Common Sense Media Review
By Carrie R. Wheadon
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Dreamy and mature dark academia finale tackles depression.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
In A THEORY OF DREAMING, Effy and Preston are back at the university in Caer-Isel after their studies in the south of Llyr revealed that the celebrated bard Emrys Myrddin was a fraud. While their controversial findings are being argued over, both return to their dorms and start the semester. Effy begins her coursework anew as the first female student in the literature college, and Preston becomes a teaching assistant to the celebrated and rather pushy Master Gosse. Things go wrong for both of them immediately. Effy is chastised by her narrow-minded professor and bullied by students. Preston is harassed by elitist students for being Argantian because Llyr is at war with them. Both have their own ways of coping with the stress. Effy numbs her world with first two, then three sleeping pills a night while she researches another bard's daughter who acted as his scribe. And as Preston searches for the truth about Llyr's celebrated bards, he retreats to a dreamscape under the water that slowly becomes more and more real.
Is It Any Good?
Dreamscapes, depression, the pursuit of truth, and a deeply felt love story weave together in this unique dark academia tale that will appeal mostly to scholarly teens on up. A Theory of Dreaming is meant to be pondered and picked apart, in a way that an academic would. Chapters begin with wisdom from the bards and overlooked literary visionaries of Llyr. With each plunge into the dreamscape, Preston encounters a puzzle full of symbolism that he's desperately trying to grasp. And each time Effy devours Antonia Ardor's letters and diary entries, she forges toward the truth about another overlooked artist. Both Preston and Effy are falling apart in their own ways and drifting away from reality. How will they find themselves and each other again?
A danger of the dreamy quality of this work is that readers can end up feeling just as adrift as the characters. This certainly happens in a few of Preston's encounters with the eccentric Master Gosse. Why is Gosse just an interloper in Preston's world? What will he really get out of his dream travels there? And why does Preston keep this from Effy, when, after Effy's many encounters with the Fairy King in A Study in Drowning, she would be the one who would best understand him? Also, why are Effy's and Preston's dream worlds so vastly different? A Theory of Dreaming will provide readers with many theories and few concrete answers, which falls perfectly in line with the very best of scholarly pursuits.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Effy's depression in A Theory of Dreaming. What were the signs that she wasn't well? How did self-control become harder for Effy as things got worse? Preston feels responsible for her. Should he be helping her alone? What does good mental health care look like for anyone who's suffering?
What does Preston, in his endless curiosity, learn about the Sleepers and their celebrated works? Can you tell when you read something that sounds more like propaganda than art?
What does Preston's fantasy realm offer him? Why does he guard it from Master Gosse? If you had your own fantasy realm, what would it look like? Would you also find it difficult to return to the real world?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Fantasy
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , Book Characters
- Character Strengths : Curiosity , Empathy , Self-control
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : HarperCollins Publishers
- Publication date : July 29, 2025
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 14 - 17
- Number of pages : 416
- Available on : Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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