City of Dreams

"The beginnings of a new story unfold on the page in front of me. I'm unsure where it's going for the moment. But that doesn't really matter. The only thing that matters is that, for the first time since...it happened, I'm writing again." When an introverted, seventeen-year-old girl experiences a heartbreaking loss, she turns to her writing to try to cope with her grief. The seeds of an idea turn into the beginnings of a new tale — about a magnificent city where dreams are real. At first, the writing seems to help. But as things become more complicated, she finds her story becoming an integral part of her life, and the lives of those around her. Even as she tells "the dream story" to her younger siblings every night, she retreats deeper into her fictional city of dreams, and the rich world created by her own imagination. In the fictional City of Dreams, Daniella is discovering that her world is no longer as perfect as it once was. Everything seems to be going wrong: the City is under siege, falling into ruin, and outside forces are threatening to turn the City of Dreams into a nightmare. Can Daniella find a way to stop the nightmares, and restore the City to its former glory? And can Daniella's author find peace and comfort in real life? by Hannah Ludzker