Lucid

by Adrienne Stoltz

Summary:
Every night, Maggie dreams of Sloane's day. And every night, after living her day, Sloane dreams of Maggie's.  One lives in New York, struggling to become an actress, the other lives in a small town with her tight-knit family and dreams of the day she goes to college. Each wakes up as the girl she is, after spending their nights as the other. But as time goes by the lines between where one girl ends and the other begins is blurred. Only one of them is going to be able to keep going, but which life is the one that will fade away?

Review:
Cunningly constructed, Lucid alternates between the viewpoints of Maggie and Sloane. Both girls are well developed characters, which lives that are both fulfilling and lacking. What one has the other does not, for Sloane there is a loving family, but not the independence Maggie has.  Both girls have experienced the loss of  someone close to them, and both realize that their connection is not quite normal. The book gives an interesting perspective to mental illness, as well as to the barriers we put up to deal with our own issues. The book keeps you guessing til the end about which girl's life is the real one.

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 9th Grade