The Cure For Dreaming - Cat Winters

Winters, Cat. The Cure For Dreaming.

Cat Winters does it again! This novel, a lovely blend of historical and supernatural, will be a great one to recommend to my readers. Olivia Mead is a character to admire. In an era when women are expected to remain silent, maintain the house, and find a good man to take care of them, Olivia wants more. Her father is appalled at her suffragist tendencies and hires a young hypnotist to "cure" her. Oddly enough, under Henri Reverie's influence she finds herself getting into more trouble than ever. She sees people as they truly are and not as they present themselves to the world, her father a terrifying devil, her escort Percy and his society friends vampires, the women in her world fading ghosts. These visions instead of silencing her cause her to want to be heard even more. She writes a letter in support of the vote for women for a local newspaper; she Rebels against her faster by sneaking out, missing school, and developing a relationship with Henri. A fascinating story unfolds.

I love the nods to history here. The text is interspersed with period pictures and quotes from well known suffragists. The characters refer to Susan B. Anthony and her contemporaries, and readers will walk through history and barely know it because they are so involved with the narrative. Olivia Mead is a believable character who struggles with her own self worth, misses her mom who left her, longs for a first love - all relatable coming of age issues for my readers. She is also strong, opinionated, and brave, standing up for herself and the women around her when it would be much easier to just give into the society around her. I had moments of unease when I was reading because I didn't love that she was fighting for her rights but so very susceptible to Henry's hypnosis. I worried that a mixed message was being created, even if my girls wouldn't necessarily get it. Winters handles that so adroitly it is as if she were reading my mind. Olivia's independence wins the day!

Certainly I can sell this as historical fiction to help out my juniors with their history independent reading requirement. It reminded me in many ways of Donnelly's   A Northern Light. A lovely pairing for a future book talk.I can capture the interest of my supernatural fans as well. I look forward to the conversations we will have about this book. I am so grateful that I met Cat Winters through the ALA Youth Media Awards. She is quickly becoming a favorite in that she offers my readers so much to think about wrapped up in fascinating narrative. I surely look forward to whatever she does next!