Sol Luckman’s Snooze is anything but!

Starting with the unfortunate title, Snooze has a lot working against it. With dreams as the central topic, this young adult fiction also touches broadly on conspiracy theory and metaphysics—so you might see why I was nervous from the beginning. I swore off YA some years ago, too loathe to enter yet another school of wizards, mutants, or wierdos.

I pulled this massive book from its packaging, almost 500 pages, with the uninspired silhouette of a boy either flying or falling on its cover; I wondered, did I make a mistake? It wouldn’t be the first independently published book I’d regret—not that the offerings from the major houses fare any better these days…

I cracked the book open and began to read. I found Luckman’s style to be easy and engaging. His chapters were short and sweet. Almost before I knew it, I’d polished off a dozen as I caught up with Max in Florida, his best friend, Tuesday Monday, and the adoring father that called him, “Snooze”. Though I worried Max and company might get lost in the fringes of metaphysical conspiracy weirdness; Luckman weaved in the paranormal with a deft and light touch. A levitating glass was treated with wonder and awe by the characters, and also had me gaping—though I expected a good deal more.

And I got it! The dream world was in all ways consistent with the logic Luckman gave it—though I might say it was a touch pedestrian. Of course, I’m a 42 year old with a lifetime of conspiracy-fringe-weirdness under his belt, and I’m reading a book that was written for people 12-18 year-olds, with presumably much less exposure. No. My biggest complaint was that after 477 pages, the book ended too soon, before a proper denouement; Max meeting with Tuesday, Raul, and Pablo. There was still a certain someone free in the wind, at large, and looking to cause more trouble—or to be shown doing a perp walk—I’d be cool with that too. I’d also like a bit of a courtship between Maizy and Thomas, as they drove up the coast. That’d be mighty fine too. So this is how I figure it. I figure you owe me, Sol Luckman. I figure you owe me another 10 or 20 pages, and until I get it, you shall suffer this rating and be glad for it.

9 out of 10!

Sincerely,

-M. Andrew Jones, 2020/02/20