Publishers Weekly
01/21/2019
In this dystopian novel by Rivera (The Education of Margot Sanchez), 16-year-old Chief Rocka leads her five-girl crew Las Mal Criadas, one of the violent all-female guardian gangs that keep order in Mega City, a metropolis still recovering from an earthquake that occurred generations ago. Rocka’s mother died when she was young, and her father and sister disappeared soon after, so the LMC is her only family. After losing a public match at the request of Déesse, Mega City’s leader, Rocka is asked to lead the LMC outside of the city into Cemi Territory to infiltrate the Ashé Ryders, a group that may pose a threat to Déesse’s society. The discoveries that Rocka and her crew make there will challenge their notions of how cultures should be organized. Rivera’s women-led metropolis may seem just at first, but later chapters reveal the society’s subjugation of men and strictly binary view of sexual identity, along with its citizens’ state-sponsored drug reliance. Rivera showcases multiple intricate character arcs and details several societies through impressive worldbuilding; young readers drawn to complex action novels that challenge conventions will find this read rewarding. Ages 14–up. (Mar.)
author of the New York Times Best-Selling series, Shadowshaper Cypher - Daniel José Older
"As brutal as it is beautiful, Dealing in Dreams pulls no punches, launching us on a wild, relentless ride through the cutthroat streets of this brilliantly-realized dystopian world, where hard choices can tear even the closest allies apart and danger lurks around every corner. This book will have you up late, turning pages frantically to find out what happens next. It is a marvelous achievement."
December 1, 2018 - Booklist - Starred Review
* "Taking cues from Judge Dredd, Mad Max, and The Hunger Games, Rivera...has created a uniquely brutal hellscape...Readers are left with a more ambiguous—and ambitious—tale that will have them questioning what kinds of people they’d be if freed from society’s mores."
#1 New York Times bestselling author of Basketball (And Other Things) and The Rap Year Book - Shea Serrano
"Dealing in Dreams is yet another smart, rich, fulfilling read from Lilliam Rivera, who has, through her last two books, solidified herself as one of today's boldest YA writers. It's one of those books where, as you find yourself sprinting toward the final pages, you're at once enthralled (because it's so gripping) and terrified (because you know soon you're going to be sucked up out of the world that Lilliam has built and dropped down back into the actual real world)."
author of the New York Times Best-Selling Zodiac Quartet - Romina Russell
ESPECTACULAR. I read this riveting revolutionary tale in a day because I could not pull away from the adventures of the legendary luchadoras Latinas, Las Mal Criadas. Chief Rocka is a powerhouse, the worldbuilding is sensational, and the themes are resoundingly relevant. The LMC has carved a permanent home in my heart."
March/April 2019 - The Horn Book
"A dystopian mixtape of boldness, sisterhood, and questioning the status quo, channeling the ethos of
the novel and film The Warriors and the comic mini-series Curb Stomp, this book leaves readers wanting more of Nalah and Las Mal Criadas."
The Bulletin Center for Children's Books
"This is no gender-reversed utopia but a female-cast totalitarian dystopia that’s compelling in its treatment of how things can go very, very wrong."
award-winning author of The Art of Starving - Sam J. Miller
"Lilliam Rivera has really stepped her game up. All the voice and verve that made The Education of Margot Sanchez such an unforgettable debut are on full display here, but now she's added an incredible science fiction future that can stand proudly beside Scott Westerfeld at his best."
Horn Book Magazine
Rivera weaves a story of self-discovery, blood relations and chosen families, substance addiction, and race into her sci-fi tale, including details from Afro and Indigenous Caribbean culture and history, showing resistance and survival—and blasting it to the future. A dystopian mixtape of boldness, sisterhood, and questioning the status quo...this book leaves readers wanting more of Nalah and Las Mal Criadas.
author of The Changeling - Victor LaValle
Lilliam Rivera is quickly carving out her own territory in the world of fiction that thrills the heart and enriches the soul. DEALING IN DREAMS is a book only she could write, daring and dramatic, and fiercely beautiful at its core.”
Ryan Gattis
"In Dealing in Dreams, Rivera sharply etches a world rooted in Latin culture where violence is the most common language, and belief in equality is a soul-stirring, revolutionary act."
Starred Booklist
Taking cues from Judge Dredd, Mad Max, and The Hunger Games, Rivera...has created a uniquely brutal hellscape...Readers are left with a more ambiguous—and ambitious—tale that will have them questioning what kinds of people they’d be if freed from society’s mores.
author of the New York Times Best-Selling series, Shadowshaper Cypher - Daniel José Older
"As brutal as it is beautiful, Dealing in Dreams pulls no punches, launching us on a wild, relentless ride through the cutthroat streets of this brilliantly-realized dystopian world, where hard choices can tear even the closest allies apart and danger lurks around every corner. This book will have you up late, turning pages frantically to find out what happens next. It is a marvelous achievement."
author of the New York Times Best-Selling Zodiac Quartet - Romina Garber
ESPECTACULAR. I read this riveting revolutionary tale in a day because I could not pull away from the adventures of the legendary luchadoras Latinas, Las Mal Criadas. Chief Rocka is a powerhouse, the worldbuilding is sensational, and the themes are resoundingly relevant. The LMC has carved a permanent home in my heart."
School Library Journal
★ Winter 2018
Gr 7 Up–Nalah, "Chief Rocka," heads a battle-ready crew of teenage girls known as Las Mal Criadas, brawling with other gangs to prove their dominance, patrolling the streets of Mega City, and enforcing the curfew established by Déesse, the city's ruler. Déesse's female dominated society is strictly stratified; young men are relegated to dancing in "boydegas" as entertainment for the girl crews, while most residents are "toilers," producing food pellets and "sueños" tablets, doled out to keep the populace compliant and on the precipice of addiction. Nalah is determined to leave the streets behind and join Déesse's inner circle, which means moving into a high-rise tower with Mega City's elite, who indulge in nightly parties and luxurious furnishings. When Déesse recruits Las Mal Criadas to scope out an infiltrating group outside of Mega City, the protagonist imagines their opportunity has finally arrived, but dangers and surprises abound beyond the city walls, testing Nalah's trust in her crew and their confidence in her. There is plenty of gritty action to propel readers through the plot, but it is Chief Rocka's internal struggles and vulnerabilities that are the most compelling and memorable. Rivera effectively presents the complexity of female relationships, which will resonate strongly with readers. Most notably, Rivera posits whether a society can really thrive when any one group dominates another, especially through violence and deception. VERDICT A novel exploration of societal roles, gender, and equality through the eyes of captivating lead. Recommended for all young adult collections.—Jessica Agudelo, New York Public Library
Kirkus Reviews
2018-12-09
Rivera (The Education of Margot Sanchez, 2017) crafts a feminist, futurist Latinx dystopia.
Mega City appears to be the only urban center left standing after a massive earthquake known colloquially as the Big Shake, a place where ideals of a feminist eutopia have devolved into gang violence, economic inequality, rampant drug addiction, and callous objectification of men. In this world of toxic femininity, Nalah, better known as Chief Rocka, leads a group of teen girls in patrolling the streets and pursuing an elusive dream of residing among the elite. When an assignment from on high sends Nalah and crew beyond the borders, she is exposed to new ideas and long-buried memories which threaten the foundations of her life. While addressing many hot-button issues, gender identity and expression lie at the heart of the drama. The pacing comes in fits and starts. Bursts of staccato action, frequently violent, are contrasted with languid interludes of pensive, often redundant, introspection. After spending much of the book blindly loyal to Mega City, the protagonist's inevitable change of heart comes with a rapidity once reserved only for the Grinch. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this leaves many loose ends, ample hanging threads ripe for a sequel. Though characters' ethnicities are never identified, the world they live in, which creatively flips the hallmarks of machismo on their head, is steeped in Latinx-Caribbean culture.
Intriguing premise but the verdict is still out. (Science fiction. 12-17)