The Girl Who Could Not Dream

THE GIRL WHO COULD NOT DREAM is a positively delightful, imaginative, sweet, funny, and incredibly entertaining read. From its interesting premise, to its quirky and eccentric and amusing characters, to its captivating mystery and its exciting adventure, it is an enchanting story that will appeal to readers of all ages.

And with an adorable, cupcake-loving, furry, tentacled and oh-so-clever monster, a brave, determined, and strong-willed heroine, a glittery and haughty, but helpful pegasus who poops rainbows, several ninja bunnies, and a boy whose dreams could change everything, there will be smiles, laughs, and even a few tears.

Add in a dream shop hidden beneath a bookstore, two lovable, if a little bit silly, parents, a suspicious customer who calls himself Mr. Nightmare, a theft, a kidnapping, and a few nightmarish creatures come to life, and you have a slightly creepy, totally thrilling, absolutely heartwarming, utter gem of a read.

Sarah Beth Durst created a marvelously outlandish world in THE GIRL WHO COULD NOT DREAM filled with some wonderful and rather unusual creatures and some truly bizarre and disturbing ones. She introduced positive messages throughout her story, about family and friendship, about letting people in, about being different, about making assumptions and judgments, about being brave and doing the right thing.

Sophie may be the story’s heroine, but it is only with her best friend, Monster, her new friend Ethan, an unlikely ally, and several non-threatening creatures that she will be able to find out what happened to her parents and find a way to save them. The author shows that working together is better than going it alone, and that being different doesn’t mean being unlikable.

THE GIRL WHO COULD NOT DREAM is inventive. And magical. And smart. And humorous. And unique. It will make you wish you were a non-dreamer like Sophie who could dream a best friend like Monster into your life. It will make you wish your family had their very own secret dream shop filled with all sorts of bottled dreams.

It is a fantastic, one-sit-read that will make you want to read it again and again.

I loved this story of Sophie, her parents, and Monster! It was full of fun, friendship, a little bit of horror, and courageous characters. I read a variety of books as a Reading teacher, and this one is wonderful. This author is prolific and each book has been a delight. I look forward to reading even more of her stories and being transported to other unusual, magical vistas!

Fun little book about making friends. Really, that is what this book is about. Oh yes, there is a monster, well, several monsters, not all of the good, but the good ones are good, and the bad ones are evil. But as Sophie says, the dreamer controls the dream.

This book started out slowly. The title makes it sound as though it is about a girl that can't dream, and in a way, that is what it is about, but it is more than that. It isn't so much that she can't dream, but that she can create dreams, make them become real. That is her "secret power" so to speak, and that is what the book is about.

The first thing she creates, when she is six, is Monster, a tenth allied fury creature who becomes her best friend, or rather, her only friend.

That is why I say this book is about friendship. It is also about thinking through problems.

If you read sample chapters, and they don't go beyond the first two, it might make you not want to continue, but it picks up steam from there, and doesn't let you go. Although I won't say what the ending is here, spoilers or not, I was pleasantly surprised, and think it made the whole book worth it, which is the whole point of a good ending.

A lovely read with fun characters. Mr Nightmare might give you nightmares, but just make sure you have a dream catcher over your bed.

That is the only quibble, actually, since the use of dreamcatchers as described is cultural appropriation. These are a part of the culture of some indigenous societies.

And I did too! Time travel through dreams is a good one. Max my 9 year old thinks the plot where Mr. Nightmare is protecting her daughter, or thinking he is doing it, is very good.

Even if he is not doing it the right way, it comes from love💛 to his child. I just didn't like that the mom was an evil💔❤️‍🔥 spider. 😕 Because all of us moms are sweet and loving. Right?

A lot of emojis by Leon ;)

I bought this book for my daughter 2 years ago (when she was 9). I was drawn in by the magical synopsis and the adorable cover art. She received many other books that Christmas and had opted for reading the ones she had heard of first. Impatient for her to read this book, I began to read it aloud to her. We both were IMMEDIATELY drawn into the story. She began to "go rogue" and read the story without me because she couldn't wait to read the next chapters! 2 years later... she just reread the book again and still LOVES it! Sarah Beth Durst is a fantastic storyteller.

Granddaughter read...loved it

What a delightful, fun read. I love fiction revolving around dreams (shameless plug for the book I wrote) so I always enjoy other authors' take on the concept. The minute Monster crawled off the page in the opening chapter I was hooked. A great story about finding a way to fit in. I loved the positive vibes and well written prose!

Product is good and neatly packed and arrived safely

Meine Tochter hatte das Buch schon auf deutsch, jetzt liest sie es für den Englischunterricht in englisch. Sie mag die Geschichte sehr gerne.

Sehr schnell bei uns angekommen

Livre bien écrit et agréable pour un enfant ou un jeune adolescent

As expected

Nice book my child enjoyed it