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The Simple Summary:
Genre: Middle Grade Christian Fantasy
Rating: 4 out of 4
What I liked: Themes & symbolism, simple yet profound, characters, humor, story, suspense (so, everything)
What I didn't like: Typographical error (Book 3)
Content: Mild violence (character experiences wounds in a scene, Book 1), demon figures
I've read this series ever since it came out in 2022, and re-read the books since. As of now, the fifth book has not released yet, but here are my thoughts for the first four installments.
Prose/Plot/Themes
While I wouldn't say that the prose was special, it was functional. This is a middle grade series, after all. It carried the plot along. While simple and clear, it also aided the profound truths through the story without feeling too forced.
Despite the simple prose, the deep themes are there. You'd never think to see it from such a simple story, but it's there. And deep. See Characters.
Speaking of plot: I have my gripes about Christian stories. I want an excellent story with and without the themes. The main concern I have is themes forced into an otherwise good story, or excellent themes in a bland story.
The Dreamkeeper Saga had mild suspense, as well as some plot twists when you least expect them. Re-reading the books, of course, the plot twists aren't as shocking, but as a first-time reader they had me. The themes are better in Book Two, in my opinion.
Being about creatives doing great things in a fantasy dream world, this series also got my brain going, creatively. Overall, great story for all the dreamers and artists out there.
(Although there's a missing period in Book Three.)
Plot Cont.
Summaries taken from Goodreads and Amazon.
The Dragon and the Stone
Even though she’s only 12 years old, Lily McKinley already feels the weight of the world’s brokenness. She’s seen it in her mother’s exhaustion, her grandmother’s illness, and the cruelty of Adam, the bully at her school. But most tragically, she experienced it two months ago when her father died in a terrible accident.
As an artistic daydreamer, Lily has a brilliant imagination to help her cope, but that imagination often gets her into trouble. One day, it transports her to a fantasy world called the Somnium Realm, where her father’s secret history embroils her in an epic quest. With the help of a dragon guide named Cedric, Lily battles evil shrouds, harpies, and other creatures to find her way through grief, rescue the world from evil, and discover the power of redemption.
The Prince and the Blight
It's been a month since 12-year-old Lily McKinley was whisked away to the Somnium Realm to rescue her father, and although she's overjoyed to have him home, she can't leave the magical world behind. The glowing stone pendant that transported her is now bringing strange creatures to life against her will, with her paper mache pterodactyl and even scrambled eggs suddenly moving about on their own. Lily tries to pretend that everything is normal, but when her friend Cedric the dragon appears to tell her that an illness has taken over the kingdom, troubling questions haunt her. Where is Prince Pax? If he can save the Somnium Realm like he did before, why won't he stop the blight? Lily and her friends must return to Castle Iridyll to find out.
Lost in the Caverns
I always think of this one as the book about the four hundred-year-old spoiled brat.
Twelve-year-old dream keeper Lily McKinley is grieving the death of Prince Pax when, in an instant, he appears by his tomb with a message for her: “Whomever you meet, tell them about what you have seen and heard in this valley. Tell them about what I gave for them, and won for them.” Though she feels her powers weakening, she must embark on a dangerous journey through the Desert of the Forgotten to regain her ability to dream and spread Pax’s message.
Quest for the Guardians
I'll be honest. Based off the chapter given in Book 3, and based off the blurb, I was expecting a little more... actual time travel. Alas, only a broken time machine exists (that functions more as a jet plane), replaced later by a flying carpet. I was expecting more tension in that respect, but by three-quarters through the book I had accepted where the plot had gone. Also, that three-quarters point came fast.
Lily is excited to reunite with her family after her latest quest in the Somnium Realm, but when she reaches home, she discovers that evil nightmares have invaded the waking world. With the help of her parents, magical friends, and a team of displaced guardians of the Realm, she races to rescue the earth from destruction. Traveling by time machine to the Great Wall of China, Tanzania, and the mountains of Peru, they work together to save the world from fear. As their efforts falter, and the threat looms ever darker, Lily pleads for Pax to reach into the waking world to help . . . but can he?
Content
Very light overall on content. The only thing I found mildly concerning for me was in book one, the main character gets wounds in her shoulder. That's my main thing.
The book does have demon figures, and the main antagonist is a representation of the Tempter himself. To be fair, I don't mind dark magic much, so this wasn't an issue for me (and as some of you know, I do enjoy creepy villains). But good is also shown triumphing over evil (this wouldn't be much of a middle grade Christian series if good didn't win, would it?).
World
A world made of dreams? Sounds like a dream fantasy world to me. See Prose/Plot/Themes.
Characters
Over four books, there are a lot of characters. Yet Butler keeps them all distinct and memorable, despite some of their similar backstories. As mentioned under Themes, there are some deep truths tied to these characters.
In a tangent, it's brought up in the first book that Isla is one of the few not-dream born, yet Book Three goes on to disprove that.
Miscellaneous/Conclusion
If you've ever watched the Lego Dreamzzz show, this is the Christian book version. The two are actually very similar (both take place in dream worlds infested by nightmares, both involve the heroes creating objects and creatures to help them, the list goes on), with the major difference being the worldview of course.
This is a series where you can tell there was planning.
Overall: Highly recommended.