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    Alphabet of Dreams
    Alphabet of Dreams
    Alphabet of Dreams
    Ebook352 pages4 hours

    Alphabet of Dreams

    By Susan Fletcher

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    In the city of the dead,
    a dreamer awakens....

    Young Babak has a magnificent gift: He can dream the future. Mitra, his brave older sister, is sworn to protect him. For them to survive living on the streets, she must do whatever is necessary -- including using her brother's talent for profit.

    When Babak is asked to dream for a powerful Magus, he receives a mysterious vision of two stars dancing in the night. Determined to solve this prophetic riddle, the Magus takes the boy and his sister on an arduous journey across the desert. What they discover will change the world in a way that no dream could ever predict....
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMargaret K. McElderry Books
    Release dateOct 18, 2011
    ISBN9781439115428
    Alphabet of Dreams
    Author

    Susan Fletcher

    Susan Fletcher was born in 1979 in Birmingham. ‘Eve Green’ was her first novel which went on to be a best-selling success. ‘Oystercatchers’ and ‘Witch Light’ followed. ‘The Silver Dark Sea’, her most recent novel, was published in 2012.

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    Reviews for Alphabet of Dreams

    4/5

    64 ratings7 reviews

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    • 2/5
      This book was really great. Mitra was a great sympathetic narrator and I really enjoyed learning more about ancient Persian culture. I did give it four stars because at times she became a little obsessed with whether or not certain young men thought she was a boy or a girl (she's really a girl hiding as a boy). Most of all I loved how the Magi were portrayed, each with a distinctive personality and each taking something from the miraculous meeting with the infant-king-to-be. Good read.
    • 5/5
      Alphabet of Dreams by Susan Fletcher - I'm a sucker for well-known stories re-told from a different perspective, Wicked by Gregory Maguire being one of my favorites along with books by Donna Jo Napoli, so Fletcher's novel caught my attention right away. As a former Catholic school girl, I know the New Testament story of the Three Magi pretty well, but Fletcher tells the story from the perspective of a Persian princess reduced to living in caves and stealing food after her family is slaughtered by her father's enemies. Mitra discovers quite by accident that her little brother, Babek, can dream other people's dreams, a skill that brings him to the attention of the Magus Melchior. Mitra and Babek journey to Bethlehem with Melchior and two other Magi to witness the birth of Christ, enduring all sorts of hardships and learning a thing or two about family in the process. I really liked Mitra -- as my grandmother used to day, she has pluck! --and I found Babek's gift fascinating and a little scary. The characters are well-drawn, especially the three Magi and the bodyguard who keeps Mitra and Babek safe. A lovely story all around...
    • 3/5
      Read for book club. Pleasant book for teens, nicely written, interesting info. A story set with the Three Wisemen. Relatively predictable.
    • 4/5
      Mitra a.k.a. Ramin (her boy name) looks after her little brother Babak ever since their older brother, Surin, left. She discovers that Babak has a talent for dreaming, and she sells his talent so they can survive. They try to find their older brother, but in the meantime are used by the Magus. An interesting but challenging read. I'd recommend it for girls.
    • 4/5
      beautifully written. wonderful detail of Persia at the time... sympathetic characters and surprisingly easy to identify with. I was mesmerized
    • 3/5
      Alphabet of Dreams by Susan Fletcher - Mitra and her little brother are refugees hiding from the King. Their crime is that their father plotted against the King. They huddle in caves by night and beg or steal in the city during the day. Mitra is shocked to find that her brother can dream truth for people if he sleeps with an item of theirs against his body. With the help of another beggar, she finds a way to make some money out of the talent. Things seem to be looking up as Mitra and Babak have enough to eat and are able to start some savings but trouble comes when not only do the King's officers come close to finding them but their beggar aide sells Babak to a magi. Mitra sets out to find Babak; she disguises herself as a boy since both her people and the Magi have gender taboos.There are many adventures, friendship, bad choices, and worry as Mitra and the Magi follow the bright star in the sky.
    • 4/5
      I’m a sucker for well-known stories re-told from a different perspective, Wicked by Gregory Maguire being one of my favorites along with books by Donna Jo Napoli, so Fletcher’s novel caught my attention right away. As a former Catholic school girl, I know the New Testament story of the Three Magi pretty well, but Fletcher tells the story from the perspective of a Persian princess reduced to living in caves and stealing food after her family is slaughtered by her father’s enemies. Mitra discovers quite by accident that her little brother, Babek, can dream other people’s dreams, a skill that brings him to the attention of the Magus Melchior. Mitra and Babek journey to Bethlehem with Melchior and two other Magi to witness the birth of Christ, enduring all sorts of hardships and learning a thing or two about family in the process. I really liked Mitra — as my grandmother used to day, she has pluck! –and I found Babek’s gift fascinating and a little scary. The characters are well-drawn, especially the three Magi and the bodyguard who keeps Mitra and Babek safe. A lovely story all around…

    Book preview

    Alphabet of Dreams - Susan Fletcher

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