Everything I Dreamed Of

by Devin Harbison

Following the dream of a room that she shouldn't remember, Ari, a cyborg who's entirely made of metal but for her human brain, is woken by her Dad, the man who built her into what she is today. Just so she can get back to another day of life among a group of young adults known as ‘reborn’. She was one of many children that were taken from their parents, memory wiped, placed in jars, and forced to live and train in a virtual reality until they came of age and got a metal body. Only to then act as supposed peacekeepers between the streets of a walled-off Baltimore stricken by crime and poverty and the Mega City floating above that now houses the well-off.As one of the original reborn, this is a life Ari has gotten to know better than most others. No matter the danger, she can handle it. At least until that danger is the very reality she has come to know, the family she no longer remembers, and the people she calls her own. When pieces of the past finally come together, she has to pick a side. Who matters the most? The family that is lost to time, the family that floats in the clouds above, or the family that roams the streets below?"Who let you decide? Who made it so you can play God?" -Ari

Genres: Science Fiction

185 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 15, 2020

About the author

Devin was born in the year of '98 and raised in a little suburb not too far outside of Baltimore, but, nowadays, he's happily escaped to a much quieter part of Maryland and is more than happy staying there until his bones turn to dust. When he's not busy using far too many commas and almost as many overly-complex sentences, he can be found relaxing with his family, caring for close friends, chasing his misbehaving son, a beautiful Retriever mix, adorably named Bear, and playing far too many video games as they have always been an escape for him, even when his issues with mental illness have been at their worse. Thankfully, with the worst his mind has to offer gone, he seems ready to stick around for a while now and more than willing to do what he loves, writing for the enjoyment of others.

Reviews

[Liz Etnyre · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent enough story - despite a plot hole or two - but the author's writing style, their syntax choices, made it an unnecessarily difficult read. I almost quit at several points. It was difficult to follow the main character's thoughts and reasonings. I frequently had to go back and re-read a section or paragraph - and that didn't always make it any clearer. It made it quite hard to sympathize with and root for Ari. You get there eventually - but it took well past the 40% point to really even start to care. If I wasn't particularly fond of robot/cyborg/android stories (and enjoyed watching My Life as a Teenage Robot with my kid) I wouldn't have finished this one. Just not a writing style I enjoy.

[Millennial Book Review · Rating 2 out of 5]

Everything I Dreamed Of is a book I feel very “middle of the road” about. The sci-fi and dystopian elements were amazing and I enjoyed the overall plot. At the same time, the writing really made me struggle and the main character wasn’t easy to connect with. I appreciate what the author was doing with the story and the point he was trying to make, but this wasn’t the book for me. It’s a fun story and a great quick read, but I don’t know how much it will stick with me in the future.

My full review can be found here