Dreamrider

by Barry Jonsberg

Michael Terny is at his seventh school in four years and he knows that whatever he does, he will be ridiculed and pushed around. Michael is the fat kid. But Michael is also a lucid dreamer–he can recognize when he is dreaming and make the dream unfold exactly as he wants. Here he is safe and completely in control. Safe that is, until he finds the dream world and real world colliding . . . and a passage between the two promises more power than he has ever imagined. With the help of an unexpected friend at his new school, Michael plans how to use his power–to reward the good and wreak vengeance on the wicked. . . . But is Michael really in control? Nothing is quite as it seems in this book, and the shocking ending will have readers furiously flipping back to begin reading again with opened eyes.

Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Fantasy, Fiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2006

About the author

Barry Jonsberg is an Australian author and teacher originally from Liverpool, England. He holds degrees in English and Psychology from Liverpool University and moved to Australia in 1999. His debut novel, The Whole Business with Kiffo and the Pitbull, earned acclaim in 2005, and his follow-up, It’s Not All About YOU, Calma, won the 2006 South Australian Festival Award for Children’s Literature. Jonsberg has continued to receive numerous honors, including awards and shortlistings for Dreamrider, My Life as an Alphabet, A Little Spark, and Smoke & Mirrors, affirming his place in contemporary young adult literature.

Reviews

[Hollowspine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the story of Michael Terny, a young man who, along with his father moves around the country looking for a place to feel comfortable, but never finding it. When he was younger Michael's mother died in a car accident caused by a drunk driver. Ever since, his father has been distant, only talking to his son in anger and coming home drunk more often than not. Michael started eating after the accident and grew steadily more stout until he cannot enter a school without being teased, bullied and treated pretty much like a freak.

However, in his most recent school he makes a friend as well as the normal enemies. He is also beginning to discover that he has a strange and wonderful power. The power to affect real life through his dreams. For a long time Michael has been able to dream lucidly, controlling everything in his dreamworld. Now, it seems, not only can he control the dreamworld, but he can control the real world too. What will he do with the power? Will he use it to get back at his enemies, or will he use it to save the world?

Sounds interesting doesn't it? Well, in my opinion, don't bother with it. It is a fairly fast read, but really not worth even a small amount of time. It becomes very apparent only half way through the book (if that) that Michael Terny should be committed. His new friend, along with his stepmother and the clever bully who torments him are all completely inventions of his own mind. Nearly every interaction in the entire book is completely negated by that realization and it becomes hard to watch as Michael goes through his delusional days talking to himself, beating himself up, and from what you can picture generally acting completely insane. It is no wonder that people treated him like an abnormal freak! He wrote and answered notes to himself at his desk. He smashed his own cake into his face at lunch time, he pinched himself so hard in math class he got sent to the office.

By the end of the book you can see that Michael will most likely spend the rest of his life institutionalized. Instead of thinking 'Oh my God, they were in my head this whole time, am I crazy!?' Michael accepts his invisible friends as advisers to his dream powers and basically decides that he will become a vengeful god. The last couple pages of the book are almost directly from the bible. It was a bit much. I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to take away from the book. It's not good to have a god complex? People with no friends who are fat and sad that their mother has died should be bullied and then sent to an insane asylum? Maybe it is because I am not religious, but I just couldn't get the message.

[Max · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dreamrider by Barry Jonsberg Book Review
by Max Pawlick

I originally picked up this book because the title of Dreamrider caught my eye. Dreaming is one of the most interesting topics out there. The book was not at all what I expected, from the first line of the book, "I killed two kids at school today." to the last lines which leave the reader furiously turning back pages to understand the ending.

The main character and lone narrator of the book is a boy named Michael Terny, a sophomore in high school who is extremely overweight and is bullied relentlessly by his fellow classmates. To make matters worse Michael is at his seventh school in four years. His father is continuously moving in order to find some sort of peace after the death of Michael's mother who was killed in a car cash caused by a drunken driver. Again to make Michaels situation worse the drunk driver was let off without even a fine because of a technicality with the way his blood alcohol content was recorded that night by the police. Michaels only escape has been through his dreams.

Michael can lucid dream, a phenomenon in which the dreamer realizes he or she is dreaming and can start to control certain aspects of their dream. This is how he escapes from his real life problems. In his dreams he is whoever he wants to be and wields god like powers. What keeps Michael going when he is awake is his step-mother Mary who cares for him and is very supportive of Michael. Only in the closing pages of the book is the problem with Mary revealed.

The book opens with Michaels first day at a new school, things look like they might turn around for him. He meets Leah, a caring, and thoughtful girl who also struggles with her weight, and they become friends. His home group teacher Mr. Atkins is also very supportive of Michael. However, as with every school their are bullies; Jamie Asher is a classic teenage bully. Jamie is insecure, having problems with his appearance, and at home. He channels his anger out at people like Michael. Another bully Michael encounters is the Martin Leechy. Martin is smart, attractive, and good at sports, the kind of person Michael says he would like to be. Martin is a very confusing character who talks in riddles and metaphors. At first it appears Martin is just another bully in Michaels path but later in the book he is revealed to be much more or much less depending on your perspective.

Near the end of the novel Michael starts to stand up for himself against bullies and decides to go to the school social on his first Friday at his new school. With the reader routing for Michael to find happiness, he goes to the school social and it appears he can begin to over come his problems. That is until like the ending of a horror movie when you think the danger is past the main characters whole world is turned inside out, backwards, upside down, and rightside-left in this mind bending ending that will leave the reader desperately flipping back to key pages to understand the book's conclusion.

[Danni PawPaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

omg seriously I was hooked from the start but the ending I don't know weather to be annoyed by it or weather I should slap myself for not seeing it earlier...

[L.ivresse.des.mots · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entre rêve et réalité

Une sacrée poigne dans l'écriture. Tranchant comme le fil d'un rasoir. On suit l'esprit d'un jeune lycéen harcelé. Michael est différent il n'a pas d'ami. Les seules personnes qui lui parlent sont ses harceleurs. Sa seule échappatoire : le rêve lucide pour devenir maître de sa vie.

Ahurie par tant de sévérité, la vie est impitoyable, dure mais les adultes ont encore une fois un rôle trop peu engagé. J'ai aimé le rôle du professeur. J'ai éprouvé tour à tour injustice, angoisse, révolte, incompréhension.

Il n'y a pas vraiment de portes de sorties pour notre héros.La dernière carte qu'il jouera dérange, bouscule et fait réfléchir. Un pas vers la folie. Entre illusion et réalité, une lecture qui ne laisse pas indifférent.

🏫🥛🙃📓🌳💥🍫🚍🥊🚬☁️⏰🐩🎵🔔

[Ayeen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read.

[Derek Bowman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barry Jonsberg: Dreamrider
By Derek Bowman
Dreamrider is about a young boy named Micheal, who is a teenager who switches school every so often because he gets bullied or because he has no friends. Micheal calls himself the Dreamrider because everything that he dreams about happens in real life in the future. Micheal is a very paranormal kid and doesn't really like anyone. The author Barry Jnosberg brings suspense to the book asking why a lot making the readers want to keep reading. I liked this book and i think that teenagers would love to read this fun and suspenseful book that will talk and help about bullying and problems that we can overcome.

Jonsberg is the author of the awesome book called "My Life as an Alphabet" which is a fun comedy that will make you laugh. Barry Jonsberg is an exciting and great author that writes books for children and young adults. In the past, Dreamrider was listed for the 2007 NSW Premier's Award .Jonsberg has also received other awards including the 2005 Children's Books Council Awards and in 2006 he won the South Australian Festival Award for Children's Literature. Jonsberg was born in Liverpool in 1951 where he earned two degrees in English and Psychology and became a college lecturer before he moved to Australia in 1999.

Though it seems as if he has no friends, young Micheal Terny meets many new people when he arrives at his new school. Micheal doesn't really like the school until he meets a girl named Leah. Micheal is intrigued by Leah and wants to be her friend. As the relationship between the two strives so does the bullying. Micheal gets picked on by the kids. (mainly the boys who call him fat) He gets beat up at school and gets his lunch stolen. Leah stands up for Micheal and yells at the bullies, but even she can't stop them. Micheal decides to put an end to it so fights back at the kids and hurts them. He killed two kids at his old school and now at his new school he broke a kids arm who bullied him. Micheal is a very strong and powerful boy who has powers. Micheal has the ability to open up his dream world and use his powers for revenge on the kids who tease and pick on him. As the bullies get worse so does Micheal as he unleashes his powers on the bullies making them regret picking on him again.

There's a very good lesson that comes from this story; treat others the way you want to be treated and i think that is huge in this story because Micheal just wants to be normal but everyone hates him and bullies him. The book talks about a very strong thing that people need to follow and I like that it brings this lesson into the book because everyone should deserve equal respect. Micheal changes dramatically over the book from becoming a lonely silent kid to a paranormal dangerous kid. When Micheal promises that he will "bring light to this world and help others" I felt that it was a strong message and is very odd because before he hated everyone and now he wants to help people. Dreamrider makes kids want to stand up for others and prevent bullying and will make adults very glad.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed by Allison Fraclose for TeensReadToo.com

As a lucid dreamer, Michael Terny can control the direction of his dreams, and, over the difficult years since his mother's death, he's used that ability to escape the harsh realities of his life. While tucked away in his dreams, it only takes that one little difference, that blip on the screen for him to recognize, to bring him into control. Then, he's no longer the hopeless fat kid who suffers the same fate at each new school, that same tiring choreography of the first day--the seventh in four years. Here, he is the master, and can heal the sickness of those in need and bring pain to his tormentors.

Michael had hoped that Millways High School would be different, and it started promisingly enough, with his finding a friend in a girl named Leah on that very first day. However, he finds the same types of kids following him, promising the same problems he's tried to escape. What's more is that parts of his dreams seem to be leaving their mark on the real world. Is it possible that he might be able to influence the things that happen in real life through the power of his dreams? If that's the case, then it might be time for Michael to start fighting back, and not just in the ways his dad keeps telling him.

But one must wonder if Michael's perceptions are accurate. Even his allies may not be what they seem. How much of the dreamworld has crossed over?

This masterfully written book challenges the reader's preconceptions of reality--their own as well as that of those around them. Interesting and thought-provoking, it appeals to those who love seeking details, and finding where the puzzle pieces fit together. Some harsh language and violence, fitting for more mature readers.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dreamrider caught my eye on the desk of a seventh grader. There was a time when I was obsessed with dreams, and the thought of living in a controllable, lucid dreamworld was fascinating.

The premise of Dreamrider has promise: a bullied, overweight high schooler finds solace in his dreams. According to the book jacket, the story has a plot twist comparable with the one in The Sixth Sense. I'll say that it was certainly a twist, although not entirely predictable, and not entirely shocking either.

The milieu of Jonsberg's "alternate" reality YA novel is mundane - classrooms and dingy suburban homes are a pretty uncreative setting for a world rife with fantasy. If the starkness of the locale is meant to be some sort of social commentary, it is too subtle. Otherwise, it's simply boring. Michael, the protagonist, doesn't offer much in the way of relatability or charm, and in fact it becomes easy to forget he is overweight, as this trait is practically ignored. ("I crossed my legs," really? Clearly Jonsberg hasn't ever been fat.) His characterization is missing the torment and self-loathing that can be so familiar to readers of this cohort.

To cap my disappointment, let's say that the concept and execution were sorely missing the link that screamed to be relevant: astral projection. And the tie between dreamworlds and the escape from teenage torment was weak.

[Jay Jasmin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading Dreamrider I had very mixed feelings about a lot of elements of the book. I read this in the ninth grade and it was sort of confusing. It was an easy read but the style of writing made the book way more difficult than it needed to be. For example and the ending
(***SPOILER ALERT!!!!****)
When Michael is being chased by the boys and talks about the glass from his dreams and the colors and then the faces. it was confusing. I found this in the young adult section of my library but I cant imagine anyone younger than I am being able to understand this. The plot twist was good but the ending was not.

MICHAEL AND THE CHARACTERS
when introduced to Michael I immediately felt a sense of pity. His first day and he get bullied. I felt bad about his drunk father and him taking the blame for his step mother. I felt he was such a sweet boy. He was sweet to his teachers wife and to Leah. I thought he didn't deserve the bullying he went through but when I saw the way he punished Jamie it was kind of frightening and he started to seem kind of psychotic and then the plot twist comes and you have to put the book down and think. The characters that caused you to pity him were imaginary. So the pity is lost and you see a psychotic, fat kid who uses dreams to cause harm to people and try to help people.

SUMMARY
It really plays with your emotions. The book was weird and confusing

[Adriana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another book that I've read over the summer and it was quite intresting because it showed how a boy went threw a total life change. This boy Micheal lived threw alot of hell when he moved with his family to a new place. He went to a new school and of course since he was smaller then everyone else he got picked on by all the school bullies. He would come home everyday telling his father that he was picked on and his father would tell him to fight back and stand up for himself because it wasnt fair that he let boys do that to him. Micheal was not the type of boy to be fighting back so he let it be. Finally when he grew a little older he sttod up for himself and did some of the tricks on his own thats only because he was so mad that his mother passed that he had to let the pain out on someone. This lead to some bad things but his father told him himself to be strong and fight back.

This was a good book I liked reading it but it got sad and tough at times. I would recommend this book to teenagers.

[Leanette Starman · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was definitely a strange read, not necessarily through the whole book but certainly towards the end. It was okay, I wouldn't read it again but it wasn't terrible. I liked the characters especially Martin and Mary, but then those last few pages just throw you for a whirl. I liked it but it wasn't really my taste, there are some things that I still don't quite understand but it did not intrigue me enough to go back and try to figure it out. If you like weird, then I think you would like this book, through most of the book it is pretty normal but like I said towards the end it definitely spins on you.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was amazing from beginning to end. Yea there were some confusing parts but they were minor or at least I thought they were minor. Yea some people may find it strange but I absolutely loved it because I could relate to it. Michel Terny, the main character, looks at the things the way I do and not many books provide viewpoints such as these and I think that is why some people find this to be a strange read and they find Michael to be a strange character. The characters were amazing because there was a lot of different types of characters. I don't know if this will be a spoiler but the ending was mind blowing.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have you ever had a lucid dream - a dream where you realize that you are in control of everything that happens? Michael Terny discovers that he can not only control his lucid dreams, but use them to alter reality. He uses his power to cure a woman's brain tumor, and also to get revenge on the school bullies. So why is it a horror novel? Read it to discover the chilling twist at the end!

For those who are interested in lucid dreaming, try reading the fabulous "The Lathe of Heaven" by Ursula K. LeGuin.

[Priscilla Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this last year, & it popped into my head because I have a student reading it now who freaked out about the ending. I think the book works with a well-worn concept, but does so interestingly. When I got to the end, I felt I had heard this story before, but not quite this way, & that was pretty good.
I like the main character a lot, & I love Jonsberg's descriptions of the main character's dreamlife. I think it's definitely worth checking out, if only to practice giving your reading voice an Australian accent.

[natercopia · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Dreamrider' is a thought provoking read, one that does not give you a definite answer. It questioned the ability of imagined happenings crossing over to the real world. How much of the dreamworld that crossed over will affects us greatly? I like the situation in this book, how the main character grew out of that fear of being bullied in school. Probably his way of dishing out justice wasn't the best way but I did like the character development in this one. The ending was quite a twist, the fact that I grew to like Martin. :(

[Bryton]

I started reading this book about two weeks ago and I am liking it so far. I'll have to admit it is a little confusing in the beginning because Michael is a dreamer and the book shifts back and forth between dreams and reality. Michael is a fat boy and gets picked on a lot. So he moved to a new school to try to get away from all that. But this school is weird like how his homeroom teacher does this strange coin trick and the bully is also his friend. Right now michael is trying to find his place in this new school and thats all i really know. so now i have keep reading.

[Corine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a boy namd Michael, who moves to a new house, and of course he has to get adapted to his new school and make new friends. In school he gets bullied because hes smaller then the rest of the kids. Micheal would tell father this, and he would tell him to fight back, but hes not the type of person to start drama. The rest of the book is about Michael becoming a stronger man and learning how to stand up and defend himself.

[Dee-Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this quick read. This book focuses on bullying and possible outcomes of this type of harrassment. The main character Michael terny has been bullied for many years, primarily due to his excessive weight, but also due to always being the new kid in the school due to moving around a lot.

There is a good twist at the end, which I partly suspected in the middle, but at the end, I though, how come I did not get it sooner.

[TheSaint · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lucid dreaming is not a new phenomenon in literature. See Ursula LeGuin's fabulous The Lathe of Heaven for the exemplar of the genre.
Dreamrider by Barry Jonesburg is more of a revenge fantasy, with a little Fight Club thrown in at the end.
Still, The plot is spry and matches the characters, who are less formulaic than they had to be.
A solid YA effort.

[Marwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel isn't my favorite novel, although i never hated it. This book is a whole new drama then what i am used to. i read romantic novels this one isn't. Although i feel that if i read these different genres i might get new ideas and have a variety of genres, thus i am familiar with everything.

[Jessica Flynn · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was awful. My mom had checked it out at random and initially it looked kind of interesting, but it was actually about a bullied kid who is a lucid dreamer. It was creepy, pointless, and stupid. I didn't even finish. It was probably the worst book I have ever read. If I could rate it zero stars I would. Just plain weird.

[Shelby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a super-fast read for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the premise of the young bullied protagonist being able to "control" his dreams. I admit I did have to flip back and re-read some passages as I had "ah-ha!" moments. Being a huge fan of the show "Perception," this book reminded me quite a bit of it.

[April · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had some interesting potential with the idea of a bullied fat boy having the ability to ride dreams. However, while I LOVED that the book never became one about how the Fat Boy Goes on a Diet and Learns to Love Life; it also didn't go anywhere really interesting with the dream riding aspect and only built up to a rather disappointing and confusing "surprise" ending.

[Tori · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting. I like books about lucid dreams, but in this one I couldn't figure out if it was a dream or if it was real life. At the end I figured out its all the same, but I was really confused at the end. It was an okay book.
~Tori

[Brooke Ingraham]

This book seemed like it would be relly cool, and it was. At first. But the more into the story i got, the more weird and confusing it got. It jumped around A LOT and I quite confused throughout. I wouldn't recomend Dreamrider if you have a hard time following a story.

[Vanda Bromwich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Micheal is a fat boy who is bullied at all the schools he goes to.Finally he arrives at a school where he feels he can settle. Here he finds that he can change things in real life through his dreams - dreamriding. There is an unexpected twist at the end of the story.

[Darrin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book that tackles themes of bullying, lucid dreaming, and mental illness-- A Beautiful Mind for the Young Adult set.

[Ceren Deniz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really want to read this book...

[Melissa Rosales · Rating 3 out of 5]

for book review

[Cristian Gonzalez]

I barely started reading this book