On the Bookshelf

When seventeen-year-old Beatrice "Bea" Whaley begins to have highly realistic dreams set in the Revolutionary War she is at first smitten with the idea of adventure, beautiful dresses, and romance with one rather attractive man in uniform, Alan Warren.

In her waking hours Bea acts with drama club, hangs out with her friends, and daydreams. Not to mention that things are finally starting to look up with her long time crush, Benjamin Cato. Curious about her sleeping visions, Bea decides to do a bit of research only to realise that her dreams are historically accurate despite knowing nothing about the events in which they take place!

Now into volume eight, I've been following the webcomic (or rather, graphic web novel), The Dreamer, since it was in it's second volume, always eagerly awaiting the next update. I knew that Innes had me completely hooked when I had my first dream about the American Revolution, despite the fact that, as an Aussie, I've never learned much about the subject. I think that my own dream was somewhat of a mish-mash of what I've picked up from The Dreamer and what I learned about the American Civil War in my senior Modern History class. Oh dear. Sadly, my dream was also not nearly as exciting as any of Bea's.

You don't need to be a history buff to enjoy The Dreamer, but most certainly lovers of American history will adore this. One of the great things that drives The Dreamer is that Innes is genuinely passionate about the subject and has done her research well. The site blog is scattered with entries about her trips to sites of historical significance. But don't go thinking that this graphic novel is war and seriousness, oh no. Innes has struck a good balance and there are some great moments of humour in both time periods.

The comic is complete with a well-rounded cast of characters in both 1776 and modern day America. I love them all, really, and think that Bea is a great protagonist with whom I, personally, find very easy to relate to, quite possibly because I am prone to day dreaming the days away myself.

Click the banner below to go to The Dreamer website where you can read the graphic novel. Be sure to subscribe to the site's rss feed for more Dreamer updates! You can check out some of the fan art and videos made by the dedicated community of readers while waiting for more. Or perhaps even consider buying some of the published volumes in hard-copy.

Terra