A New Kind Of Dreaming
Anthony Eaton

UQP:
Young Adult Fiction 2001

229p pbk $17.95

0-7022-3228-9

A ghost story and a detective story in one.

This book is about Jamie, a troubled teenager who is sent to the desert town of Port Barren to serve his sentence.  He has a brother Eddie who is in jail, and a dad who is always drunk.  His mum died when he was very young.

It’s Jamie’s story – of his time in Port Barren, his acceptance, his solving the mystery.  It involves the issues of refugees and of corruption in the police force.

This is a gripping book, well worth reading. Suitable for junior secondary students.  Print size is good, well set out and easy to read.  I loved it.

Tegan, aged 15, metropolitan NSW

Although this story is written in mainly the adventure genre, it is not limited to that.  It describes the misadventures of a seventeen year old named Jamie who, having lived a life of crime is dumped into Port Barren, a desert town, by the police.  He finds the place very different to what he expected and soon gets involved with the characters of the town, not all of them friendly…..

This book is written mainly for young adults, though I think adults would also enjoy it.  It has several topics, some of them being different cultures, spirituality, crime, self-discovery, and many more.  The story begins slowly but the plot and the style of writing are both excellent and I found the book easy to read, difficult to put down.  I recommend it strongly to anyone from 12 years up.

Nick, aged 16, Circular Head, Tasmania

I have just finished reading a book called A New Kind of Dreaming, written by Anthony Eaton.  This book tells a story about a young boy called Jamie and his fight against the local policeman to uncover a small town’s haunted past.

Jamie Riley is a seventeen year old boy, mother decreased, father missing and a brother doing time in jail.  He has been sent to Port Barren for two years in isolated care (for car theft) and he quickly discovers who are his friends and enemies.  Jamie uncovers the town’s secret and opens many closed doors  Jamie, together with the help of a new close friend Cameron wins a battle against Butcher, Port Barrens bent policeman.

The novel is written in present tense and is a little bit slow moving at the start.  However, if you continue to read on you discover that the prelude is essential to understand this interesting story.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I think that anyone 13 years old or more would too.