Greg Grunberg and Lucas Turnbloom were there talking about their shiny, new graphic novel: Dream Jumper. When I heard them discussing it, I was immediately intrigued. I shopped around the store for awhile afterwards, convincing myself to buy this new graphic novel, and get it signed by the two guys. When my friend and I went up to get our books signed, it was so much fun. Grunberg and Turnbloom are the sweetest, most engaging people and it's so apparent how much they care about kids sitting down and reading for pleasure.
So, here we go. Let's take a dive into Dream Jumper.
Dream Jumper tells the story of Ben, a young boy with a special gift. He can jump into other people's dreams. Although the idea does terrify me, the premise is very fresh and I was pleased to see a book with a unique plot, rather than a play off something already written.
Ben's best friend, Jake, is a great character. He's the comical relief in moments of drama, and I just love how he's constantly trying to market Ben's gift, wanting him to see new wireframes for the website and brainstorming different names for his business of saving people from their own nightmares. He's a hoot.
I don't want to spoil anything for the folks who want to read this, but I will say that it's got some great twists and I have my theories for the next book, based on how the novel ended.
Probably one of my favorite things about this graphic novel was that it teaches young kids they have the power to fight their own nightmares. When I was younger, I constantly battled nightmares and would even wake up crying in the middle of the night with my mom running into my bedroom, scared out of her wits. It's an important lesson to learn that part of growing up means fighting our own battles - including nightmares.
Ben's fight with Erebus, the gigantic dream monster named after a Greek god who lived in the deep shadows of the Underworld, is a true test of his courage. Erebus takes your deepest fears and uses them against you, and in this case, Ben's biggest fear is himself. It was refreshing to see such deep themes in a children's graphic novel, and I felt proud of Ben for standing up to his fears of himself and "being nothing" with the help of his new friend, Lewis.
Lastly, the illustrations in this graphic novel are fantastic. For the fans of the Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi, this is the graphic novel for you. I'm an uber fan of Amulet (I own the entire series) so when I opened this book, I fell into the story through the illustrations.
Well, there you have it. I finished this book in a little over two hours, because I literally couldn't put it down. I loved going on this adventure with Ben, and can't wait to see what the next volume entails!
Have you read Dream Jumper? If so, tell me your thoughts about the novel, I wanna hear em!
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