In Your Dreams by Amy Martin

Sixteen-year-old Zara "Zip" McKee lives for three things: basketball, books, and bailing out of tiny Titusville, Illinois, where the junior high and high school are in the same building and everyone's known everyone else since birth. But when Kieran Lanier moves to town and passes out on her desk on his first day at school, Zip's life gets complicated in a way she never dreamed. Kieran has narcolepsy, and although he sometimes struggles to stay awake, he has no trouble capturing Zip's heart and trusting her with his most guarded secret--he sees bits and pieces of the future in his dreams. But just when Zip thinks that maybe she can handle having a boyfriend who sees things before they happen, her budding relationship with Kieran gets a jolt when Kieran's parents reveal that his sleeping disorder is not what it seems and may be putting them in harm's way. And when Zip begins to have unsettling dreams, she must decide if she can live with knowing the future in advance when she's afraid of what might happen.

Initial Thoughts: I was given a free copy of In Your Dreams by the author to review.
The Pros: I really thought there was going to be some sort of paranormal twist. I kept waiting for it to pop up, especially with Kieran's condition. But it never happened. And I loved that. It seems all YA books these days have to throw some paranormal action in it, even if it makes no sense.
I liked the mystery/crime component to the novel. Not everyone is who they appear to be.
Kieran and Zip's relationship was every bit of what I remember being like at 17. The realism was a great touch.
I liked how quirky Zip's mom was. Definitely not your typical mom.
The Cons: I felt like Zip's friends should have been more well defined. We didn't find much out about them, nor were they mentioned in the book very many times. So few, that I struggle to remember their names and I just finished the book last night.
I'm a visual reader. I like to make pictures in my head of how everything looks. Given the descriptions of the characters in the books, I had a hard time visualizing them in my head. A little more detail on looks/personalities would have been good.
I liked an atypical heroine, but it felt like Zip could have cared less how she looked. For some reason, that bothered me. Talking about sweaty gym shorts, etc. kind of turned me off.
I'm not sure how I felt about the narcolepsy. It was a little odd.
The Wrap Up: 4/5 A really decent YA novel that is going to be a series. If you're sick of the vampire/werewolf/etc. theme in today's YA novels, this book is for you.
Favorite Quote: "I can live without the dreams. The best one already came true anyway."
Get your copy of In Your Dreams on Amazon.