The Book of Stolen Dreams (The Stolen Dreams Adventures #1)

Sparkling and timely.

Two siblings are tasked with keeping a magical text out of a despotic ruler's hands in this bustling children's debut, a duology opener, from playwright and screenwriter Farr. Following the invasion of Krasnia, the militarized New World Order led by Charles Malstain results quickly in censorship and regulation--especially of children. On Rachel Klein's 11th birthday, she and her brother Robert witness the arrest of their librarian father after he takes The Book of Stolen Dreams, a magical tome "hundreds of years old and the strangest and most beautiful book in the whole library," from his workplace. Their mother's death soon follows, and now-12-year-old Rachel and 13-year-old Robert, subsequently separated, risk everything to keep the powerful book from Malstain and to find a missing page. While Robert is ensnared in political intrigue, Rachel seeks to find him, with help from a mysterious family of illustrators. Alternating between the siblings' perspectives, third-person narration breaks the fourth wall, leavening fittingly dark matter with humor and whimsical details that will appeal to readers of Kelly Barnhill and Lemony Snicket, while a poignant finale revives the plot's uneven momentum. Protagonists read as white. Ages 8-12. Agent: Stephanie Thwaites, Curtis Brown (U.K.). (May)