Dreaming in Color: Seeing Red by Anne Louise MacDonald

Frankie Uccello is thirteen years old and basically the most ordinary guy you can think of–he loves skateboarding, he’s not that keen on girls yet–except for one thing nobody knows about him: every once in a while, he dreams about the future, and the dreams come true. Whenever Frankie has a dream in which a particular color recurs portentously, he knows that he has to keep an eye out.

When Frankie dreams he’s a black bird, flying, and then crashes to the ground, he doesn’t think much of it at first, even though it’s a red dream. But when he finds an injured stormy petrel in an alley behind the school, he remembers the other part of his dream: someone in a red jacket falling from a black horse. His best friend Tim owns a black horse…and later that week, Frankie’s dad signs them both up as volunteers to help special needs kids who visit a horse farm as therapy.

Now, Frankie may be a skateboarding maven, but he’s terrified of horses–and after his dream, he’s scared that Tim might be in danger. Not only that, when he shows up at the horse farm, one of the weirdest girls in his class turns out to be a volunteer, too. Maura-Lee always seems to be hiding something, doesn’t talk much, and has a reputation for being able to read minds. And now he’s got to deal with her, too.

This is a good solid novel about friendship and learning to trust others–and learning when to trust your own instincts, too. The concrete details about skateboarding and horse riding really bring Frankie’s world to life, and I enjoyed reading a story set in Nova Scotia for a change. The supernatural edginess kept me turning the pages throughout the book–plus I’m a sucker for the idea of prophetic dreams. A fast-paced read for older MG/younger YA readers.

Note: This review was based on an advance review copy.

Buy Seeing Red from an independent bookstore near you!