This book is a 2007 Science Fiction & Fantasy Cybils Award Nominee.
Okay, so he was already brilliant — when Becker Drane was a third grader, he was already studying biology. He was just interested in things, and the world rewarded his interest by making him really, really smart. Becker was so smart that he took tests for fun, like the cool little aptitude test he’d found in his favorite coffee shop, Chapter 1. It was just a little test for something called The Seems, and there was a question about “what would you do, if you had to remake the world from scratch – what kind of world would you create?” Becker had more than just “an idea” of what kind of world he’d create. Becker’s response included charts and diagrams and arrows.
That’s why he got the job.
That was all three fast-paced years ago. Becker Drane has been working for The Seems — the people who work in the background to maintain the world and everything in it, including you, your dreams, your hopes and your sleep, all with trademarked and patent-pending tools. He’s been working his way up, and now he’s a Fixer — but already on his first Mission, he’s in trouble. Unfortunately, the cool tools aren’t always enough. Sometimes, things in The Seems just break down. And that’s just it — there’s something wrong in Sleep. It seems that there’s a glitch loose in the system, and it may be that The Tide has struck again.
The Tide is a guerrilla organization who believes that The Seems should step aside and let them run The World — and they may have recruited one of Becker’s best friends in The Seems to work with them. How can you work against your best friend? If it’s The World that you have to save, however — how can you not?
The Seems: The Glitch in Sleep looks to be book one of a fascinating series for younger teens. Clever and fast-paced against the background of a benevolent organization who only wants the world to work right, this story has almost an allegorical feel as it pits those on the side of good against the changes that The Tide wants to make. A lighthearted quick adventure and loads of fun.
(P.S. – 20th Century Fox recently optioned the rights to the film version of “The Seems,” with Shawn Levy, director of “Night at the Museum,” attached to direct. Because this is an action/adventure novel, the potential for this being fun is excellent!)
