My 13-year-old son's review: This book is the first of a series that I have recently just been sucked into-- and with good reason.

When a boy named Becker Drane notices a box labeled ‘Apply here for the best job in The World’, he unknowingly changes his view on reality. It turns out things really aren’t what they seem-- and are something much, much better. Soon, he’s in a world which runs the basic fundamentals of our lives-- Time, Reality, Sleep, Space… all those. A world that needs people to maintain it-- the Seems.

Twelve year old Becker Drane of Highland Park, NJ works as a fixer for the Seems. The Seems is the world behind our world where they build the world from scratch every day and keep things running. They are in charge of everything: the weather, sleep, dreams and nightmares, nature, energy and time. When a Glitch makes it's way into the sleep chamber the entire world suffers from insomnia. Since no one is sleeping, dreams can't be delivered. Actions that people would have taken the next day based on their dreams won't happen and important events that were scheduled will therefore not occur. It's up to Becker to save sleep.
I thought this book was fun, esp the word games and puns. I found the main character almost as precocious as Flavia de Luce ( At age 9 he hangs out at coffee bars, drinking hot chocolate, chatting with baristas and discussing music with Jazz cats) but more likable. ( )

Clever. ( )

Reviewed by Allison Fraclose for TeensReadToo.com

I had to sign some kind of form at the front of this book before reading it, so I’m not sure if I’m allowed to tell you any of this…but here goes.

Imagine that The World we know is constructed somewhere else. The sunset is painted daily, the world’s rain is regulated through a huge water tank, and a Good Night’s Sleep is packaged, processed, and sent to you nightly, with a specially built dream enclosed just for you. Beyond the In-Between, every detail of the world is carefully fashioned by workers in The Seems.

When Becker Drane was nine years old, he filled out an application for “The Best Job in the World” on a lark. Three years later, he’s a newly promoted Fixer for The Seems eagerly awaiting his first mission. However, the one he receives is tougher than most—to fix a Glitch that is ravaging the Department of Sleep.

The World is in peril as The Chain of Events that depends on the delivery of the night’s dreams grows in danger of slipping. Becker must use all of his skills and training to find the Glitch before a Ripple Effect occurs, undoing all of the careful work of The Seems and ripping the very Fabric of Reality away.

Humorous and exciting, this first book left me eager for more from this new series, and you can be sure I’ll be reading the rest.

As long as I can get past the red tape next time… ( )

really original premise for a middle reader sci-fi book. liked it a lot. ( )