Friday 22 March 2013

Review: Lucid by Adrienne Stoltz & Ron Bass

Lucid by Adrienne Stoltz & Ron Bass
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication date: October 2nd 2013
My rating: 4.5 stars


What if you could dream your way into a different life? What if you could choose to live that life forever? Sloane and Maggie have never met. Sloane is a straight-A student with a big and loving family. Maggie lives a glamorously independent life as an up-and-coming actress in New York. The two girls couldn't be more different--except for one thing. They share a secret that they can't tell a soul. At night, they dream that they're each other. The deeper they're pulled into the promise of their own lives, the more their worlds begin to blur dangerously together. Before long, Sloane and Maggie can no longer tell which life is real and which is just a dream. They realize that eventually they will have to choose one life to wake up to, or risk spiraling into insanity. But that means giving up one world, one love, and one self, forever.

Lucid is one of the most mind boggling books I have come across in a long time, it kept me guessing until the very end and even when I finished the last page and closed my book I was still unsure about what had gone on. Despite the confusion and constant guessing on mine and Keertana’s behalf, Lucid is one of the most multi layered, rich and developed novels I have read in a long time. Having two screenwriters as its co-authors, it’s no wonder Lucid left such a great impression with me. 

Lucid weaves you into the story of Sloane and Maggie, two girls that have never met one another, but dream of one another’s lives when they go to sleep. Maggie’s therapist has put it down to the one life event which had a major effect on her life, when she lost her dad. But Maggie knows it’s been going on for much longer than that, and even though her therapist keeps telling her it’ll become dangerous if she can’t let go of Sloane, Maggie’s not sure if she can, will one girl be able to cope with the other one not around? 

Through dual pov’s from Sloane and Maggie we learn exactly how tough life has been for them. Both have experienced great losses of someone really close to them, have tense relationships with their mothers and after what has gone on are just managing to get by. From both pov’s I was able to form a stronger connection with Sloane’s character. Despite Maggie being the most resilient, the one who spoke her mind and try as I might to like Maggie, Sloane stood out as the character whose chapters and life I was looking forward to getting back to. And despite all the clues thrown our way which gave us the impression that Maggie was the real person and creating this imagined world with Sloane in it, I didn’t want this to be the case at all. I fell in love with Sloane’s world and friends and family, from her awkward and mysterious relationship she had with her mother, to the unexplained heartache over her loss, her trusting friend Gordi, and how she was always trying to outwit the new boy at school James. I’m not saying that Maggie’s life wasn’t entertaining enough, it was, but Sloane’s life for me stood out more prominently and thus I found more appealing than I did Maggie’s. So I didn’t want Maggie pulling the plug on this other life full of vibrance, first loves and endearing characters just because her therapist said so, I wanted to understand why it was all happening in the first place. 

And honestly when it was all unravelled (it did take me some time to get my head around) it was never what I expected. Actually I never would have thought of this wonderful tangled and carefully thought out major twist in the first place. I have to highly praise Adrienne Stoltz & Ron Bass for creating such a thought evoking novel such as Lucid. I adored the entire novel, but the second half was just pure brilliance, with its blurring of realities, fast pace I found myself whipping through the book in a frenzied manner. 

If there’s one thing you want to take away from my rather confusing and ambiguous review is that you need to make time to read Lucid. Lucid is one of the most imaginative books I have ever read, with its aspects of mystery, romance and heartache, it is sure to have that little bit which will appeal to the avid reader within everyone.

19 comments:

Vidya Ravi said...

Excellent review..made me want to see this world myself.

Mel@Thedailyprophecy said...

This book was a WoW pick a long time ago and I'm still very excited. I'm so happy that you loved this book. It sounds great, with the two different POV's and the great unraveling of the plot :)

Mel@thedailyprophecy.

Shirley said...

Oohh I'M SOLD JUST FROM READING YOUR FIRST SENTENCE. I LOVE books where I'm kept guessing till the very end!
YES! YES! I'll definitely be reading this now :) I'm always looking for thought-provoking and unpredictable books! Lovely review, Jasprit<333

Unknown said...

I won a giveaway of this book, but never saw it in my spam folder! I really have to go ahead and get it at my library! LOVE the review. It sounds so magnificent and twisted...I'm definitely hooked :)

Sunny @ Blue Sky Bookshelf

Jenny said...

Wow Jasprit, this sounds so good! I love a book that keeps me guessing and messes with my head. It's just fun to sit back once you're finished and go "what just happened?" I definitely need to read this one and meet Sloane, I have a feeling I'll be partial to her as well. Gorgeous review!!!!

Anonymous said...

Okay, how have I not heard about this book?! It sounds amazing, and difficult to pull off. Great review - you've convinced me that I need to read this book asap!

Unknown said...

I need to read this...I love books where reality just blurs, and this sounds like it had it going on! Sloane and Maggie both sound like interesting characters, and I wanna know why they dream each others' lives! Fab review, Jasprit! (:

Loves,
Megan@The Book Babe

Jessica@Booked Up! said...

Lucid sounds amazing! That front cover managed to draw me in instantly, and I'm glad to hear that the story itself was just as good! I don't think I've ever heard about a book with this kind of concept, and I'm really intrigued to find out what happens with Sloane and Maggie.

Thank you so much for sharing this brilliant review with us, Jas. Mind-boggling books are the ones I love best, so I'll definitely check out Lucid. :)

Henrietta @ Leisure Reads said...

Hmm... the story sounds really beautiful. I wonder if they are two people or the same person. Bet I'll have to read the book to find out. Thanks for the review, Jas!

Heidi@Rainy Day Ramblings said...

I am all about reading something different and brilliant. So tired of the same cliche and I didn't read love triangle or cliffhanger in your review so sign me up for this one! Thanks for the wonderful recommendation. Have a wonderful weekend!

Keertana said...

Although I didn't like this as much as you did, Jasprit, I loved our conversations and your review is fantastic! I definitely think there's something in it for everyone and the ending certainly surprised me as well - very well played! ;)

Renae @ Respiring Thoughts said...

Oh yay! As you know, I just checked this out from the library, so it’s good to see a review right before I read the book.

But I’m SO GLAD you loved it. Lucid sounds like such an interesting (and confusing) novel, full of twists and unexpected developments. Exactly the sort of book I want to read right now. Can’t wait to get started.

Unknown said...

Oh wow! I haven't given much attention to Lucid before, but now I really want to read it. It seems amazing, and I love when there are many twists in the book and you don't know what will happen until the very end. Great review Jasprit :)

Aa'Ishah said...

Eek! I really want to see how the authors have carried out this concept. It sounds amazing but confusing, and I want to know how it all gets resolved! I'm glad you loved this, Jasprit, a brilliant review! :)

Maja (The Nocturnal Library) said...

Honestly, I didn't like the first part of this because it had this strong contemporary feel and that wasn't at all what I expected, but on the plus side, I was completely confused the entire time! I had no idea which one of them was real or what exactly was going on.
I'm glad you loved this one. Fantastic review, Jasprit!

Suzanne (Parabooklover) said...

This book has a great premise Jaspirit but I've never given it an ounce of attention before. I don't remember ever even reading the blurb before. Sometimes I just skim over covers that don't catch my eye. But through your review, I'm really liking the sound of it. I want to know what that surprising twist is lol. Great review Jaspirit :)

Jess said...

I'm so glad you loved this too Jasprit! Now that I know how it ends I want to re-read it with fresh eyes to see if I can spot any clues! Fantastic review, as usual :)

Wendy Darling said...

Wow, I think I have to read this now. This book has been floating on the edges of my radar, but your review has definitely convinced me I need to pick it up. It sounds amazing!

Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

Amanda said...

I am so curious to find out what the major twist is now! The premise itself is really interesting. Who hasn't dreamed of a life different than their own at some point, but to keep dreaming about someone else's life where it becomes intermixed with your own is crazy. I am curious too about two screenwriters writing this book. I bet it's super visual (even its title sounds visual). Thanks for this wonderful review, Jasprit, I'll definitely need to pick up Lucid at some point!

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