This Dream Will Devour Us

This Dream Will Devour Us by Emma Clancey (Allen & Unwin) RRP: $24.99 ISBN 9781761181221

Reviewed by Rebecca Fung

This Dream Will Devour Us is a young adult fantasy, starting in a magic school, in a world where an elite, powerful and rich family holds the key to all the magic and our protagonist, Nora, finds herself with a chance to get her toe in.

Does this sound familiar? There are a lot of themes here that have appeared in many other books before and you may ask yourself, can this book do something fresh with them? I'm glad to say, yes.

Nora wins a lottery to the magical Dream Gala held by the ultra-rich Lamour family. The problem is that she didn't enter. However, now that she's got the invitation, she decides she might as well exploit the opportunity and she quickly negotiates life-saving medical treatment for her brother, some cash for herself and a letter of recommendation to magic school - her dream. I liked Nora's resourcefulness immediately.

Part of the deal includes faking a relationship with the younger Lamour son, Remy, who is cold to her. Henri, the older brother, is far more charismatic and interested in negotiating. Nora is plunged into a world of spectacles, glamour, movie stars and drugs. That's how magic works in this world. The Lamours have control of levincium which gives you access to magic. In this world, magic is a science and a chemical - an intriguing idea.

While the backdrop of the story is fantasy, this is mostly about power and high society. It's a young adult version of Succession. We have impossibly rich people, we have family members squabbling about what will happen when the next becomes a director of the board, we have loyal staff and friends of the family, and we have a part-relative who's angling to get more recognition in the Lamour family. Plus, parties, drugs and paparazzi. It's an irresistible combination.

Nora thinks her main goal is to ensure her initial deal is fulfilled but soon she's unravelling secrets that the other characters she meets carry. There's more to Remy than meets the eye. Dom is a movie star and he's smooth - but can he be trusted?