When seventeen-year-old Jory Pike cannot shake the hellish nightmares of her parent’s deaths, she turns to an old family heirloom, a dream catcher. Even though she’s half blood Chippewa, Jory thinks old Indian lore is so yesterday, but she’s willing to give it a try. However, the dream catcher has had its fill of nightmares from an ancient and violent past. After a sleepover party, and during one … one of Jory’s most horrific dream episodes, the dream catcher implodes, sucking Jory and her three friends into its own world of trapped nightmares. They’re in an alternate universe—locked inside of an insane web world. How can they find the center of the web, where all good things are allowed to pass?
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It was well-written, lots of action and interesting characters. Jory Pike’s life changes overnight after a wanna be boyfriend buys her an old dreamcatcher. It catches her and her friends sending them into a world populated with dire and dangerous creatures. In order to get out they have to navigate the maze and solve a riddle. Who lives or dies? Read and find out.
This is a book that a reader who dares to start will find hard to put down. I started thinking I have read something similar but that was only loosely based on a similar premise.
Screamcatcher is incredible in its originality. It is an epic tale of nightmares and reality. The author has a gift to create the most vivid landscape through words. You can feel the temperature, taste the water and feel the insects and animals as if you are living it and not just reading it.
The journey that Jory takes in dealing with her grief is so beautifully told, this book will resonate with anyone who has tried to deal with the loss of a loved one. The magnificent creation of the dark images of Native Americans was electrifying. I may be dating myself, but for many parts of the book, I kept hearing the song ‘Great White Buffalo’ in my head.
A brilliant book that reads as both an adventure and a paranormal thriller. Anyone who has actually enjoyed playing one of those adventure games with challenges and monsters will appreciate and enjoy this book. Superb for anyone with an appreciation of Native American mythology and a great read for someone who wants to be drawn quickly and deeply into a book. This is a book that will carry you on edge right to the end.
My Rating: 5+ stars
With Screamcatcher, Christy Breedlove takes an item we’ve all at least heard of and explores a new thought – Where do all those bad dreams go, and how much can one dream catcher hold before it can’t take anymore? I don’t pretend to be an expert in Native American lore. In fact, I wouldn’t even consider myself well-versed, but that’s the beauty of this one. I didn’t have to know all the lore to completely devour this fantastical story where Jory and friends are thrust into a world made of nightmares, a world of no color where the worst of the worst will test them to the breaking point.
The story moves at breakneck speed from the time these teenagers enter the nightmare world, and it doesn’t let up. I would be hard put to pick a specific genre for this one because the author runs the gamut with that. It’s most certainly a fantasy, but we also get action, adventure, and even a bit of sweet romance. It also reminds me of dystopian fiction, and some coming of age for these young adults as they learn to defend themselves in the worst of circumstances. As far as a target age group, I would consider Screamcatcher’s target audience to be older teen to young adult, but I’m well past both of those and I found this one almost impossible to put down once I started.
Any fantasy requires some world building, and Breedlove does it with style. We’re drawn into this nightmare realm and the author paints vivid pictures with her words. Not only could I visualize this terrifying world, but it’s given to me organically throughout the story. In addition to the setting, every new nightmare is well-written and gripping.
The only drawback for me came in the form of character development. That’s not to say that the characters aren’t well-drawn, they certainly are in that we get a good look at how each deals with their circumstances and it’s not hard to feel Choice’s love for Jory. That said, I would’ve liked a bit more into Jory, especially. Obviously, she’s dealing with plenty of inner turmoil, and she’s forced to dig deep into her heritage if there’s to be any hope of escape. But, I wanted more of what was going on inside her head as she came to grips with this new reality, more of the things that shaped her into the person she is. Here, I have to add that more of Choice would’ve also been a big plus for me, but that wasn’t a deal-breaker. He comes across as pretty much and open book, and it’s not hard to figure out his motives for anything.
In the end, I was thoroughly gripped by the world Christy Breedlove has created. Screamcatcher starts with a gorgeous cover, and its inside is filled with originality and an edge of your seat tale that kept this reader turning pages well into the night.
It was a quick paced, action packed, fun book. A lot of lore was written into this plot and the characters are what really make it enjoyable. Jory and her friends are young, anywhere from sixteen to twenty something, but they don’t give off an inexperienced vibe which, at my age (25), is a huge turn off now. These characters get thrown into a situation that is terrifying, harsh and fast paced. The way the author portrays their qualities is what kept me enthralled the entirety of this book and at each turn, there’s another danger and it was so enticing to see how they would deal with it. While I really really enjoyed a lot of components of this story, the only thing I would say is the resolution of Jory and her nightmare world felt a little generic and the nightmare creatures didn’t hold a lot of fear factor for me personally, but since those were my ONLY complaints, and those are more due to the fact that I read a lot within this genre, I think it deserves a high praise. It’s overall plot is pretty original, it was fast paced and at the characters are very enticing. I very much enjoyed this book!
ONE SPECTACULAR ADVENTURE!!!
Crap on toast! Christy hit the ground running, totally blowing my mind with this kickass approach, presenting such an arresting storyline and gripping plot, jetting this baby skyward, fusing it together sleek, shiny and tight. A multitude of unforseen circumstances and happenstance blasts those swirling emotions into play, thrusting this baby to life beautifully. Satisfaction is an understatement, this baby comes packing a punch that’ll bring you to your knees, keeping you riveted on a razors edge. Anarchy, escapades and havoc run amuck, blowing this jewel into a churning tempest, bursting it into a hissy with an mind-blowing culmination. Stumbling through the intimidating trials and challenging tribulations along with compelling twists and wicked turns, putting our characters through their paces testing their determination in ways they could have never anticipated. This baby rocks one non-stop, action packed, hard hitting, pulse racing, heart pounding, adrenaline pumping, spine tingling, block busting bombshell, lighting up this sparkling gem and watching it burn. The characters are authentic and original with qualities and traits that blend and flow, transforming into beautifully charismatic personalities. The scenes are strikingly sharp with abundant details and descriptions, as to give you a full understanding and realism that flows smoothly. Amazing job Christy, thanks for sharing this little guy with us.