Before We Wake (A Graphic Novel)

Gr 10 Up–Alicia just completed her junior year in high school and she’s bummed out for two reasons. First, her best friend Marisa will be working at a sleepaway camp (the same one both of them used to attend together); second, Marisa has a new boyfriend, Quinn, and their relationship leaves her feeling like the third wheel. Meanwhile, Alicia has been having a recurring dream where she is in a field where there is a house in the distance, but before she can make her way towards it, she wakes up. Her confusion about the meaning of her dream and her indifferent best friend leads Alicia to ask Marisa’s mother—who is a psychologist—about what her dream could mean. Alicia comes to her own conclusion about what her dream could be about and realizes she can control what happens there. The author’s use of colors and shades sets the tone of the story from beginning to end, which reflects the protagonist’s view of her reality versus her perspective within her dream.