Dana reviews Chasing my Dream by Jeff Erno (Published by Top 2 Bottom Bookstore, May 8th 2014, 103 pages)
Why I read this book: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. After reading the blurb, I liked the twist and wanted to read it.
Synopsis: Sixteen year old Nash Adams feels like the token gay guy in his small, northern Michigan high school. When his boyfriend dumps him on the very night they’re supposed to go to the carnival together, Nash wonders if he’ll ever find the guy of his dreams. Later that night, beneath a full moon, Nash gazes into the midnight sky and sees a shooting star. At the urging of his best friend Cala, he halfheartedly makes a wish. A few miles away, Caleb Cummings lies on the beach staring up at the sky when he notices a star that seems to be moving. He makes a wish of his own. When Nash and Caleb fall asleep that night, they wake up together. Though at first confused, it doesn’t take long to figure out what has happened. They’ve entered each other’s dreams. Initially they’re each convinced the other is a figment of their imagination, but when the phenomena continues to occur, night after night, Nash wonders if there might be a way to find Caleb in real life. It shouldn’t be difficult to find someone in this modern, technological age. But as he begins his search, he faces numerous frustrating obstacles. Eventually he has to decide if it is even worth the effort to keep searching for an imaginary friend. Maybe he should give up on his dream guy and look for someone in the real world.
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My thoughts: Because of the length of the story I can’t give a lengthy review without getting into spoilers. I have read a few books by Jeff Erno in the past and most of them have been sweet romance with a twist. Chasing My Dream is the same. Caleb and Nash both want to find love, and both make a wish on the same falling star one night. The twist comes in when the two meet in a series of shared dreams with each one cut short before a pivotal moment.
The bulk of the story involves the two boys trying to find each other, so there is not a lot of romantic contact between the two main characters outside of their night time visits and that isn’t much then either. Nash is raised by his unemployed father who tries to be more involved in his son’s life. Nash isn’t keen on the idea, but it could be much worse. Caleb’s mother and stepfather are disappointed at his sexuality. His stepfather crossed the line in his “discipline” and eventually Caleb’s mother put her son first, I just wished it would have happened sooner.
Besides the dysfunctional family moments, there is a tragic situation that happens in the book, when Caleb’s school is fired on by a troubled student. Unfortunately it is a situation that has occurred too many times in the last few years. It’s relevant as far as what’s going on in the world today, and gave Caleb’s mom the nudge to love her son as he was and not as she wanted him to be. It also provided one more chance for the two characters to meet up in their dreams and for Nash to find acceptance from someone he had lost..
Chasing my Dream was a short and sweet story that I enjoyed. It would have been nice to have been a little longer but it did have a happy ending for Nash and Caleb and I definitely recommend it.
8/10 pots of gold
Rainbow Gold Reviews 