A Theory in Dreaming by Ava Reid (book review)

GENRE: YA Fantasy

LENGTH: 399 pages

PLOT

In the sequel to A Study in Drowning, Effy becomes the first female student in her university’s literature college. Meanwhile, Preston is plagued by dreams of a palace under the sea.

CHARACTERS

            Effy and Preston were frustrating characters in this novel. This is because they were constantly sabotaging themselves and their relationship. They both desperately needed the support of the other, yet they chose time and time again to isolate themselves. They did this to avoid becoming burdens to their partner, but that lack of communication isn’t how a healthy relationship functions. I wanted to be able to jump into the pages of this novel and lock them in a room until they actually talked.

            All that being said, Effy’s character is very clearly suffering from depression. As someone with a diagnosed depressive disorder, it’s easy to recognize the signs. Effy is isolating herself not just from Preston, but also from others like her best friend/roommate Rhia. She is sleeping her days away, not going to her classes, hardly even eating, and has an overall low and hopeless mood. It’s devastating to see a character I love so much suffer like this. However, I will always advocate for accurate depictions of mental illness. YA fantasy is my favorite genre and growing up I wasn’t able to see myself and my struggles depicted in this genre. So, it makes me happy that young readers today will have that.

            I do think it’s important to mention, and this is a SPOILER, that Effy attempts suicide via a sleeping pill overdose in the novel. I know that is something that can be very triggering for readers. It’s a delicate topic, but I think Reid handles it (mostly) well. Effy’s mental struggles are validated by those around her – and I can’t stress how important that is – but I would have liked to see her continuing treatment after being released from the hospital. It’s vaguely referenced, but I think that would have been great for young readers to see as mental health care is something so stigmatized.

            Other characters of note in the novel include Rhia (Effy’s roommate), Lotto (Preston’s roommate), and Master Gosse (Preston’s advisor). Rhia and Lotto are both amazingly supportive friends. I in particular liked Lotto. The novel deals heavily with the prejudice and bigotry against Argantians (the people native to the country of Argant). Preston himself is half-Argantian and his family still lives there. Lotto is the son of an aristocrat from Llyr, yet he stands up for Preston against his bigoted classmates. Master Gosse, meanwhile, is fanatical and manipulative. He’s an antagonistic character who abuses his power over Preston. He’s slimy and every time he was on the page I felt gross.

WRITING

            The novel is told from the 3^rd person perspectives of Effy and Preston. The novel also incorporates texts from within their world, both at the start of each chapter and within the plot/story itself.

            The writing is just as wistful and poetic as that of A Study in Drowning. As discussed above, Effy’s story line deals with her mental health. Preston’s, meanwhile, takes aim at government propaganda and bigotry. Quite honestly, it’s almost frightening how Preston’s story line echoes what is currently happening in America.

            The novel has two primary settings. There is the 'real world' setting that takes place within the capital city of Llyr. Then there is Preston’s dream world which is a palace under the sea filled with statues. From my limited experiences with Reid’s books, she seems to like to use settings as symbolism. In Preston’s dream world, he can control who and what is there. Being a ‘son of Llyr and son of Argant’ he doesn’t feel that there’s anywhere in the real world where he can fully fit. In the real world, he’s also lost his father, and this has obviously deeply affected him. In his dream world, he is reunited with this father and there is no one who bullies him for his Argant blood. However, we see that the real world slowly seeps into his dream world – there is a statue of Effy that has a crack and is gradually becoming more and more ruined with every visit. This coincides with Effy’s declining mental health and Preston’s own feelings of helplessness. The overall message is that while there may be comfort in escapism, it is a band aid that must eventually be ripped off.

            I do want to highlight some of Reid’s writing here because there is a tragic beauty to it. This particular example is from Effy’s perspective and her justification for keeping things from Preston. “She was a malignant thing to love and the more vulnerable she made herself, the quicker the poison would spread” (page 103).

FINAL THOUGHTS

            A Study in Drowning was my favorite YA fantasy of last year (and my 3^rd favorite book of the 69 total that I read). I didn’t necessarily feel like it needed a sequel, so I was anxious going into this book. The lyrical and melancholic writing style from book 1 carries over here. I just wish Effy and Preston would talk to each other instead of always making assumptions about what the other one needed. They, and the reader, would have all been better off for it.

            Trigger warnings for: suicide attempt, depression, substance abuse, sexual harassment and victim blaming, and physical violence, bigotry

FINAL RATING: 4⭐️