Perchance to Dream, Lisa Mantchev

Perchance to Dream (Theatre Illuminata 2), Lisa Mantchev

Reading Level:             Young Adult

Hardcover:                     384 pages

Publisher:                       Feiwel & Friends 5/25/10

Bookmarks:                   4

Our heroine, Beatrice Shakespeare Kennedy aka Bertie is released from the Theatre in order to find her friend, love, friend, or love-- Nate from THE LITTLE MERMAID.  He's been drowned by Sedna and kept in an underground world away from Bertie.   In her travels, she has the fairies as traveling companions and the Air Apparent with her as well.  Ariel, as we all know, is in love with Bertie and figures that he was travel with her to keep her safe.  Bertie is able to write the wrongs that have been done and in doing so creates more messes than one knows how to clean up.

I really enjoyed this second outing by Lisa.  It was fun to read and the pace of the story was perfect.  My only problem with it was the flowery writing at times and being hit over the head with metaphors left and right.  I found it distracted from the flow at times.  But Lisa is a clever writer and where she goes and the twist and turns were in turn brilliant.  Bertie finds out a lot about herself, her mother, her father, Nate and Ariel and what life outside the Theatre really means.  Clockwork horses aside, there is real peril.

Bertie has a decision ahead of her.  One that will break the spirit of another.  Both men love her, but only one can really have her heart.  I'm not sure what the fairies will do either.  Probably just eat a lot and make fart jokes.  I found myself really rooting for Ariel, because as misunderstood as he is, and as self-interested as he is, there is real chemistry between him and Bertie.  He thinks she's on a fool's errand, but goes with her to humor her.  But he becomes humbled when he starts to realize that Bertie's heart just might lie with another.  It pained me when he realized the risks she took to free Nate, who at times didn't seem all that thankful.

Perfect summer reading.  Highly entertaining, lose yourself into Bertie's world.