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Starbright and the Dream Eater
There is a new deadly illness on Earth. Starbright Connor is beginning to wonder why everyone in Claircomb has gone so wuzzling mad over some mysterious sickness that is probably just a media scare. Early symptoms suggest disturbed sleep patterns. Starbright thinks spindle sickness is something that happens only to other people, until the day her best friend, Mark, falls asleep and won't wake up. In five years there will be no place to run to. Now Starbright must strike out on her own. But how is atwelve-year-old supposed to save the world? But why, suddenly, the big wahoo on spindle sickness? Everyone had talked for years about it, a virus disease in remote South America, the in Africa, Australia. People got tired and went to sleep and didn't wake up. How could it be here, less than thirty miles away? Nah. Wasn't possible. An outbreak would be too unreal for words...
208 pages, Hardcover
Published May 31, 2000
25 people want to read
About the author
Joy Cowley
1,498 books105 followersCassia Joy Cowley is a New Zealand author best known for her children's fiction, including the popular series of books Mrs. Wishy-Washy.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
September 13, 2008
The fact that I enjoyed this book had nothing to do with the plot. It was the way that the parents of a disabled child, who came home from a summer camp pregnant, handled a difficult situation entirely with love.
September 30, 2008
i like this book but i think it would have been better if it was longer, it was over so fast. too fast.
December 19, 2020
This was a pretty good 'middle grades' book involving elements of science fiction and fantasy. The heroine is a great "shero" - imaginative and fearless. I thought at first her use of made up words was a little annoying, but it grew on me. Ho-diddly! Spindle sickness - so named for the Sleeping Beauty story - is growing across the world and Starbright is the only one who can go up against this menace. There were parts that seemed very intense, so this wouldn't be suitable for younger readers, but middle readers should find this exciting and a quick read.
September 20, 2020
This book really messed with me as a kid and haunted me for years.
February 4, 2022
Science fiction? I'll find out.
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Author from New Zealand. Beginning, at least, takes place in Missouri. Why?
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Missouri because she wanted to be far away from Argentina and Antarctica (for story reasons), and far from the coasts? And she wanted to appeal to American audiences? Eh, whatever, there's no sense of place.
Almost science fiction. Like one of the more woo-woo/silly Star Trek (The Next Generation especially) episodes.
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A few interesting ideas. Esther is my favorite character, a close second is Lena Tietz, the midwife. I don't feel connected to, or even empathetic about, any of the others. It's not concise; a lot more character development etc. could have been fit in. I found nothing to bookdart.
I see that Cowley was prolific. It seems that she had some themes she wanted to reach Juv. SF fans, and since she'd already established her reputation, she could risk something original & creative like this. But I don't think it succeeded, sorry.
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Author from New Zealand. Beginning, at least, takes place in Missouri. Why?
---
Missouri because she wanted to be far away from Argentina and Antarctica (for story reasons), and far from the coasts? And she wanted to appeal to American audiences? Eh, whatever, there's no sense of place.
Almost science fiction. Like one of the more woo-woo/silly Star Trek (The Next Generation especially) episodes.
---
A few interesting ideas. Esther is my favorite character, a close second is Lena Tietz, the midwife. I don't feel connected to, or even empathetic about, any of the others. It's not concise; a lot more character development etc. could have been fit in. I found nothing to bookdart.
I see that Cowley was prolific. It seems that she had some themes she wanted to reach Juv. SF fans, and since she'd already established her reputation, she could risk something original & creative like this. But I don't think it succeeded, sorry.
May 30, 2019
Another brilliant imaginative story from Joy Cowley. This time the focus is on a rather remarkable and fearless 12-year-old girl named Starbright. Unwillingly to believe at first, Starbright watches as the people she is closest to begin to succumb to 'Spindle sickness', that is creeping all over the world with no known cure. Is she really the hero that can save everyone from the Dream Eater or is she just as powerless as everyone else? Joy Cowley has done it again. Wonderful. Highly recommended.
December 30, 2025
4* but rounded to 5* for nostalgia. I read this book so many times in middle school and it was honestly probably one of the most personality forming books I read (take that as you will). I still loved reading it as an adult, and my two middle grade kids loved it too!
February 9, 2024
I enjoyed it, though I was perhaps older than the target audience. The scene setting and description was brilliant, no wonder Jo is an award winner.
January 29, 2010
What a strange, and very interesting book.
Starbright Connor is a rather eccentrically named kid who lives with her mentally retarded mother, Esther, and her grandparents, who adopted both Esther and Starbright. A strange illness known as spindle sickness is spreading around, in which people have upsetting dreams, have their energy sapped away, and eventually die. The "illness" is not what it seems at all, and as it infects Starbright's friends and Starbright herself, she learns that even dreams are not what they seem, as she must survive them and find a way to stop the Dream Eater who is the source of spindle sickness.
What follows is an odd mix of suspense, life drama, fantasy and sci-fi. This is not an action story with fights and chases. Instead, there's plenty of character building, suspense when the spindle sickness spreads, an unexpected origin for the spindle sickness itself, and a rather unusual method of fighting the Dream Eater. The story spends a good amount of time letting us get to know Starbright and the people close to her, and fleshing out Starbright's personality, particularly her love of inventing new words on the spot. Hoo-diddly! Inventing floozin' new words? What a crazycentric kid!
If those last few sentences annoyed you, well, I too was a little annoyed by Starbright's odd hobby, but after a while it grew on me and I came to accept it as a fun character trait. Even with that habit, Starbright comes across as a believable character, and that, to me, is a big part of what makes the story work. Bruce Coville once said that if you take a believable kid and throw that kid into an unbelievable situation, as long as the kid's personality and reactions are convincing, then for the most part, so is the story. I feel that principle holds true here. If it didn't, then a story that deals with an alien prophecy, a midwife who tries to hunt down the child she helped birth to let her know about her role in saving the world, and a strange dream world that allows people to connect to each other, would all come off as patently absurd or overblown.
But instead, I feel that the story was handled very well. The different elements of the story tie into each other nicely and ensure that nothing feels out of place. If I were to go into more detail, I'd risk spoiling parts of the story, but suffice to say, everything makes sense when you read it.
I have to close by saying that I was pleasantly surprised by this drama/sci-fi/fantasy/suspense hybrid story. It has so many disparate elements that seem like they wouldn't belong in the same book, but here, they just work well in context. The characterization, and a fast-moving, well thought-out plot, are the glue that keeps it together and makes it both believable and fun.
Starbright Connor is a rather eccentrically named kid who lives with her mentally retarded mother, Esther, and her grandparents, who adopted both Esther and Starbright. A strange illness known as spindle sickness is spreading around, in which people have upsetting dreams, have their energy sapped away, and eventually die. The "illness" is not what it seems at all, and as it infects Starbright's friends and Starbright herself, she learns that even dreams are not what they seem, as she must survive them and find a way to stop the Dream Eater who is the source of spindle sickness.
What follows is an odd mix of suspense, life drama, fantasy and sci-fi. This is not an action story with fights and chases. Instead, there's plenty of character building, suspense when the spindle sickness spreads, an unexpected origin for the spindle sickness itself, and a rather unusual method of fighting the Dream Eater. The story spends a good amount of time letting us get to know Starbright and the people close to her, and fleshing out Starbright's personality, particularly her love of inventing new words on the spot. Hoo-diddly! Inventing floozin' new words? What a crazycentric kid!
If those last few sentences annoyed you, well, I too was a little annoyed by Starbright's odd hobby, but after a while it grew on me and I came to accept it as a fun character trait. Even with that habit, Starbright comes across as a believable character, and that, to me, is a big part of what makes the story work. Bruce Coville once said that if you take a believable kid and throw that kid into an unbelievable situation, as long as the kid's personality and reactions are convincing, then for the most part, so is the story. I feel that principle holds true here. If it didn't, then a story that deals with an alien prophecy, a midwife who tries to hunt down the child she helped birth to let her know about her role in saving the world, and a strange dream world that allows people to connect to each other, would all come off as patently absurd or overblown.
But instead, I feel that the story was handled very well. The different elements of the story tie into each other nicely and ensure that nothing feels out of place. If I were to go into more detail, I'd risk spoiling parts of the story, but suffice to say, everything makes sense when you read it.
I have to close by saying that I was pleasantly surprised by this drama/sci-fi/fantasy/suspense hybrid story. It has so many disparate elements that seem like they wouldn't belong in the same book, but here, they just work well in context. The characterization, and a fast-moving, well thought-out plot, are the glue that keeps it together and makes it both believable and fun.
August 17, 2022
This was nicely done. The protagonist, Starbright, was a happy little girl with a confident adventurous streak and a tendency to make up words. The setting is New Zealand, I think, though never really labelled, in an alternative contemporary world where 'spindle sickness' has been around since the 70s - a sickness which causes people to fall asleep and then they can't wake up.
Starbright discovers that she is the one person, through her lucid dreaming, capable of stopping the alien lifeforce causing the spindle sickness. She is the daughter of her 'sister', Esther, who was brain-damaged by forceps delivery, and got pregnant at a camp at age 14. I thought it kind of odd the parents didn't pursue who did it to her at the camp, preferred not to disturb her about it - what if this was a molester harming others? But I think it seems more like a virgin birth, since Starbright is the world's saviour.
Starbright's not worried about Esther being her mother; she's always loved and felt closest to her. Esther is bright and happy too and has something to teach Starbright - that love sees through ugliness and is the way to win a battle. Also important to the story is her friend, Mark, who isn't as brave as her but likes Esther and plays a mean trumpet, I think. And the twins, Jacob and Lena Tietz, one a journalist, one a nurse, who are prophesied to help her win the battle.
Starbright discovers that she is the one person, through her lucid dreaming, capable of stopping the alien lifeforce causing the spindle sickness. She is the daughter of her 'sister', Esther, who was brain-damaged by forceps delivery, and got pregnant at a camp at age 14. I thought it kind of odd the parents didn't pursue who did it to her at the camp, preferred not to disturb her about it - what if this was a molester harming others? But I think it seems more like a virgin birth, since Starbright is the world's saviour.
Starbright's not worried about Esther being her mother; she's always loved and felt closest to her. Esther is bright and happy too and has something to teach Starbright - that love sees through ugliness and is the way to win a battle. Also important to the story is her friend, Mark, who isn't as brave as her but likes Esther and plays a mean trumpet, I think. And the twins, Jacob and Lena Tietz, one a journalist, one a nurse, who are prophesied to help her win the battle.
Read
October 31, 2009Starbright and the Dream Eater is yet another one of my all-time favourite New Zealand books. I have to say though this one is actually for a younger audience but it is still a great read and I think that some of the content of the book could probably be classed as young adult anyway.
I love Starbright, she is a cool girl. She's tough and she is able to fight the bad guys. I also love Esther, she's a really cool and down to Earth person.
There was one thing I found confusing at first but the good thing is that it was later revealed and talked about, so then I knew what was going on to do with that.
One reason I really, really enjoyed Starbright and the Dream Eater was because it had a lot of mystry in it which is something I really love.
This book is one that I have read about five times. It is seriously that good. So if you ever see it anywhere, pick it up because it is truly an amazing piece of writing. It is also quite short so it wouldn't take very long to read at all.
I love Starbright, she is a cool girl. She's tough and she is able to fight the bad guys. I also love Esther, she's a really cool and down to Earth person.
There was one thing I found confusing at first but the good thing is that it was later revealed and talked about, so then I knew what was going on to do with that.
One reason I really, really enjoyed Starbright and the Dream Eater was because it had a lot of mystry in it which is something I really love.
This book is one that I have read about five times. It is seriously that good. So if you ever see it anywhere, pick it up because it is truly an amazing piece of writing. It is also quite short so it wouldn't take very long to read at all.
April 13, 2015
The book started off well, with a promising premise, a strong cast of characters, and wonderful details in scenery and description. Unfortunately, it lacked something for me, and the ending was more "it was all a dream" to me than anything surprising or unique. Maybe I'm just not one for philosophy or hippy "love all things from flies to cockroaches!" stuff. There was some potential in how the ending could have turned out, with time shifting to a parallel universe, and the resolution of the conflict with the Dream Eater felt too easy and quick. Just a few little lines about loving the world and "please find another planet?" and it was off to find its home world.
The only really positive thing I can say is that Joy Cowley certainly has a way of describing the world and the characters within. She managed to make the nightmares creepy, disturbing, and unsettling in a way that made me feel as though I were having them myself.
The only really positive thing I can say is that Joy Cowley certainly has a way of describing the world and the characters within. She managed to make the nightmares creepy, disturbing, and unsettling in a way that made me feel as though I were having them myself.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 14, 2007
A spindle sickness causes people to permanently fall asleep, and one girl will be called on to save the planet.
April 30, 2009
I remember enjoying this book when I was younger, but, unfortunately, unlike some of my other favorites, it didn't stand the test of time and now seems predictable and gimicky.
April 26, 2014
I liked this book up until the end. It was over way too fast. The build-up to the final confrontation was great but the finale was a letdown.
July 26, 2016
It was so Goooood!!!!!:))))))) Every bit as good as ticket to the sky dance. Perfect for a quick between books read.
November 29, 2023
Oddly enough, not as good as I remember, but the concept is still unique and the general message of the book is really good, and it’s a quick read.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews