. The plot and development was enjoyable and I really liked where the story was heading. And just to stress how much I loved the writing style, it really kept me going through the series.
BUT, what r...more ***CONTAINS SPOILERS
I give this book a 3.5.
I loved it. The writing style was terrific and made me a laugh out loud, even in public and on the train, which I usually don't do to avoid looking insane. I really liked both MCs and their background and surrounding people and settings and whatnot were great. The plot and development was enjoyable and I really liked where the story was heading. And just to stress how much I loved the writing style, it really kept me going through the series.
BUT, what really set me off and annoyed me was the ending. Everything was going perfectly until about 20 or 30 pages until the end, where both Sloane and Maggie start going crazy and their worlds start mixing in this very chaotic and messy way that's confusing and annoying after a while. And then the ending just killed everything. One of them actually, finally disappears and it turns out to be Maggie, the one who I sometimes, kind of, sort of, a little bit, maybe liked more than Sloane, and the entire book ends with a single sentence about Sloane waking up with a nice sunny smile on her face and the problem is all resolved and she doesn't have to worry about becoming Maggie EXCEPT THE PROBLEMS AREN'T RESOLVED BECAUSE THE RESOLUTIONS HAVEN'T BEEN EXPLAINED. Maybe vaguely hinted at. All I know at the end is that Maggie has actually been the figment of Sloane's imagination and something about her past relationship with Bill, which has been hinted at throughout the book. What becomes of Sloane after, even an hour or two after the Maggie issue is gone is completely unknown. Everything else is left for the reader is guess or inference or whatever and I, personally, HATE endings like that. Especially if the whole problem the book centers around, these two girls who dream about each other and don't know who is real, has so many plausible reasons as to why this is happening and such, but NONE of them are explored. The book simply gives you and ending and you're expected to run with it. WHAT?!
But seriously, overall I enjoyed the book a lot and loved the way it was written. The ending was just the vexing little fly in the ointment. (less)

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Nov 19, 2012 Andrea rated it 3 of 5 stars

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Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Book Review- Lucid
I just finished reading Lucid by Adrienne Stoltz and Ron Bass for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

What if you could dream your way into a different life? What if you could choose to live that life forever?

Sloane and Maggie have never met. Sloane is a straight-A student with a big and loving family. Maggie lives a glamorously independent life as an up-and-coming ac...more skip to main | skip to sidebar
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Home Reviews by Title Reviews by Author
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Book Review- Lucid
I just finished reading Lucid by Adrienne Stoltz and Ron Bass for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

What if you could dream your way into a different life? What if you could choose to live that life forever?

Sloane and Maggie have never met. Sloane is a straight-A student with a big and loving family. Maggie lives a glamorously independent life as an up-and-coming actress in New York. The two girls couldn't be more different--except for one thing. They share a secret that they can't tell a soul. At night, they dream that they're each other.

The deeper they're pulled into the promise of their own lives, the more their worlds begin to blur dangerously together. Before long, Sloane and Maggie can no longer tell which life is real and which is just a dream. They realize that eventually they will have to choose one life to wake up to, or risk spiraling into insanity. But that means giving up one world, one love, and one self, forever.

This is a dazzling debut that will steal readers' hearts.

Wow. After sititng here reading the ending, my mind is circling round and round trying to figure out just what happened. I mean, I'm pretty sure I got who the real person was at the end, but getting there was just weird.

I liked both girls. I liked reading about Maggie's glamourous-ish life but also felt so sorry for her. Her mother who acted more like a sister instead of a parent. Her father who died too soon. And the responsibility of taking care of a younger sister who she was crazy about. And I liked Sloane. I liked who she was as a person and wanted her to be happy. She seemed so normal, with the loving family yet slight teenage angst towards her mom.

I knew that it would turn out that one girl was the real one, but there was also this part of me that was just waiting for the book to turn into some sci/fi story. Luckily, it did not. But the ending completely threw me for a loop. The last couple of chapters were just so random and both girls' thoughts were thrown together so it was hard to get who was thinking and saying what. And I didn't particularly enjoy that. In fact, I really enjoyed the book up until that point. And then it just lost my interest. It was too much. I bet a lot of readers will love this ending but it just wasn't my cup of tea. Oh well.
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Dec 01, 2012 Dallis King rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2012

The ending of this book was so BRILLIANT. It totally threw me for a loop and the way the insanity was written was very clever and really made me feel as if I were going insane as well. I loved, loved, loved the last 30% of this book. The problem was in the first 70%. The whole first half of this book was so boring. It took me so long to get into. It was just two girls struggling with boy troubles, and nothing really seemed to matter much. I didn't really care about them. I thought they were both...more

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Dec 30, 2012 Rene Kirkpatrick rated it 4 of 5 stars

What a book! One of those books that twists your thinking as you go so you don't know which way is up.

Two girls who dream each others' lives. Sloane and Maggie, two very different girls living very different lives, fall asleep to dream that they are each other, living their lives, making secrets, falling in love. But they've never met, their lives have never crossed, until now.

Are they both dreams? Whose life is the "real" life? At some point they will have to find out or go insane, one of thes...more

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Dec 19, 2012 Janhvi rated it 4 of 5 stars

I am completely at a loss how to best describe this book and what it got me feeling. I was fascinated by the whole concept of Lucid after reading its blurb and some fantastic reviews. The only way I can think of explaining it is that it was good in an Inception kind of a way, where you don't really understand what's happening but you still like it.

Sloane and Maggie are two girls with the same full name. They are as different as two girls can be with Maggie being dark haired and an actress who li...more I am completely at a loss how to best describe this book and what it got me feeling. I was fascinated by the whole concept of Lucid after reading its blurb and some fantastic reviews. The only way I can think of explaining it is that it was good in an Inception kind of a way, where you don't really understand what's happening but you still like it.

Sloane and Maggie are two girls with the same full name. They are as different as two girls can be with Maggie being dark haired and an actress who lives in New York and Sloane being a student with blonde hair and who goes to a high school in a small town. The only way they are connected to each other is through their dreams.

When Maggie falls asleep she dreams of Sloane's day and when Sloane falls asleep she dreams of Maggie's day. None of them really knows who is actually dreaming of who and which is real and which is just a figment of one's imagination. Its a secret they can't tell another soul because if one of them ever stopped dreaming of the other one of their lives would cease to exist or at least that is what they think.

But soon the lines between reality and dreams start getting blurred. Maggie starts falling in love with Andrew and Sloane is still getting over her loss of her best friend Bill while having mixed feelings for Gordy and James. Both of them were vulnerable in ways only they knew and even though I was rooting for a happy ending for at least one of them I knew it was going to be next to impossible.

Towards the end of the book we can see both of them spiraling towards insanity and it all gets extremely hard to keep up with. But still Lucid was a book which pulled you in and made you feel all the emotions Maggie and Sloane are going through. The writing style was just plain beautiful. I do have a theory on how I think the book ended but me saying it would just spoil things. I think everyone is just meant to come up with their own theories on the end of Lucid. It was a different book and if you're looking for an unusual read you should give Lucid a try.
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Mar 24, 2013 Jannatul rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror-thriller-mystery, hot-boys, psychological, paranormal, love-hate-relationship, science-fiction, grab-some-tissues, romance, young-adult, favorites, best

Rating:4.5 Stars

Waring: Reading this book may cause you to want to bang your head against the wall an excessive amount of times.

description

Now that I have warned you, make sure you actually want to read this book even with the mere possibility of fatal head injuries in your future.

Now on with my review:

Sloane keeps dreaming of Maggie's life when she's asleep, while Maggie keeps dreaming of Sloane's. While one girl is asleep in their own world, the other is awake in theirs and vice-versa. Their dreams keep...more

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Jan 18, 2013 Zoe rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Zoe by: Arijana

Shelves: ya, romance, psychological, mystery

Amazing. Breath-taking. F*cking fabulous.
There are some truly excellent lines in this book. Y'know the ones that tug on your brain and make you think a little harder? Or, if you're me, wave your hands around and shout, “Clever!” I absolutely adored the sentences at the end of each chapter. I wish I could capture it in a quote but they're too contextual.

The great thing about this book is that not only is the mystery enthralling, but everything else is good too. The writing, the dialogue, etc. It'...more Amazing. Breath-taking. F*cking fabulous.
There are some truly excellent lines in this book. Y'know the ones that tug on your brain and make you think a little harder? Or, if you're me, wave your hands around and shout, “Clever!” I absolutely adored the sentences at the end of each chapter. I wish I could capture it in a quote but they're too contextual.

The great thing about this book is that not only is the mystery enthralling, but everything else is good too. The writing, the dialogue, etc. It's all captivating. Sloan and Maggie are those magnificent, intimidating types that everyone admires but nobody ever dares say so. They're both beautiful, intelligent and witty, but of course struggle with their own insecurities. They compare themselves to each other quite regularly. I liked this because then I didn't have to do it myself.

Sloane dreams about being Maggie. Maggie dreams about being Sloane. Both girls ask interesting questions about who they become when they sleep. Sometimes they wish they could be the other. They live such different lives. Sloane has high school drama. Maggie is a sophisticated actress. Sloane is a smartass but Maggie is fierce. Maggie tends to think that Sloane is real. Sloane vacillates from thinking Maggie is just a dream and from thinking she herself is just Maggie's dream. See how complicated this is? As time goes on, they switch opinions. They are both the same person, but not. Sometimes they refer to each other as a completely different person, but other times as one individual.

Maggie's a floatie. Absent minded, distracted, and alone. Her life revolves around acting and the guys that drool after her. Her interactions are much more...elegant/snooty. Basically, there's more innuendo, more social games. Maggie herself is less sure of what she wants.

Unlike Sloane. Sloane wants James. Full stop. She's a regular teenage girl who is pretty sure she is in love. I liked a few of her highschool phrases and the way she talked - she has a lot more friends than Maggie does.

The ending made me sad and I wailed a little wanting to grasp onto the girls a little longer. But I interpret it as a happy ending. All up, a fantastic read and I have to say, thanks so much Arijana for the rec because I would've never picked up this book if it weren't for you. Kisses! =D
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Jan 20, 2013 Kelly rated it 4 of 5 stars

I found this book while perusing the shelves at Barnes & Noble, and was intrigued enough to purchase it. I'm glad I did, even if it wasn't the best book I have ever read. It might not have been the best book I have read, but it sure was entertaining and intriguing. I debated whether to give it 3 or 4 stars, so I'll be liberal and give it 4 stars.

Lucid is the story of two 17 year old girls who vividly dream about each others lives each night when they fall asleep. When Maggie, an aspiring act...more

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