Dream Spinner

by Bonnie Dobkin

Disfigured by a car accident that also killed her dad, Jori has been transformed from a popular high school student into a bitter loner. Fatherless, isolated, and betrayed by her best friend, Jori is... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0738709190
• ISBN13: 9780738709192
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Flux
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.2" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 12 to 18 years
• Grade Range: Grade 7 to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

Valuable lessons

Reviewed by Tabytha Joy (age 15) for Reader Views (8/07) "Dream Spinner" is about a girl named Jori who must go into her sister's dreams in order to save her from death. Jori meets this old man when she and her friend, Newt, go to the house in which a dog disappeared with Jori's backpack. They both continue going back to the old man's house, wanting to learn more about going into their dreams. From the beginning, Jori feels uncomfortable about living her dream instead of reality. She also thinks that it is all just a trick that the old man is playing. Jori chooses not to return to his home. That was until she realized that Newt, and her two worst enemies, Derek and Marisa, went back to the old man's house to trade their real life to live a dream. While Jori is looking through the room to make sure Newt is really there, she discovers that her missing little sister, Lisa, has also chosen to trade her life for a fantasy. Now, Jori must go into each of their dreams and try to save them before it is too late. Can Jori do it alone? Honestly, I didn't enjoy the ending of "Dream Spinner" as much as I liked the rest of the book. The reason I say this is because there was a lot of questions left unanswered. Did the other dreamers ever get out? What happened to the old man? What did Jori's mother say about the dog? What happened to Marisa? What did Jori's mother say when Lisa appeared home? How long was Jori in these dreams? There were also some really good parts to "Dream Spinner" as well. For instance, I liked how Newt, Derek, and Jori had to work together in order to escape and find Lisa. I think that this is a very valuable lesson as a lot of people, especially teens, don't understand that teamwork is the best way to go at times. I think this book would be best for someone thirteen and older.

Dreams and Nightmares

A dream is a wish your heart makes . . . or so they say. It can also be a nightmare. Dream Spinner, Bonnie Dobkin's first novel, weaves together the stories of two sisters, a popular teen couple, a mysterious professor, a dog, a tapestry, and a talented spider. Jori lived through the car accident that killed her father. Scarred for life, both physically and emotionally, she is weighed down by her survivor's guilt. Her personality changes as she pulls away from her remaining family members - her mother and her younger sister Lisa - and is pushed away by her school friends. After an afternoon in detention, she discovers a strange door, a barking dog, and a professor named DePris. Eventually, this strange old man shows Jori a spider with the power to weave dreams into a tapestry. When Lisa enters this dreamworld and refuses to leave, Jori goes on a quest to rescue her younger sister. Three of her classmates have also fallen prey to DePris' manipulative ways and are traveling through the tapestry. In order for any of them to get home, sacrifices must be made, and Jori is forced to confront her inner demons and darkest fears.

A fresh and original novel

Jori's life is no longer as wonderful as it once seemed, due to the tragic car accident that killed her father and left her physically and emotionally scarred. Once a friendly, popular girl at school, Jori now walks the hallways a bitter loner trying to ignore the stares and whispers that follow her. Meanwhile, her family is gradually fraying at the seams, as Jori and her mother anxiously wait for the return of Jori's younger sister, Lisa, who has been missing for months. When she is betrayed by her (former) best friend Marisa, Jori ends up in detention, where she meets Newt McAllister, a lanky blond-haired guy who likes to joke and act crazy, such as freeing the lab rats in biology class. Newt finds Jori interesting if not a little weird for liking spiders, and he offers to walk her home. However, Jori thinks that Newt pities her and angrily storms off. Then Jori is forced to make a detour on her way home and ends up lost in a web of alleyways. While Jori looks for a way out, she crosses paths with a stray dog, who takes her to an abandoned enclosure. Jori freaks when a magical door speaks to her and she returns home. The next day, she apologizes to Newt and has him go with her back to the alleyway to retrieve her backpack she had left behind. They see that the dog has the backpack and chases him back to the strange place. This time, Jori steps inside the entranceway with Newt and both are stunned by what they discover. Within is a beautiful garden and charming cottage, which is filled with various collections such as butterflies and fantasy books. There, the two schoolmates meet the owner of the unusual residence, the eccentric Professor DePris. The elderly man offers them to stay for a little while, and Jori and Newt reluctantly agree. By the end of their visit, however, Jori is ready to leave and is wary of the haunting dream and the odd behavior of Newt --- as well as Marisa's boyfriend Derek who had followed the two schoolmates to the house --- that seemed to result from the professor's captivating story. The following afternoon, Jori joins Newt and Derek to visit the house once again, this time to see the mysterious item that the professor had wanted to show them the day before. Professor DePris shows them a mysterious tapestry and introduces them to his talking spider, Arachnea. The professor claims that each of the students could live out their dreams within the tapestry. Jori refuses but later finds herself entering the tapestry, not to live out a fantasy, but to rescue her family and friends from a nightmare that threatens to come true. Fantasy and horror go hand-in-hand as readers are taken into a world where nightmares (one that is possibly creepier than spiders) lurk underneath the façade of childhood dreams. DREAM SPINNER is an original novel that puts a fresh spin on some familiar symbolic tales while adding realistic emotion that is not always pretty. Highly recommended for readers who enjoy fantasy but don't mind a few thri

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

Jori has detention. Punching your ex-best friend in the face will do that. Sitting in the classroom, Jori reflects on her life. In her opinion, Marisa, the ex-best friend, deserves a lot more than a punch in the face for the way she has turned on her. Not only has Jori lost her father in a terrible car accident that left her horribly scarred on her face and arm, but now her sister has disappeared. To make matters worse, Marisa decides to drop her as a friend and call her a freak in the halls where everyone can hear. This is what led to her detention sentence. One evening when walking home from detention, Jori starts to follow a dog that leads her through some scary alleys, but eventually to a beautiful, cozy cottage. Once she reaches the front door she is startled by the peep hole. Strangely, it talks to her. Freaking out, she runs away, breathing a sigh of relief once she makes it home; until she realizes that she left her backpack lying on the ground close to the cottage. The next day Jori dreads the end of detention, knowing she is going to have to go back to find her backpack. Luckily Newt, also stuck in detention, offers to walk her home since it gets dark so early in the evening. Not wanting to go to the cottage alone, she accepts his offer. Once they get there, they are sucked into a world of unimaginable consequences. Mr. DePris is the owner of the cottage and inside he presents a very welcoming environment, offering snacks and a warm place by the fire. Mr. DePris offers to tell them a story and takes some glittery powder out of his pocket and blows it toward the flames. Once it is in the air, Jori and Newt become overcome by fatigue and drift into sleep to dream. Mr. DePris is able to watch their dreams and seems very excited by what he is seeing. Jori, not completely asleep, sees Mr. DePris and is uncomfortable enough to rouse herself awake. She forces him to wake Newt up so they can leave. The problem is, Newt doesn't want to leave. He was enjoying his dream of being a warrior, fighting with William Wallace. Before Jori and Newt can get out of the cottage, Mr. DePris invites them back the next day to see a treasure. Newt is very excited to return, but Jori feels uneasy. Returning to the cottage turns out to be the most dangerous thing they could have done. Once inside, Mr. DePris takes everyone to the second floor to see a beautiful tapestry that hangs on the wall. This tapestry is very special. The intricate designs move. It turns out that Mr. DePris has a spider that can take the dreams of the people he brings to see it and weave them into the tapestry after he puts them to sleep with the glittery dust. After their dream has been woven into the tapestry, the dreamer goes into the tapestry as well and remains there until they dry up and die. Jori realizes the dangers of this and, using the help of an unlikely ally, gets into the tapestry to save Newt and hopefully bring her sister home. DREAM SPINNER is an interesting and uni