Hyde Students Recommend: From S.R.

I read the book Gossamer by Lois Lowry. The first thing that struck me about this book is that it was very different from the other books she has written. The Giver was about a futuristic, very controlled life that taught people to forget what the managers of that place couldn't control. Number the Stars, another book by Ms. Lowry, was about a young girl who risks her life to help her Jewish friends escape from the Nazis during WWII. Yet, Gossamer was about something as, seemingly unimportant as dreams. Ms. Lowry speaks of little creatures (she doesn't mention as first who or what they are) who fly around gathering fragments of people's (and occasionally animal's) memories to weave dreams out of. The "creatures" then proceed to bestow the dreams upon the people in the household that they have been assigned. The dreams they create are not just random bunches of the "fragments", but they are made to give the dreamer whatever is necessary for them to sleep peacefully and bring stability to their lives. Unfortunately, their work is often obstructed by the sinisteeds, the bringers of nightmares. This story was about a young boy who is adopted by a kindly old woman. The little boy was abused by his drunk father from a young age and was still suffering from the trauma. Little by little, with the help of the "dream-givers" the woman and the boy grow closer. Meanwhile, the boy's mother gets a job and cuts back on her bad habits, hoping, now that the boy's father is gone, to regain custody of her child. The sinisteeds, knowing that the child is still weak, try to attack him with their nightmares, but the faithful "dream-givers" ward them off with their best fragments and encouragement.

This sweet story ends with the boy's hopes for a future with his mother, the lady who is currently raising him (his "surrogate grandma") and his "surrogate grandma's" dog, Toby. I would recommend this book to anybody and everybody who has a taste for "uniqueness" and is compassionate.