3.5/5 ⭐️
If I had a nickel for every book I’ve read so far in 2025 where I love the first half but really don’t like the second, I would have 2 nickels. It’s not a lot, but it’s strange it happened twice in one month.
This book started off so strong. I loved it. I was gobbling it up so fast. It was very easy to read. And I loved how it was written so you felt like you yourself were drugged, the prose coming across as slow & short. Then as she is off the drugs, things & the reading pace picks up too. I loved the atmosphere and characters and what was happening in the first half. Second half felt like it was written by a different author and they Frankenstein the two halves together. If the first part was slow, the second was a speed racer. It was more like an outline of what the author wanted to happen but hadn’t gone back to flesh things out.
But thinking about it, it hit me why this story really didn’t work. Emily shouldn’t have been the main character. The major issue with her is her lack of believable motivation. Everything that happens felt forced, like a kid playing with toy Barbies. Margie, a secondary character on the Cure club, should’ve been the main character. Her “normal” twin sister provides excellent natural motivation. The story could’ve started with her twin seeing again after X number of years. Because at a certain age they have a class where they interact with students from the neighboring school to help them re-assimilate into society. Maybe Margie always felt something was off, but because of the drugs didn’t know what until she sees her sister. Her sister could each visit voice that she’s trying to get her out, her struggle to get people to believe her, and begging Margie to stop taking the drugs. Finally Margie remembers and does or is brave enough to do it and meets others who aren’t taking the drugs in a way similar to how Emily did. But with the love between twins and an outsider and having the club they start discussing what to do to change things. Not that Emily was justified in wanting that too, but she lacked the believable motivation to make her a main character.
I also personally hated the whole the romance thing. Saw it from a mile away and rolled my eyes so hard. Like of course she’d go for broody guy that doesn’t want her in the club. And once again I got the sensation of the author playing with them like Barbies and not real people. They like that type but didn’t see that they don’t work. Two paranoid people? No way. Plus there was no chemistry. Not like there was with Gabriel whose lively, carelessness would’ve balanced her paranoia.
Overall, probably would recommend to others. It was fine. But it was disappointing for me. I loved the first half. But because Emily was not the right main character, lacking believable motivations and growth, the wheels easily fell off at the midpoint, causing the second half to be almost painful to get through. It’s just extra sad and annoying cause there was so much potential and skill, it just didn’t stick the landing.
Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic for providing an advance reader copy of this book for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Sixteen year old Emily Emerson attends a boarding school for children who suffer from the horrible Grimm Cross Syndrome. At the Wildsmoor Facility, Emily and the other students are given drugs to control their power and are under strict supervision by armed guards. They have very little freedom; their lives are very regimented. However, after Emily spills her medication and learns how to control her ability to astral project herself across the countryside. Throughout the course of the book, Emily finds herself attracted to the mysterious Emir.

I thought was a wonderful story about discovering one's place in the world and accepting others for who they are. There is some minor foul language in the book (Shit and damn appear a couple of times.) There's also a scene with some kissing. Overall, it's a pretty tame book as far as language goes, and I agree with the publisher that the book is appropriate for ages 14+.

I am not awaring the book a full five stars because some of the secondary characters need more development.

A YA fantasy novel (seems to be a start to a series) that borders on a similar plot line as X-Men. Some kids are born with what is known as the “Grimm” which is at first described as a disease that requires treatment. The ones who have it are sent to facilities where they are drugged regularly and go through treatment until they are deemed cured by their 18th birthday. During an incident, Emily looses her pills she was suppose to take and, as her head clears from the drugs, she realizes not everything she’s been told is true.

The story started slow, as we are following Emily, who is drugged and is just slow at processing everything due to the drugs. The author did a great job portraying the shift in Emily’s personality as she detoxed from the drugs she had been on. I felt like that whole process made sense and I felt the stress of trying to control something you didn’t understand. The different powers that each kid had were all very interesting and well thought out as far as how they would work. I also really enjoyed the connection between the “Grimm” school and the neighboring “regular” school. I appreciated the author not taking the obvious mean girl route with those characters.

There were two things that bothered me: the author played it safe with side characters and plot lines, and the MC was unbelievably self aware,
It’s pretty obvious that this is intended to be the start of a series, so maybe their are plans to do this as it continues, but she really could have started some villain plot lines that she didn’t do and the couple she did were actually kind of lame. In fact, one in particular wasn’t really even villainous, she just saw things differently (and it could be argued that she was a better person than even the main character). Also, the whole book was extremely rated G and then she throws in a strange scene that suddenly jumps the book to PG-13. It didn’t feel uniform. And the few deaths that occurred were all of side, minor characters that I never got invested in therefore had no real impact. I felt nothing for them. Either develop your side characters better or kill off someone “important.”

The MC is also unrealistically self aware. This girl has been in an institution and drugged since she was 7. You’re telling me a 16 year old, in a matter of days of being off medication and learning her powers understands how deep her trauma goes and how she’s projecting her father into her nightmare creations? And knows how to fix it? Nope, not buying it.

Bottom line, this was a decent premise that just seemed poorly planned. There really needed to be more editing done, more thoughts on what kind of story this author was looking to write, how to create deep, complex, relatable characters that the reader cares about. As it stands, I don’t feel connected to the characters or story enough to care what happens in the next book (if there is another one).

***Thank you NetGalley, Megan Freeman, and Chicken House for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.***

When I first started the book .. I thought the storyline was great. I was impressed with the writing and wanted to love the story.
I wanted more from Emily. I thought she had it in her. I also thought that the book portrayed her as weak-minded which was sad because I felt like there were bits and pieces of spunk and that I would love her.
The members of The Cure didn't help me love the book. I wanted to love this read but it fell short for me. I just wanted more excitement, more something, more umph. Page after page felt like I was reading the same thing.

Thank you Netgalley and Chicken House for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A Better Nightmare
by Megan Freeman
YA Fantasy Science Fiction
NetGalley eARC
Pub Date: Feb 4, 2025
Scholastic
Ages: 14+

The Wildsmoor Facility isn't your typical school. The students there are dangerous; carriers of the Grimm Cross Syndrome, and to keep its dangerous symptoms under control, the children are drugged into a zombie-like state, live behind locked doors and under the strict guidance and rules of Matron, their abusive caretaker, and the guardians, who carry tasers and guns.

Now sixteen, Emily was taken to the facility when she was eight because her nightmare came to life. But when a boy had an episode, Emily fell and her medication scattered across the floor only to be picked up by another boy. Afraid to tell what had happened, fearing punishment, she went through withdrawals, but when she was given her next dose, she didn't take them.


This one started off slow, which did suit the MC's drugged state, and it did pick up a little as the story progressed, but it was still a little too slow for me, which gave it a monotone feeling. Sure they were drugged, but the story, characters, etc, all felt flat.

And while the kids labeled their gifts as magic, even referring to the banned books they found hidden in a locked room, I didn't see witches/wizards/magicians, I saw mutants because each kid had their own special gift.

Not a bad story, but similar to others where the characters have gifts, and the romance part was the typical enemies-to-lovers type situation, but at least there wasn't any 'adult content', but a little bit more than kissing does happen, though what isn't exactly mentioned. There is violence, not really descriptive or gory, but it involves kids, beatings, isolation, drugs, tasers, guns, blood, and adults bullying kids, so it's suitable for non-sensitive readers fourteen and older.

Yes, I get why it was a slower read, but if there had been something more colorful in the story/writing it could have earned it one more star.

2 Stars

Title:   A Better Nightmare
Author:  Megan Freeman       
Genre: YA        
Rating:  3.5 out of 5

Emily Emerson is nearly sixteen, finally a senior at the Wildsmoor Facility. But so is Meera, isn’t she? Meera, who is nineteen and has been a senior for as long as Emily can remember? Here, the students live each day as shadows, one day blurring into the next, hardly aware of life passing them by while the symptoms of the Grimm Cross Syndrome that afflicts them all is trained out of them. Rules. Order. Repetition. Medication.

Emily was eight when she started showing signs of the disease. Odd dreams, hallucinations – impossible things that happened around her. Unconscious thoughts that could be set free into the world—flowers that covered the house, thick like a forest and sowed with nothing more than her unconscious thoughts. It was beautiful until it turned evil, when Emily did her first bad thing and found herself here. Now, she’ll do anything to get better and get back to her life. She’ll be more quiet and obedient than everyone else.

Until she meets Emir.

Emir isn’t like the other kids at Wildsmoor. He’s quicker and livelier. He says things that he shouldn’t – dangerous things. Emir is electric, magnetic in more ways than Emily can know.

When Emir introduces her to The Cure, a secret society for kids who believe that The Grimm isn’t a disease at all, but a gift, Emily starts to wake up, and so do her strange abilities. The outcome is a dream come true. But sometimes the best dreams and the worst nightmares have the same people in them.

This wasn’t a bad book, but Emily didn’t really do anything: she just let everything happen to her. Emir was a jerk, and so were several of the other main members of the Cure. His sudden change of heart wasn’t very believable, and I feel like so much that could have added depth to this story was just glossed over, leaving me feeling like I was reading a summary and not an actual story. This is a miss for me, unfortunately, as the premise is great and I was interested to read it. The execution just didn’t live up to it, though.

Megan Freeman is from Cornwall. A Better Nightmare is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Scholastic/Chicken House in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 2/8.)

If you liked the “Shatter Me” series you’ll love this.

In not so distant future, children are starting to change. They begin to manifest different abilities, a disease called the Grimm. By law these children must be sent to special faculties for rehabilitation. The strict rules of the school are oppressive but with the daily drugs given out no one notices. 16 year old Emily has been in the facility since she was 8, misses her medication one day and begins to wake up and realize she’s not the only one. She hopes to navigate and control her power and overcome her fears in hopes one day they all can be free.

I love a great dystopian novel and throw in super powers I’m defiantly all for it. I loved this story so much and I sincerely hope the author explores more of this work in future books.

This book was a little younger feeling than I expected it to be. While it wasn't for me, I think those that enjoy YA dystopian will really enjoy it. Emily was a very well rounded character, which always helps make the story much more enjoyable. It was well written and I'd be interested in checking out more by Ms. Freeman in the future.

Megan Freeman does a fantastic job in writing this book, it had that element that I wanted and was engaged from the first page. I enjoyed the way the characters were written and enjoyed the overall feel of this book. It worked as a young adult romance novel and was enjoying the overall feel of this.