Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Literally
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.lucykeating.com/
CITY: Cambridge
STATE: MA
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Female.
EDUCATION:Williams College, B.A., 2008; Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, completed publishing course, 2008.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. Departures, editorial intern, 2008-09; Alloy Entertainment, editorial assistant, 2009-11; TV development assistant, 2011-14; Pocket Gems, manager of episode originals, 2015-17.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Lucy Keating writes young-adult novels from her home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She attended Williams College, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in art history, and then obtained a publishing degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Keating worked as an editorial intern and assistant for several years and in television development before deciding to focus on novels for the teen audience.
Dreamology
In 2016, Keating published her first YA novel, Dreamology. The main character of Dreamology is teenager Alice, who has an imaginary dream friend, Max. Together they share adventures and find love. Max does not really exist, so Alice is startled when she moves with her family to Boston and finds him in class at her new school. Keating spoke about the genesis of the book with Katy Upperman: “I’ve always had crazy dreams. . . . I . . . would have dreams of people I had loved or dated, and always thought it was so weird that even though I hadn’t seen them in months or years . . . they could feel so real in the dream. . . . I wanted to play around with that idea, of someone you saw while you slept, who seemed so real even though you didn’t know them.”
A Kirkus Reviews contributor was disappointed that “what begins as potentially intriguing, light sci-fi gradually devolves into preposterousness that doesn’t even try to make sense.” Kirsten Pickel, critic in Voice of Youth Advocates, however, found the “characters . . . likable and the story . . . engaging” and pronounced Dreamology “a fun spin on contemporary romance.” At YA Books Central, Amy Oliver found Keating’s writing to be “hilarious, . . . quirky and fun.” A critic at Teenreads termed this debut an “enchanting and whimsical story with lovable characters, along with a few facts about how brains and dreaming work.”
Literally
Keating’s second YA novel, Literally, offers an interesting mix of fantasy and reality as a premise. Annabelle, known as AB, seems to have tight control of her life, until her parents decide to divorce, throwing her world into turmoil. At the same time, real-life author Lucy Keating pays a visit to AB’s fiction-writing class and tells them the outline of her latest book. AB realizes that the plot describes her own life. How is this possible? Is Keating pulling the strings of her life? Christina C. Jones, critiquing the book in Voice of Youth Advocates, described Literally as a “whimsical novel” and a “light, satisfying read.” AB is torn between two boys—Will, who is clearly the perfect choice, and AB’s friend Elliot, who is something of a ladykiller but with whom she is in love. As Lucy’s “creation,” AB feels trapped. Can she write her own story? Katie Ward Beim-Esche, writing in the Christian Science Monitor, remarked that Literally “will serve as a bubbly palate cleanser for some and skew saccharine for others” but also called it a “bouncy little summer read.” A critic in Kirkus Reviews observed: “This festival of metafictive fun should particularly appeal to budding novelists.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Christian Science Monitor, May 5, 2017, Katie Ward Beim-Esche, “‘Literally’ Is a Bouncy Summer Read Built on a Sleight-of-Hand Trick,” review of Literally.
Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2017, review of Literally.
School Library Journal, January, 2016, Kathleen E. Gruver, review of Dreamlogy, p. 106.
Voice of Youth Advocates, April, 2016. Kirsten Pickel, review of Dreamology, p. 59; April, 2017, Christina C. Jones, review of Literally, p. 61.
ONLINE
Katy Upperman Website, https://katyupperman.com/ (April 21, 2016), author interview.
Kirkus Reviews, https://www.kirkusreviews.com/ (April 12,2016), review of Dreamology.
Lucy Keating Website, http://www.lucykeating.com (February 2, 2018).
Teenreads, https://www.teenreads.com/ (April 11, 2016), review of Dreamology.
YA Books Central, http://www.yabookscentral.com/ (June 27,2016), Amy Oliver, review of Dreamology.
Lucy lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She grew up in Boston and attended Williams College in the Berkshires, before spending many years in New York, LA and San Francisco. California will always be in her heart. When she's not writing, Lucy can usually be found obsessing over the latest music, inventing new flavors of ice cream, or having what she feels are perfectly acceptable conversations with her dog, Ernie.
Lucy's first YA novel, DREAMOLOGY, was published by HarperTeen in April 2016. DREAMOLOGY is about a girl named Alice who has spent her life dreaming about the same boy, Max. Together they have traveled the world and fallen deliriously, hopelessly in love. There's just one problem - Max doesn't actually exist. Until Alice moves to Boston and finds him sitting next to her at school...very much alive and real.
Interview with Lucy Keating, Author of DREAMOLOGY
Posted on April 21, 2016 | Comments Off on Interview with Lucy Keating, Author of DREAMOLOGY
I recently caught up with delightful debut author Lucy Keating about her new YA speculative fiction/romance, DREAMOLOGY (Harper Teen, April 12, 2016).
Dreamology CoverAbout the Book
DREAMOLOGY is about a girl named Alice who has spent her life dreaming about the same boy, Max. Together they have traveled the world and fallen deliriously, hopelessly in love. There’s just one problem – Max doesn’t actually exist. Until Alice moves to Boston and finds him sitting next to her at school . . . very much alive and real.
Find DREAMOLOGY at Barnes & Nobel – Amazon – BAM – IndieBound
lucy keatingAbout the Author
Author Bio: Lucy Keating is a writer living in Los Angeles, California. She grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, attended Williams College in the Berkshires, and still misses the East Coast very much. When she’s not writing, Lucy can usually be found obsessing over the latest music, inventing new flavors of ice cream, or having what she feels are perfectly acceptable conversations with her dog, Ernie.
Find Lucy at her website, Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram, and Dreamology’s beautiful Tumblr.
THE INTERVIEW
Katy: How did the idea for DREAMOLOGY take shape, and can you share a little about your writing process?
Lucy: I’ve always had crazy dreams, poor sleep habits, walking and talking. Eventually you start to get older and you think “Why doesn’t this happen to everyone?” I began to look into it, how the brain itself dreams, what research has been done to learn more about it. I also would have dreams of people I had loved or dated, and always thought it was so weird that even though I hadn’t seen them in months or years, or wasn’t particularly hung up on them, they could feel so real in the dream. Like their memory had been tucked away for safe keeping in my subconscious. I wanted to play around with that idea, of someone you saw while you slept, who seemed so real even though you didn’t know them. And also the idea that being in love and dreaming are very similar. In both we behave in ways we might not normally. We believe things we might not otherwise. And when a dream and a relationship end, in each case we ask ourselves if it ever happened.
In terms of process, when I write it’s important that I have an outline, something to chip away at, and a planned structure to keep me on track. I also worked for five years at Alloy Entertainment, creators of Gossip Girl, Vampire Diaries, etc, where they believe in a very strong “hook.” I always keep that in mind, what gives the book that special edge, but I also try and keep the heart of the story in mind as well. This isn’t just about a girl and boy who dream of each other. It is about love, and what love really means – how it’s not always perfect, and how we have to love someone for who they really are, flaws and all.
Katy: Books about love – my favorite! What were your revisions like? Any noteworthy changes from 1st draft to finished novel?
Lucy: The book that sold did not change a whole lot, but there were earlier versions of the Untitled Dream Novel that were very different, much more spy-like and Inception-y. Someone suggested that I veer more towards weird science, like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and I am so glad they did! I love a good spy novel, but that’s not what I should be writing. 🙂
Another thing that happened from my original pages to what I submitted to publishers, was a tonal thing. I had worked in Teen publishing and TV for so long, I thought I knew how to write a teen book. Josh Bank, an old boss of mine at Alloy, read the manuscript and said, “You are weirder, funnier, and more emotional than this. Try it again.” I tried again, and this time I just sort of . . . talked at the page, and then everyone read it and were like “Yup. This is the right tone.” That was a great feeling.
In the actual editing process, once Harper bought the book, I got a lot of feedback that Max was too mean. And people still think so! Believe it or not, I worked hard to warm him up, but I still stand by him as a Fitzwilliam Darcy type character. Someone who loves Alice deeply but struggles to communicate, and just wants to do the right thing.
Katy: Aww, I love Max! He feels so real and authentically teen boy to me. 🙂 DREAMOLOGY is, at its core, a love story. What drew you to writing YA romance?
Lucy: I’ve always been a hopeless romantic. Love stories have fascinated me from the very beginning, and I think young love in particular because it happens at a time when we are just starting to understand who we are, and the people we fall for and how we treat each other can greatly affect us. There are so many lessons to learn, but also so much possibility. If you have a big imagination, like me, younger characters are where my stories find the best homes.
Katy: I’m partial to the name Max, and Alice is also adorable. How much consideration do you put into naming your characters? Any special reason you settled on Max and Alice?
Lucy: Thank you!! For the most part, I name my characters things I would name my children. I like names that are classic, but that maybe you haven’t heard in a while. Alice was definitely inspired by Alice in Wonderland, because of the strange and trippy elements. Growing up I had a stuffed German Shepherd named Max. 🙂 Which is weird, because now there is a movie about a bomb sniffing German Shepherd named Max… but I digress…
Katy: DREAMOLOGY has many dream sequences, which are vividly described and delightfully fanciful. Can you talk a bit about their inspiration?
Lucy: Like many people, my dreams are crazy, but there is also a flow to them. I wanted these dreams to be surprising, but also for it to be clear how you got from one place to the other. It may be insane that an inner tube on a river becomes a giant cheerio in milk, but you can also kind of see why it did. I also wanted them to be warm and happy, because they are where Alice and Max go to escape. Otherwise, there wasn’t much inspiration. I just kind of stared at the page and thought, “Where is the coolest place this could go next?” And then I wrote that.
Katy: Do you have creative pursuits other than writing?
Lucy: I sing and play the guitar. I almost had a career in songwriting! But in the end it wasn’t for me. I am not much of a performer. But I still play a lot of covers, and occasionally write something new. I also really, really love photography.
Katy: I love photography too, and I’m super envious of your musical skills! Now, imagine your perfect reader… How would you describe that person?
Lucy: Someone with a big imagination and a goofy sense of humor, who wants to be surprised.
The Debut Club: Lucy Keating on her debut YA romance, DREAMOLOGY
Posted on April 21, 2016 by THESWANKY17S 1 Comment
Swanky author Katy Upperman recently caught up with debut author Lucy Keating about her new YA speculative fiction/romance, DREAMOLOGY (Harper Teen, April 12, 2016).
Dreamology CoverAbout the Book
DREAMOLOGY is about a girl named Alice who has spent her life dreaming about the same boy, Max. Together they have traveled the world and fallen deliriously, hopelessly in love. There’s just one problem – Max doesn’t actually exist. Until Alice moves to Boston and finds him sitting next to her at school . . . very much alive and real.
Find DREAMOLOGY at Barnes & Nobel – Amazon – BAM – IndieBound
lucy keatingAbout the Author
Author Bio: Lucy Keating is a writer living in Los Angeles, California. She grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, attended Williams College in the Berkshires, and still misses the East Coast very much. When she’s not writing, Lucy can usually be found obsessing over the latest music, inventing new flavors of ice cream, or having what she feels are perfectly acceptable conversations with her dog, Ernie.
Find Lucy at her website, Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram, and Dreamology’s beautiful Tumblr.
THE INTERVIEW
Katy: How did the idea for DREAMOLOGY take shape, and can you share a little about your writing process?
Lucy: I’ve always had crazy dreams, poor sleep habits, walking and talking. Eventually you start to get older and you think “Why doesn’t this happen to everyone?” I began to look into it, how the brain itself dreams, what research has been done to learn more about it. I also would have dreams of people I had loved or dated, and always thought it was so weird that even though I hadn’t seen them in months or years, or wasn’t particularly hung up on them, they could feel so real in the dream. Like their memory had been tucked away for safe keeping in my subconscious. I wanted to play around with that idea, of someone you saw while you slept, who seemed so real even though you didn’t know them. And also the idea that being in love and dreaming are very similar. In both we behave in ways we might not normally. We believe things we might not otherwise. And when a dream and a relationship end, in each case we ask ourselves if it ever happened.
In terms of process, when I write it’s important that I have an outline, something to chip away at, and a planned structure to keep me on track. I also worked for five years at Alloy Entertainment, creators of Gossip Girl, Vampire Diaries, etc, where they believe in a very strong “hook.” I always keep that in mind, what gives the book that special edge, but I also try and keep the heart of the story in mind as well. This isn’t just about a girl and boy who dream of each other. It is about love, and what love really means – how it’s not always perfect, and how we have to love someone for who they really are, flaws and all.
Katy: Books about love – my favorite! What were your revisions like? Any noteworthy changes from 1st draft to finished novel?
Lucy: The book that sold did not change a whole lot, but there were earlier versions of the Untitled Dream Novel that were very different, much more spy-like and Inception-y. Someone suggested that I veer more towards weird science, like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and I am so glad they did! I love a good spy novel, but that’s not what I should be writing. 🙂
Another thing that happened from my original pages to what I submitted to publishers, was a tonal thing. I had worked in Teen publishing and TV for so long, I thought I knew how to write a teen book. Josh Bank, an old boss of mine at Alloy, read the manuscript and said, “You are weirder, funnier, and more emotional than this. Try it again.” I tried again, and this time I just sort of . . . talked at the page, and then everyone read it and were like “Yup. This is the right tone.” That was a great feeling.
In the actual editing process, once Harper bought the book, I got a lot of feedback that Max was too mean. And people still think so! Believe it or not, I worked hard to warm him up, but I still stand by him as a Fitzwilliam Darcy type character. Someone who loves Alice deeply but struggles to communicate, and just wants to do the right thing.
Katy: Aww, I love Max! He feels so real and authentically teen boy to me. 🙂 DREAMOLOGY is, at its core, a love story. What drew you to writing YA romance?
Lucy: I’ve always been a hopeless romantic. Love stories have fascinated me from the very beginning, and I think young love in particular because it happens at a time when we are just starting to understand who we are, and the people we fall for and how we treat each other can greatly affect us. There are so many lessons to learn, but also so much possibility. If you have a big imagination, like me, younger characters are where my stories find the best homes.
Katy: I’m partial to the name Max, and Alice is also adorable. How much consideration do you put into naming your characters? Any special reason you settled on Max and Alice?
Lucy: Thank you!! For the most part, I name my characters things I would name my children. I like names that are classic, but that maybe you haven’t heard in a while. Alice was definitely inspired by Alice in Wonderland, because of the strange and trippy elements. Growing up I had a stuffed German Shepherd named Max. 🙂 Which is weird, because now there is a movie about a bomb sniffing German Shepherd named Max… but I digress…
Katy: DREAMOLOGY has many dream sequences, which are vividly described and delightfully fanciful. Can you talk a bit about their inspiration?
Lucy: Like many people, my dreams are crazy, but there is also a flow to them. I wanted these dreams to be surprising, but also for it to be clear how you got from one place to the other. It may be insane that an inner tube on a river becomes a giant cheerio in milk, but you can also kind of see why it did. I also wanted them to be warm and happy, because they are where Alice and Max go to escape. Otherwise, there wasn’t much inspiration. I just kind of stared at the page and thought, “Where is the coolest place this could go next?” And then I wrote that.
Katy: Do you have creative pursuits other than writing?
Lucy: I sing and play the guitar. I almost had a career in songwriting! But in the end it wasn’t for me. I am not much of a performer. But I still play a lot of covers, and occasionally write something new. I also really, really love photography.
Katy: I love photography too, and I’m super envious of your musical skills! Now, imagine your perfect reader… How would you describe that person?
Lucy: Someone with a big imagination and a goofy sense of humor, who wants to be surprised.
Lightning Round
Craziest dream?
Instead I’m going to tell you about my craziest sleep habit. When I lived in NYC I started watching the TV show DEXTER, which I really shouldn’t have because I am a total wuss. But I couldn’t stop! I would watch it every night, and every morning I would wake up to find that I had pushed my bookshelf in front of my door while I was asleep. Dead serious.
Favorite writing snack?
A big café mocha.
Three favorite novels?
Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Three favorite movies?
Notting Hill
Best in Show
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Favorite museum?
The Isabella Stewart Gardner, or maybe the Musee d’Orsay.
Favorite music to write by?
Two bands: Lucius and Lord Huron
Plotter or pantser?
Definitely plotter, except for the dream chapters!
Best book you read as a teen?
On The Road by Jack Kerouac
Your favorite writing advice?
Instead of Write What You Know, my fiction professor taught us to write what we DON’T know about what we know. Sounds confusing, but really it means this: Nobody is going to find your life as interesting as you do. So take things you are familiar with, but change it enough so you can be sure you are creative a narrative that is exciting and fresh.
Meet the Author: Lucy Keating
posted in Meet the Author, Young Adult Authors by victoriajcoe
Lucy KeatingLucy Keating is a writer living in Los Angeles, California. She grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, attended Williams College in the Berkshires, and still misses the East Coast very much. When she’s not writing, Lucy can usually be found taking photographs, obsessing over the latest music, inventing new flavors of ice cream, or having what she feels are perfectly acceptable conversations with her dog, Ernie, who enjoys hunting butterflies in his spare time.
Lucy’s debut, DREAMOLOGY (HarperTeen, April 2016), is a Young Adult novel about a girl who has wild, fantastical dreams of the same boy her entire life, only to walk into a new school and discover he is real.
Fun facts:
Favorite book growing up: A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN
Childhood aspiration: Singer
Favorite time of day/place to write: The Boston Athenaeum, any time of day.
Book currently reading/most recently read: FUNNY GIRL by Nick Hornby
Favorite things to do (other than reading): See some great live music, take her dog on a hike, go on a road trip.
Surprising personal fact: She is absolutely terrified of all condiments.
Keating, Lucy. Literally
Christina C. Jones
Voice of Youth Advocates.
40.1 (Apr. 2017): p61+.
COPYRIGHT 2017 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC
http://www.voya.com
Full Text:
3Q * 3P * S
Keating, Lucy. Literally. HarperTeen, 2017. 256p. $17.99. 978-0-06-238004-3.
Seventeen-year-old Annabelle, AB, has her life organized into a strict color-coded scheduled. Her structured
world comes to a screeching halt, though, when her parents announce that they are splitting up and selling
AB's childhood home. AB struggles with this news more than her brother Sam, but Elliot, Sams best friend
since childhood, feels the same as AB. Is it AB's imagination, or is there suddenly something between Elliot
and her? AB's life gets more complicated when famous young-adult author Lucy Keating visits AB's fiction
writing class at school and describes her current novel. AB recognizes the plot as her own life. Completely
perfect Will arrives during class, and AB is struck by her inexplicable romantic spark with him. AB
approaches Keating about this after class, and the author confirms that, yes, she is the author of AB's life.
AB goes on dates with Will and Elliot and likes them both, but her feelings for Elliot are stronger. Keating,
though, is contriving with the universe to stop AB from being with Elliot. Determined to write her own
story, AB goes on a road trip with Will to confront Keating and become the author of her own life.
This whimsical novel is a light, satisfying read, full of humor and tidbits about the writing process and
publishing world that any youth interested in writing will enjoy. There is underage drinking in the story.
This book is recommended for readers who want to be entertained while discovering that life can only be
truly lived when you take control.--Christina C. Jones.
QUALITY
5Q Hard to imagine it being better written.
4Q Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses.
3Q Readable, without serious defects.
2Q Better editing or work by the author might have warranted a 3Q.
1Q Hard to understand how it got published, except in relation to its P rating (and not even then
sometimes).
POPULARITY
1/28/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1517179015444 2/5
5P Every YA (who reads) was dying to read it yesterday.
4P Broad general or genre YA appeal.
3P Will appeal with pushing.
2P For the YA reader with a special interest in the subject.
1P No YA will read unless forced to for assignments.
GRADE LEVEL INTEREST
M Middle School (defined as grades 6-8).
J Junior High (defined as grades 7-9).
S Senior High (defined as grades 10-12).
A/YA Adult-marketed book recommended for YAs.
NA New Adult (defined as college-age).
R Reluctant readers (defined as particularly suited for reluctant readers).
(a) Highlighted Reviews Graphic Novel Format
(G) Graphic Novel Format
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Jones, Christina C. "Keating, Lucy. Literally." Voice of Youth Advocates, Apr. 2017, p. 61+. General
OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A491949496/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=6eb86b9d. Accessed 28 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A491949496
1/28/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1517179015444 3/5
Keating, Lucy: LITERALLY
Kirkus Reviews.
(Mar. 1, 2017):
COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Keating, Lucy LITERALLY HarperTeen (Children's Fiction) $17.99 4, 11 ISBN: 978-0-06-238004-3
Annabelle is in total control of her life. She knows who she is and where she's going....Until author Lucy
Keating speaks to Annabelle's creative writing class and describes her new book, which doesn't just
resemble Annabelle's life--it is Annabelle's life, and the 17-year-old white girl is the main character. When
Keating writes olive-skinned Hawaiian love interest Will into the story to shake things up with a love
triangle, Annabelle finds herself pulled toward a boy she doesn't want. Although he's perfect--literally made
for her--she's in love with her longtime friend Elliot, a white boy with a history of serial girlfriends. Keating
thwarts Annabelle's every attempt to change her story. There's only one thing to do: confront Keating and
demand to be allowed to write her own story. Freed from Lucy's pen, Annabelle discovers writing her own
life isn't easy, but it's worth it. Initially, the self-referentiality feels like a forced attempt at metafictive
cleverness; however, as the story progresses, characters criticize tropes such as the love triangle, the onedimensional
best friend, and that lightning-sparked first meeting between young lovers. Keating's storyline
in the novel feels like wish fulfillment, and perhaps it is: her fictional counterpart has dozens of bestselling
novels to her name, many of which have been adapted to film. This festival of metafictive fun should
particularly appeal to budding novelists. (Fiction. 13-18)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Keating, Lucy: LITERALLY." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Mar. 2017. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A482911582/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=e5aed536.
Accessed 28 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A482911582
1/28/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1517179015444 4/5
Keating, Lucy. Dreamology
Kirsten Pickel
Voice of Youth Advocates.
39.1 (Apr. 2016): p59.
COPYRIGHT 2016 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC
http://www.voya.com
Full Text:
3Q * 3P * J * S
Keating, Lucy. Dreamology. HarperTeen, 2016. 336p. $17.99. 978-0-06-238000-5.
Sixteen-year-old Alice Rowe has had extremely vivid dreams for as long as she can remember. Alice travels
all over the world in her dreams and has crazy adventures. The only constant in her dreams is Max; he is the
perfect guy and they are completely in love. Alice does not bother with boys in real life because she knows
no one could compare to Max. Alice is hesitant to move from New York back to the townhouse in Boston
where she grew up; there are too many memories of her mother, who left the family to follow her career ten
years earlier. When Alice walks into her new school and finds herself face to face with a real live Max, she
cannot believe her eyes. Unfortunately, the flesh and bone Max does not seem reciprocate her feelings.
When Alice finds a card for the Center for Dream Discovery in her old house she starts to investigate the
connection between the real Max and her dream world.
Keating takes readers on a lively tour through the city of Boston in Dreamology. While the book feels a
little too long in places, the characters are likable and the story is engaging. This is a fun spin on
contemporary romance.--Kirsten Pickel.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Pickel, Kirsten. "Keating, Lucy. Dreamology." Voice of Youth Advocates, Apr. 2016, p. 59. General
OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A450504878/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=f12dcdb8. Accessed 28 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A450504878
1/28/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1517179015444 5/5
Keating, Lucy. Dreamology
Kathleen E. Gruver
School Library Journal.
62.1 (Jan. 2016): p106.
COPYRIGHT 2016 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No
redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
Full Text:
KEATING, Lucy. Dreamology. 336p. HarperCol lins/HarperTeen. Apr. 2016. Tr $17.99. ISBN
9780062380005.
Gr 8 Up--Alice Rowe has a wonderful relationship with her boyfriend, Max. They do fun and exciting
things and go to unusual places around the world. There's just one catch--Max exists only within Alice's
dreams. In the waking world, Alice is dealing with family issues, a move to Boston, and a new start at a
private school. As she sits in class on her first day at Bennett Academy, she is completely amazed when
Max, the boy of her dreams, walks through tire door. Getting to know Max in real life, however, is
surprisingly complicated, even when he admits that he also dreams about Alice and they find that they have
a shared history involving the Center for Dream Discovery. Eventually, the two realize that they need to end
their dreaming relationship in order to move forward with their real lives, but they now face the challenge
of forging a relationship in tire real world. This is a sweet, quirky romance with appealing characters and
loving descriptions of Boston landmarks, but there are serious notes as well; Alice's mother has essentially
walked out on her and her father in order to pursue research projects, and Max has a troubled relationship
with his parents because of his sister's death in an accident. Keating is particularly good at capturing the
surreal nature of dreams in her detailed depictions of dream settings and events. VERDICT Give this one to
fans of Jenny Han and YA romance.--Kathleen E. Gruver, Burlington County Library, Westampton, NJ
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Gruver, Kathleen E. "Keating, Lucy. Dreamology." School Library Journal, Jan. 2016, p. 106. General
OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A438949285/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=2c85b0bb. Accessed 28 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A438949285
'Literally' is a bouncy summer read built on a sleight-of-hand trick
Katie Ward Beim-Esche
The Christian Science Monitor. (May 5, 2017): Arts and Entertainment:
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 The Christian Science Publishing Society
http://www.csmonitor.com/About/The-Monitor-difference
Listen
Full Text:
Byline: Katie Ward Beim-Esche
Annabelle Burns, star of Lucy Keating's new young adult novel, Literally, has an ideal life. Perfect friends, perfect house, perfect family, perfect plan for her future. Yet four major developments threaten to overturn everything in a single Monday morning.
One: Her parents announce they're getting a divorce. Annabelle is the last to find out; even her older brother's best friend, Elliot, knows before she does.
Two: Her parents are selling her beloved childhood home in Venice Beach, California. When Annabelle comes home from college next year, she'll have two strange, memory-less houses to visit.
Three: The world's hottest boy transfers to her high school and falls for her within 30 seconds. Hunky gentleman Will Hale is so well-suited for Annabelle that it's like he was designed for her. They're both overachievers, organizational experts, and all-around good kids. Their compatibility strikes Annabelle as almost eerie, but she decides not to look a gift boyfriend in the mouth.
Four: bestselling YA author Lucy Keating visits Annabelle's school as a guest lecturer. Normally her books have tearjerker endings a la Nicholas Sparks, but she's really trying for a happy ending with her next project. Keating describes it as a book about a very organized girl who lives in Venice Beach with her divorcing parents and older brother.
Sound familiar? Annabelle's blood runs cold. Hearing her life story laid out as a plot arc, Annabelle tracks Keating down later.
She blurts out, "I don't know how or why you are doing it, but I'd really appreciate if you'd stop writing about my life."
Keating's response is not what she expects:
"Annabelle, I'm not writing about you. I'm writing you," Keating replies cheerfully. "You are in my book. You're a character.... Some of my characters demand to be heard. Others just sit in a drawer, waiting for the right time."
At first Annabelle tries to dismiss Keating's comment as just another spoonful of weird in the weirdest day of her life. But Keating's interference soon becomes impossible to ignore.
Like her idol, Diane Sawyer, Annabelle gathers the facts. She questions her memories, her instincts, her choices - your standard teen existential crisis, really. She even finds herself looking at Elliot differently.
When even weirder things start to happen, she takes notice. The omnipotent authoress manipulates circumstances, changes facts, and throws obstacles in people's way so events will proceed as she intends.
Decisive, Type-A Annabelle Burns won't take this lying down. For the first time in her life, she decides to rebel.
As it turns out, authors don't take kindly to their characters fighting back! What ensues is a battle for Annabelle's soul. Will Keating dictate the terms of her character's life, or will Annabelle take the reins of her future?
In "Literally," the actual Lucy Keating constructs a tidy little sleight-of-hand trick. We're pitched a light and fluffy fiction with the springy texture of '90s rom-coms like "She's All That," but she delivers it with a citrusy twist of metafiction.
Southern California, perfect life disrupted, love triangle: It's practically a "Sweet Valley Twins" book. Annabelle Burns is an Elizabeth Wakefield who begins to wonder what it would be like to be a Jessica.
The trouble is, I always liked Elizabeth better than Jessica. Some of Annabelle's most deeply-rooted habits (organization, planning, respect) are the ones she tries to shuck off first. If you're going to stick it to The Man - and The Man happens to be an overconfident YA novelist - your teen years aren't a bad time. I just hate to see signs of maturity jettisoned before everything else.
"Literally" will serve as a bubbly palate cleanser for some and skew saccharine for others. If you're looking for YA with a similar concept but a little more edge, allow me to recommend the superbly sour "Enter Title Here" by Rahul Kanakia.
At times the "author within her own book" plot conceit reads as wishful thinking; I'll admit to more than a few eye rolls with this one. But ultimately, it led to a fun guessing game about how this book actually came to be.
Expect to polish this one off in a weekend at most. "Literally" goes down easy as a bouncy little summer read.
Beim-Esche, Katie Ward. "'Literally' is a bouncy summer read built on a sleight-of-hand trick." Christian Science Monitor, 5 May 2017. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A491179140/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=ad7b26f0. Accessed 28 Jan. 2018.
Amy Oliver, Staff Reviewer
Top 500 Reviewer
View all my reviews (30)
Overall rating
4.7
Plot
4.0
Characters
5.0
Writing Style
5.0
A Sweet and Hilarious Read
What I Loved:
DREAMOLOGY by Lucy Keating is a sweet love story that takes the phrase “man of my dreams” literally. What happens when the boy you’ve been dreaming about your entire life is real? How do you act when you finally find him? How do you respond when the real boy isn’t the same as your dream boy?
Lucy Keating's writing is hilarious. Not only are the characters themselves , and the way they interact with one another funny, but her writing style is so quirky and fun. She’s titled each chapter with a silly little quip from the chapter that doesn’t make sense until you’ve read it. Titles like “Law & Order: Special Cookie Unit” and “Swans mate for life” are strange at first and then hilarious upon reading. I definitely want to have lunch with Lucy to pick her super funny and sassy brain!
I enjoyed the way Keating approached the very different parental relationships. Alice’s mother has essentially abandoned her and her father and Alice’s dad has a little bit of the mad scientist vibe going -which both complicates and excites Alice’s home life. Max’s parents are physically present but emotionally distant, themselves struggling with how to relate to their son in the wake of their own tragedy. Parents aren’t perfect but some do a better job than others. This idea was highlighted in a way that rang really true in the characters’ lives.
Of course, the romance was super swoon worthy. Max and Alice’s relationship is such an emotional roller coaster especially as the lines between the dream world and the real world blur. It’s a perfect mix of steamy and sweet.
What Left Me Wanting More:
With the problem of the dream world bursting into the real world becoming increasingly strong, I thought the solution would difficult, or at least problematic, for Max and Alice. While there certainly are emotional consequences to their decision to end their dream connection, it seems a little too easy. We don’t get any explanation of what Margaret did to create the connection or what she has to do to severe it. I would have liked a little more explanation to the science of it all, especially since that was such a driving part of the story.
Final Verdict:
DREAMOLOGY is a book that will have you swooning from all the romance while laughing out loud over the hilarious prose. The characters feel like friends and will leave you begging for me (or an Oliver/Sophie spin off….I’m just saying).
Ever since Alice’s mom abandoned her and her dad 10 years ago, Alice has dreamed about Max. In her dream world, they go on adventures in the Amazon, dance in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or float in the clouds. Her dreams are perfect, and so is Max. The only problem is that Max isn't real. Alice realizes it is stupid to fall for a boy who only exists in her dreams, but it’s hard not to when he’s everything she could ever ask for, and she sees him almost every single night. But when Alice moves to Boston and walks into her first period class at a new school, there he is. Max suddenly is in her reality and apparently, has been real the entire time. The longer they spend time in the real world together, the more their dreams start to bleed into reality. Max and Alice are suddenly thrown into a race to fix their dreams before they can’t tell the difference between what is a dream and what is reality.
"One of the best things about [DREAMOLOGY] was the way it effortlessly balanced being a fun, cute and imaginative tale, while also driving home the serious danger of Alice and Max’s situation.
DREAMOLOGY was an enjoyable and quick read --- one of those books that just felt like it was giving me a warm hug while I was reading it. One of the best things about this book was the way it effortlessly balanced being a fun, cute and imaginative tale, while also driving home the serious danger of Alice and Max’s situation. Hearing about all of the adventures they had in their dreams was so whimsical and fun, making me wish I had dreams half as adventurous as theirs. The whole concept was unique and well-executed.
One of my favorite things about DREAMOLOGY was the characters. Each character was like a colorful portrait painted by the author and unforgettable. It’s a rare for me to like every single character in a book, but that’s how it was for me in DREAMOLOGY. There weren't any characters I hated or even just disliked. I loved Alice’s zany professor father, the charming and trouble-making Oliver, and I can’t forget Jerry, Alice’s dog. I could have read separate books about all of the secondary characters. Of course, I also loved Alice and Max, the main characters. Max was kind, loving and always there for his friends and family. Alice was a big dreamer and always imaginative, making her very relatable to me.
Alice and Max were really cute together, and I was rooting for them to work out the entire book. I love how much they both cared for each other and how much they both tried to make some relationship work between them. The scenes between just the two of them made my heart soar. At some points, I thought that some of the conflict between them was unneeded and it was too centered around their romance and not figuring out how to fix their dreams. But overall, the scenes centered around the two of them were the best ones for me. Their chemistry was easy to pick up on and well written.
DREAMOLOGY is the perfect book for anyone who finds themselves sometimes living in their imagination. It is an enchanting and whimsical story with lovable characters, along with a few facts about how brains and dreaming work here and there.
Reviewed by Brynn S., Teen Board Member on April 11, 2016
When Alice starts at a new high school, she finds the boy she’s been dreaming of her entire life.
For as long as she can remember Alice has had wild and whimsical adventures in her sleep with a magnificent guy, Max. In her dreams, they’ve grown up together and fallen deeply in love. So it blows her mind when she enters her new high school only to meet, face to face, the boy of her dreams in real life. Turns out he’s been dreaming of her too. Trying to get to the bottom of the sleep-time mystery brings them to the Center for Dream Discovery, where, as youngsters, they were both sent due to nightmares. How and why they have linked dreams that are now oozing into waking life are the big questions. What begins as potentially intriguing, light sci-fi gradually devolves into preposterousness that doesn’t even try to make sense. Alice’s first-person, present-tense narration is laced with puerile dream sequences that are more silly (giant Oreo cookies delivered in pizza boxes, Kate Moss as a flea-market vendor) than story-advancing. If readers are after a tale in which every character finds a soul mate, then this fluff is a success. Otherwise, the story diminishes in interest and plausibility as wacky, parrot-hoarding dream analysts attach thingamabobs to Max and Alice to disunite their dreams.
Formulaic teen romance decorated with science-fiction mishmash. (Romance. 13-16)