Bridget Foley (2) (1977–)

I received a copy of Hugo & Rose from Goodreads FirstReads.

In Hugo & Rose, Foley presents a tale of Rose who, since an unfortunate accident of youth, has dreamed of the Hugo and an island of adventure they share every night, battling unusual monsters and creating mischief in their attempts to reach an illusive city. The two grow up together on their dream island, beautiful and brave--constant companions of nightfall.

In her waking hours, as years progress, Rose deviates further and further from the dream version of herself, becoming increasingly dissatisfied with herself, her family, her life--preferring dream to reality. That is, until a random sequence of events leads Rose to Hugo in the waking world, helping Rose realize that reality can sometimes offer much more adventure and a greater allure of mystery than she might have otherwise dreamed possible.

Upon her discovery, Rose is filled with numerous questions. Is the man she saw truly Hugo? And, if so, how is it that the boy she thought she dreamed up truly exists? Were their minds connected? How? Why? These questions and more are what drives her foward, as an outlet to escape her reality ooncene again and in an effort to discover the unusual ties that bind them.

Sounds great right? I thought so, until I read on...

So disappointed. Nothing like I expected. After reading the book's summary, I thought this story would be an interesting fantasy. What I got was more of a glance into the lives of some creepy people, and overwhelmingly self-centered and annoying protagonists--one of which who foolishly puts her and her family's lives in danger.

After drudging through over half of the book, I got a weak explanation for the strange phenomenon involving Rose and Hugo in the dream world. I kept thinking that there had to be more to it than what was offered. Well, if there was Foley never shared it. And it wasn't until the penultimate chapter that Foley revealed what happened to Hugo before Rose, what lead him to her.

To go with (what I would deem) unlikable characters, a poorly developed (and incomplete) plot, and intermittent droning about unimportant filler details, the conclusion left much to be desired. It felt as if the characters barely developed (or gained anything meaningful from their experiences). Let's just say that all the eagerness I had when starting this book and discovering their dream world quickly turned into a frustrating sprint through an increasingly annoying story to an unsatisfying end.

This definitely was not for me. Hopefully, the intended audience will have a better experience than I did.… (mais)

Every night since she was six, Rose has dreamed of an island and someone called Hugo. She remembers these dreams with the clarity of memory, not like regular dreams at all. Adult Rose is married to Josh, a surgeon, and has three kids; she is happy enough, but then she meets Hugo in real life, each of them shocked to recognize the other. Real-life Hugo and Rose aren't their idealized dream counterparts, but they are connected, and their connection in their waking lives begins to change their dream world in ominous ways. Their real lives turn dark - even sinister - and complicated as well, until at last they discover what brought them together in the first place.

Hints of Griffin & Sabine, trauma, quantum entanglement, and a blurring between the dreamworld and the real world make for a gripping, sometimes uncomfortable read, but there is a satisfying conclusion.

Quotes

Why talk about things they didn't have the energy to change? (47)

She didn't want to be who she was when she was who she was. (72)

But she was witness, defense, prosecution, and judge to herself - and no matter what character evidence she gave, she always knew the truth. (106)

"How much is anyone really themselves in their dreams?" (Hugo to Rose, 119)

Why had the universe conspired to send her dreams of the same person every night of her life and then present him to her now, when there was nothing to be done about it? When her life was already locked into place. Her husband chosen. Children born....How inconvenient it all was. To meet the man from her dreams now. (169)

And there it was. The old resentment. The unstated truth of their lives. (178)

But life must go on. Children must be tended to, no matter how much pain their mothers are in. (203)

...now she understood that she preferred her reality to any other life. That she would never want to change it. (262)

"Maybe that's what dreams are...But we're supposed to wake up from our dreams. Our dreams are supposed to help us live our lives...not keep us from living them." (Rose to Hugo, 331-332)… (mais)

This book was a bit up and down for me. I contemplated putting it down a few times. I only didn't because the story was so bizarre at times that I wanted to know how the whole thing was going to end. I'm honestly not sure who the target audience is for this book. The "real" world was appealing to 30-something housewives and young mothers; the "dream" world seemed very adolescent to me. I'll take this to school and see if any of my students are interested in giving it a try. ** I received this book from goodreads in return for an honest review.… (mais)