Dream Merchant

by Isabel Hoving

Book Overview

Winner of the Netherlands' most prestigious children's book award, this epic adventure quest draws readers deep into a collective dream world -- and sweeps them along on a riveting journey through a reimagined past. They're going to send you on a sales trip and it'll be the death of you -- I know what's going on at Gippart. You're their guinea pig. Josh Cope is a bit of a dreamer . . . who sometimes steals things. Otherwise, he's just your average...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0763628808
• ISBN13: 9780763628802
• Release Date: October 2005
• Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
• Length: 630 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.9" x 6.0" x 8.6"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

lovley!

i cant believe nobody has reviewed this book. this book is an epic adventure, i guarantee you wll never regret reading this book! filled with suspense, drama, and hours passing like the wind! this book is beautiful and inspiring.

wow!

I love this book. Its original and lovely.(and i never use that word) I loved the Characters: Josh who is the main character is a dreamer and thief but thats what makes him special in this story. Baz is a gifted drummer and thats what saves his life and his friends and Theresa is a storyteller, they are all from different backgrounds but they work so well in this story and u come to love them. Basically Josh gets called to work for a mysterious company called Gippart. when he gets there (in the middle of the night) he finds out that the company's objective is to travel through time or (dream time called Umaya) and sell things made in the future. The catch is that they have been trying to travel through real time and they believe that Josh can do it. the story and the characters got me from beginning to end, even the ones i didnt like. Its worth every penny!! Lets just hope Ms. Hoving writes another one

A beautiful, original read!

This captivating book of Isabel Hovings, displays a whole new era of modern fairy-tale. The magic and adventure in it is beyond words and the characters and plots are well blended in the story. For a long book, every page has depicted a beautiful and interesting, intriguing story half modern-half fairytale. Josh is an average 12 year old boy who is good at sleeping whenever he wants to too, and stealing items from other people. But when one night the phone rings, Josh gets up to get it, and is thrown into the magical-trading industry of Gippart where he is forced to venture into dream-worlds (umaya) and find the magical tembi- who live in the dawn of time. This magical book was a captivating read and I reccomend it to all fairy-tale lovers.

Captivating, complex, and original

Josh Cope is an ordinary boy, except for four things: he is a collector of strange and unusual objects, he can fall asleep whenever and wherever he wants, he can always remember his dreams, and he is a thief. These skills draw the attention of Gippart International, an organization that has made its fortune selling the most innovative new products for over a thousand years. After answering the simple question "How does one get into, or out of, a dream?" Josh is recruited to help Gippart explore their newest sales territory, umaya, a dream world through which Gippart hopes to unlock the secrets of time. Umaya is described as being "the collective dream-world of all mankind, made up of the collective dreams and memories of the entire human race." Josh is sent to umaya along with his friend Baz, a drummer, and Teresa, an exceptional teller of tales. Initially, they believe they are there to sell wooden birdcalls, but come to find that Gippart is using them as guinea pigs for an experiment in time travel. After becoming trapped in umaya, the only way they will ever get home is to travel to the "end of time" and make peace between the two legendary founders of the mercantile trade. THE DREAM MERCHANT, translated from the Dutch, is not a straightforward narrative. The book is long, and takes a winding path to its final destination. This may challenge less patient readers, but rewards those who like a detailed exploration of fantastic worlds. The story is captivating and complex, presenting an original vision cobbled from history, nightmares and imagination. Philosophical, dream-like, and full of unexpected characters and adventures, THE DREAM MERCHANT will appeal to readers who have enjoyed Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series, or Philip Reeve's MORTAL ENGINES. Even with a satisfying ending in place, the book asks more questions than it is able to answer, leaving readers thinking about the ideas it presents long after the adventure is finished. --- Reviewed by Sarah A. Wood