THE DREAMSNATCHER
Abi Elphinstone
ISBN: 9781471122682
Published 1st March 2015, Simon & Schuster
As far as I’ve been able to determine (i.e. in the 2 minutes I spent searching on Google Scholar before my suspicions were vaguely confirmed and I got bored) cats don’t really sweat. I mean, they sweat but the majority of their sweat glands are in their paws. On those cute little squooshy pink jelly beans. So, if it’s really hot or if you and your cat have been doing a bit of cardio, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll reach down and feel the sweaty fur on the back of your cat, wild or domestic. And if you do, it’s probably a good idea to make your way to a vet quick smart.
Putting aside my obsession with questioning completely irrelevant facts, Abi Elphinstone’s debut, The Dreamsnatcher, is the story of Moll Pecksniff. Moll is a little Romany girl with a lot of chutzpah. She is plagued by sleep-walk inducing, drummy, rattly, cursey business, finding herself waking up in the middle of the forest without knowing how she got there. She is lured by the Dreamsnatcher but luckily for Moll, Gryff, a wild cat, has got her back all the way.
Like most good protagonists, Moll’s origins and life purpose are a little bit mysterious and a little bit orphany. Coincidentally, this is just like Alfie, a little Romany boy with a lot of chutzpah from Skull’s camp across the river. Can Moll trust Alfie? And why does Skull want to capture Moll and Gryff so badly anyway?
The Dreamsnatcher is packed full of creepy magic, bones and an awful lot of running. It is at times perhaps a little too packed, obscuring the story beneath. But if you enjoy creepy magic, bones and an awful lot of running – this could be the book for you.
How do you find time to go to work?
I should point out that I’m reviewing the YA. It’s short with large font. Readable in a couple of days worth of public transport. I’m really not a very fast reader. I don’t think. Certainly it seems other people read far more than I do.