"Dream Me" by Kathryn Berla

I received an e-ARC of this book for review from Netgalley. The book is officially coming out tomorrow July 11, 2017. This is a young adult sci-fi novel, but it reads more like a summery contemporary. The narrative is mostly from the point of view of the main female character named Babe. Her dad is a golf pro who moves around a lot as he gets jobs at various country clubs around the US. We meet Babe at the beginning of the summer before she starts her senior year in high school. The family just moved to Sugar Dunes, Florida and Babe is hoping she'll be able to finish high school without any more moving.

At the same time another point of view is introduced. This one is that of the main male lead Zat who lives in the distant future. In Zat's time, the sun is dying, the earth is a desolate place and humans (or what is left of them) are desperately searching for ways to escape the planet. Most people choose to seek shelter on distant planets. But Zat decides to go with a more unconventional and barely tested way to preserve his existence. He "re-locates" into the distant past (Babe's present) and exists only in her dreams.

I have to admit this premise is really interesting and not anything I've seen before. I was fascinated by the concept of a dream partner. I ended up really enjoying this book. Not so much for its sci-fi themes but rather I liked following Babe's real life drama of making friends and getting adjusted to her life in the new place. Her friendship with Mai and Alonso was very well crafted. However, her friendship with LeGrand was a bit unexpected, and almost accidental. I wish there was more of a story to their becoming friends. In addition, the character of Mattie Lynn was not developed at all. It felt as though the author was thinking of going in one direction but then completely abandoned the idea, so there was no real point of Mattie Lynn's presence in the narrative. Zat's character and the future he came from could also be a bit better fleshed out.

Notwithstanding these multiple weaknesses, the novel overall was entertaining. I had fun reading it and was really surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars purely for the enjoyment factor.