I’d recommend this book! 12-yr old Mimi and best friend Rafi are Dream Hunters, using their skills to catch bad dreams alongside their dream creatures. But, after stumbling on a plot to poison the king, they must leave the safe confines of their citadel and help the king before it’s too late.
Nazima has written a unique page turner (in first person present form) and Federica Frenna’s illustrations enhance this thrilling Indian fantasy adventure. There’s a political element, highlighting those that will go to any lengths to satiate their need for power and wealth.
Dream Hunters is a Middle grade fantasy adventure published by Simon & Schuster in 2024. It’s 278 pages and aimed at children aged 9-12.
Reviewer: Seema McArdle
Seema McArdle is a working-class writer born into a Newcastle-based Punjabi family. She is a winner of the National Centre for Writing 23/24 Escalator programme, where she worked on her debut children’s novel, mentored by Ashley Hickson-Lovence. Seema’s work has won the Publisher’s Prize at FABPrize 2020 and was shortlisted for the Penguin Random House WriteNow 2021 programme. She holds a BA (hons) in History & Sociology, a PGCE in Primary Education, and a CELTA, and has previously worked for The Independent, the Serious Fraud Office, the NHS, Norwich University of the Arts and as an educator. Seema is interested in the fascinating histories of British People of Colour, many of whom remain excluded from our history and story books. She works at the University of East Anglia, where she is a member of the Race Equality Steering Committee and helped launch South Asian Heritage Month. Seema is an active supporter of Show Racism the Red Card charity, and she is a contributor of the John Blanke Project.