From New York Times best seller
Jacqueline West
Available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and your local book store
From Dial Books for Young Readers
Black Swan meets Romeo and Juliet in this slippery, romantic YA by New York Times bestselling author Jacqueline West - for fans of Holly Black's White Cat, Justine Larbalestier's Liar, and Francesca Zappia's Made You Up.
Jaye wakes up from a skiing accident with a fractured skull, a blinding headache, and her grip on reality sliding into delusion. Determined to get back to her starring role in the school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, Jaye lies to her sister, her mom, her doctors. She's fine, she says. She's fine. If anyone knew the truth - that hallucinations of Shakespeare and his characters have followed her from her hospital bed to the high school halls - it would all be over. She’s almost managing to pull off the act when Romeo shows up in her anatomy class. And it turns out that he's 100% real. Suddenly Jaye has to choose between lying to everyone else and lying to herself.
Troubled by the magnetic new kid, a long-lost friend turned recent love interest, and the darkest parts of her family's past, Jaye’s life tangles with Shakespeare's most famous plays until she can't tell where truth ends and pretending begins. Soon, secret meetings and dizzying first kisses give way to more dangerous things. How much is real, how much is in Jaye's head, and how much does it matter as she flies toward a fate over which she seems to have no control?
Read a 10-page excerpt of DREAMERS OFTEN LIE
Nominated for a 2016 CYBILS Award
Nominated for a 2016 Minnesota Book Award
“If you liked the trippy hallucinations of Black Swan, you’ll be mesmerized by Jacqueline West’s eerie new YA romance...”
"Utterly beguiling... Jaye is a fiercely headstrong force and West’s writing is lyrical, lilting, spectral, and opulent."
- Booklist
“Jaye's personal drama sets an engrossing stage... A dizzying new twist on one of the Bard's most famous plays.”
- Kirkus
“Jaye herself mirrors elements of the tragic Dane. She is melancholic and dramatic, and the story is peppered with her hallucinations. Readers are left wondering how trustworthy she is. Is she really seeing Shakespeare’s spirit? What is the mystery behind her father’s death? True to the Shakespearean influence... A unique reading experience.”
- School Library Journal
"West's use of quotes from Shakespeare's various plays is restrained but perfectly timed, and her allowance for the characters to go off script offers both moving and humorous moments... Shakespeare's characters really shine as they come to life in the twenty-first century."
- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"I absolutely loved this book."
"Unusual depth...rich language... The moral ambiguity and deep questions of [Shakespeare’s] tragedies are woven into the story, as Jaye [tries] to hold onto her own life while well-meaning people try to take it from her."
"A fantastical fever dream for Shakespeare fans."
"Fans of A Midsummer Night's Dream who want a YA Shakespeare-inspired novel with a darkly whimsical atmosphere will love this new read."
- BUSTLE
"A fantastic read for Shakespeare buffs."
- PopCrush
