Welcome To The Inner Workings of Brent's Brain

ABOUT THIS GUIDE

The information, activities and discussion questions which follow are intended to enhance your reading of Dreamquest. Please feel free to adapt these materials to suit your needs and interests.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

BRENT HARTINGER was a writer from the start, publishing his own newspaper, the Weekly Worm, with friends Tom and Tim, from the third through eighth grades. Determined to make writing his adult career, he lived frugally, taking odd jobs and writing freelance. Over fifteen years, Brent wrote eight novels, twelve plays, fifteen screenplays and many short stories. His breakthrough came with the 2003 publication of Geography Club (HarperCollins) followed by sequels The Order of the Poison Oak (2005) and Split Screen (2007). Other books include The Last Chance Texaco (HarperCollins, 2004) and Grand & Humble (HarperCollins, 2006). Frequently named Book Sense Picks, TeenReads.com "Best Books," and ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers, Brent’s novels have been cited on such award lists as IRA Notables, Lambda Literary Award Finalist, and Booklist Top Ten First Young Adult Novels. His plays have been produced nationwide and he has several screenplays optioned and in development, including a film version of Geography Club. Brent is a co-facilitator of Oasis, a gay teen support organization; a co-founder of Authors Supporting Intellectual Freedom (AS IF!); and a faculty member of the Vermont College Writing Program. On his website, Brent notes that one of the best things about being a writer is “having people say they liked or were somehow touched by your work. It just never gets old.” Mr. Hartinger and his partner, novelist Michael Jensen, live near Seattle, Washington.

WRITING AND RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

I. WORD PLAYS AND UPSIDE-DOWN CLICHES

A. The author turns the life of the mind into a three-dimensional adventure by transforming such phrases as “creative juices” into a literal sea and embodying such clichés as “lawyers are sharks” in characters like Bentley, a lawyer who is, literally, a shark. Make a list of other examples of wordplay used in the story.

B. Use a dictionary to find several definitions for Julie’s last name, “Fray.” Write a short essay explaining how one or more of these definitions makes sense in terms of what is happening to her character.

C. Take a moment to go outside one evening to watch the sunset. Write several paragraphs describing this experience. Then, using clues from the novel and your own imagination, write a complimentary description of a “moonset.”

D. Can you rearrange the letters of “Alucard” (the castle’s name) to make another word that describes the count? What words can you form from the letters of “Vivian Clavier” that describe this character? Find a definition for the literary term “anagram” and discuss how anagrams, and other types of wordplay, are used in the novel.

E. Create an anagram, word search, crossword or other word puzzle using terms and ideas from the story. Make copies of your puzzle to share with friends or classmates.

II. DREAMS AND DREAMERS

A. Write a short essay describing a dream or nightmare you have experienced. Include as many details as you can remember. Were there colors, sounds, or textures? Was there a problem you were trying to solve? Were characters from your real life part of your dream? When and where were you sleeping when you had this dream? Did the dream have any relationship to events taking place in your life at the time?

B. Live a dream. With friends or classmates, create a dramatic presentation based on the dream you described in the exercise above. Or bring to life a scene from Dreamquest, using live actors, puppets or computer animation techniques. Present your “living dream” play or movie to an audience if possible.

C . Imagine Dreamquest is being made into a movie. Using pencils, pastels or other art media, draw several costume or set designs for favorite scenes and characters from the novel. Be sure to note the page numbers of the descriptive passages from the text which inspired your drawings.

D. The author has created an imaginary dream world based on movie and television images and ideas. Draw, describe and/or diagram another dream world of your own imagining. Are dreams made on a desert island? Inside a computer? What characters, if any, make and control the dreams? For whom do they make the dreams?

III. REALITY WRITES (AND POWERPOINTS AND BLOGS)

A. Imagine you have found your way in Count Alucard’s castle, and are looking into the “Mirror of the Minds.” How did you get to the castle? What do you see in the mirror? Write a short story describing your experience.

B. In the character of a Trull or Knight-Bird, write a description of your first encounter with Julie. Is she friend or foe? How is she different from others in Slumberia? Draw a sketch of your character to accompany the description.

C. In the character of Roman, write a letter or journal entry describing how you feel about your job and/or a letter explaining how meeting Julie has helped you or changed the course of your life in Slumberia.

D. Design an imaginary blog for Bentley, Meg, Constance, Vivian or other Dreamquest character. Include an autobiographical description, list of goals, postings, a list of pictures or web links you would include, and any other information you imagine this character would include. Make sure to give the blog a fun name.

E. Imagine you are a dream executive. Develop a PowerPoint or other computer-based presentation that explains the contracts you used to organize Slumberia and describes your future plans for Julie’s dreams. Present your report to friends or classmates.

F. In the character of Julie, write a letter to your mom or dad explaining how troubled you feel and asking them to help in some way. If desired, exchange letters with friends or classmates for a read-aloud session, then discuss the similarities and differences in your letter-writing approaches to Julie’s problem.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. Where does the author place Julie in the very first sentence of the novel? How does this image help readers understand her character? If you had one sentence to place yourself as a character within a dream, what sentence would you write?

2. How does the author use Julie’s parents’ careers to show the ways in which they battle for her loyalty and affection? How does Julie feel about her parents’ jobs? How does Julie’s family situation affect the rest of her life?

3. How is waking in Slumberia different from an ordinary dream? What are Julie’s first reactions to this new environment? What does she decide to do?

4. Who is Roman? What is your reaction to his statement that “…without writers, there wouldn’t be any dreams at all”? Describe the friendship that forms between Roman and Julie in the course of the novel.

5. List the stops Julie makes on her journey to the offices of the dream executives. Who does she meet along the way? Are these many stops important? Why or why not?

6. Who is Vivian Clavier? What has she done with the Creative Juices? Compare and contrast the characters of Vivian and Julie. Are they exact opposites of each other? Explain.

7. Who is Meg? How did she get her job? What is the difference between a silk worm and a glowworm? Is this important to the story? Why or why not?

8. Who is Bentley? How does he feel about himself? Do any other characters in the story feel similarly about themselves?

9. How does Count Alucard explain existence, the human brain and Slumberia itself? Do his explanations interest, excite or frighten you? Who defeats Count Alucard and how?

10. What does Julie discover about the faces of the Moon People? What is unusual about the faces of the dream executives? How does Julie feel about each of them?

11. What does Vivan do to Julie’s “real life”? How does this add to the seriousness of Julie’s situation? Why doesn’t Julie simply rush back to the Creative Juices tank instead of continuing her search for the dream executives?

12. What are the Trull? What are Knight-Birds? How are these creatures’ appearances different from their actions and feelings? How is the notion of the difference between appearance and reality an important theme in the novel?

13. Make a list of the inventive creature and place names, such as grognits, Mount Quintessence and The Neuronal Swamp, used in the novel. How does the author use playful or metaphoric language to add dimension to his story?

14. How does Julie begin to gain control in the office of the dream executives? What actions does she take?

15. What are at least two ways to interpret the title of Chapter Ten, “The Bottom Line”? Why do you think the author titled the final chapter “Dreamgirl”?

16. What role, or roles, do contracts play throughout the novel? Why do you think the author chose to stress this concept? What types of contracts, or other agreements, important in your own life?

17. How does Julie help to change Slumberia? Describe how her actions change the landscape. What happens to the residents of Slumberia?

18. Does Julie complete her quest before moonset? How does she escape from Slumberia? What happens to Vivian? What, if anything, is different now?

19. In Chapter One, Julie observes that “Dreams were like parents, where you didn’t have any control whatsoever.” Do you agree or disagree? At the end of the story, how might Julie feel about this early statement?

20. Has Julie’s “dreamquest” been just a dream? Explain your answer.



				Dreamquest by Brent Hartinger ABOUT Dreamquest Eleven-year-old Julie’s nightmares have become almost unbearable. Waking life is little better as she is caught between feuding parents whose marriage is a bad dream of its own. Then shy Julie tumbles into her own subconscious—a bizarre movie-studio of the mind—where her struggles to stop the “dream producers” from wreaking havoc with her emotions are nearly thwarted by her vain, ambitious alter-ego, Vivian. Brent Hartinger’s lyrical adventure romps through the imagined unconscious, where Moon People, talking sharks, vampires, and myriad other fantastic characters inspire readers to ponder the questions: Can dreams affect reality? Is reality just a dream?


				ABOUT THIS GUIDE The information, activities and discussion questions which follow are intended to enhance your reading of Dreamquest. Please feel free to adapt these materials to suit your needs and interests. ABOUT THE AUTHOR BRENT HARTINGER was a writer from the start, publishing his own newspaper, the Weekly Worm, with friends Tom and Tim, from the third through eighth grades. Determined to make writing his adult career, he lived frugally, taking odd jobs and writing freelance. Over fifteen years, Brent wrote eight novels, twelve plays, fifteen screenplays and many short stories. His breakthrough came with the 2003 publication of Geography Club (HarperCollins) followed by sequels The Order of the Poison Oak (2005) and Split Screen (2007). Other books include The Last Chance Texaco (HarperCollins, 2004) and Grand & Humble (HarperCollins, 2006). Frequently named Book Sense Picks, TeenReads.com "Best Books," and ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers, Brent’s novels have been cited on such award lists as IRA Notables, Lambda Literary Award Finalist, and Booklist Top Ten First Young Adult Novels. His plays have been produced nationwide and he has several screenplays optioned and in development, including a film version of Geography Club. Brent is a co-facilitator of Oasis, a gay teen support organization; a co-founder of Authors Supporting Intellectual Freedom (AS IF!); and a faculty member of the Vermont College Writing Program. On his website, Brent notes that one of the best things about being a writer is “having people say they liked or were somehow touched by your work. It just never gets old.” Mr. Hartinger and his partner, novelist Michael Jensen, live near Seattle, Washington. WRITING AND RESEARCH ACTIVITIES I. WORD PLAYS AND UPSIDE-DOWN CLICHES A. The author turns the life of the mind into a three-dimensional adventure by transforming such phrases as “creative juices” into a literal sea and embodying such clichés as “lawyers are sharks” in characters like Bentley, a lawyer who is, literally, a shark. Make a list of other examples of wordplay used in the story. B. Use a dictionary to find several definitions for Julie’s last name, “Fray.” Write a short essay explaining how one or more of these definitions makes sense in terms of what is happening to her character. C. Take a moment to go outside one evening to watch the sunset. Write several paragraphs describing this experience. Then, using clues from the novel and your own imagination, write a complimentary description of a “moonset.” D. Can you rearrange the letters of “Alucard” (the castle’s name) to make another word that describes the count? What words can you form from the letters of “Vivian Clavier” that describe this character? Find a definition for the literary term “anagram” and discuss how anagrams, and other types of wordplay, are used in the novel. E. Create an anagram, word search, crossword or other word puzzle using terms and ideas from the story. Make copies of your puzzle to share with friends or classmates. II. DREAMS AND DREAMERS A. Write a short essay describing a dream or nightmare you have experienced. Include as many details as you can remember. Were there colors, sounds, or textures? Was there a problem you were trying to solve? Were characters from your real life part of your dream? When and where were you sleeping when you had this dream? Did the dream have any relationship to events taking place in your life at the time? B. Live a dream. With friends or classmates, create a dramatic presentation based on the dream you described in the exercise above. Or bring to life a scene from Dreamquest, using live actors, puppets or computer animation techniques. Present your “living dream” play or movie to an audience if possible. C . Imagine Dreamquest is being made into a movie. Using pencils, pastels or other art media, draw several costume or set designs for favorite scenes and characters from the novel. Be sure to note the page numbers of the descriptive passages from the text which inspired your drawings. D. The author has created an imaginary dream world based on movie and television images and ideas. Draw, describe and/or diagram another dream world of your own imagining. Are dreams made on a desert island? Inside a computer? What characters, if any, make and control the dreams? For whom do they make the dreams? III. REALITY WRITES (AND POWERPOINTS AND BLOGS) A. Imagine you have found your way in Count Alucard’s castle, and are looking into the “Mirror of the Minds.” How did you get to the castle? What do you see in the mirror? Write a short story describing your experience. B. In the character of a Trull or Knight-Bird, write a description of your first encounter with Julie. Is she friend or foe? How is she different from others in Slumberia? Draw a sketch of your character to accompany the description. C. In the character of Roman, write a letter or journal entry describing how you feel about your job and/or a letter explaining how meeting Julie has helped you or changed the course of your life in Slumberia. D. Design an imaginary blog for Bentley, Meg, Constance, Vivian or other Dreamquest character. Include an autobiographical description, list of goals, postings, a list of pictures or web links you would include, and any other information you imagine this character would include. Make sure to give the blog a fun name. E. Imagine you are a dream executive. Develop a PowerPoint or other computer-based presentation that explains the contracts you used to organize Slumberia and describes your future plans for Julie’s dreams. Present your report to friends or classmates. F. In the character of Julie, write a letter to your mom or dad explaining how troubled you feel and asking them to help in some way. If desired, exchange letters with friends or classmates for a read-aloud session, then discuss the similarities and differences in your letter-writing approaches to Julie’s problem. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. Where does the author place Julie in the very first sentence of the novel? How does this image help readers understand her character? If you had one sentence to place yourself as a character within a dream, what sentence would you write? 2. How does the author use Julie’s parents’ careers to show the ways in which they battle for her loyalty and affection? How does Julie feel about her parents’ jobs? How does Julie’s family situation affect the rest of her life? 3. How is waking in Slumberia different from an ordinary dream? What are Julie’s first reactions to this new environment? What does she decide to do? 4. Who is Roman? What is your reaction to his statement that “…without writers, there wouldn’t be any dreams at all”? Describe the friendship that forms between Roman and Julie in the course of the novel. 5. List the stops Julie makes on her journey to the offices of the dream executives. Who does she meet along the way? Are these many stops important? Why or why not? 6. Who is Vivian Clavier? What has she done with the Creative Juices? Compare and contrast the characters of Vivian and Julie. Are they exact opposites of each other? Explain. 7. Who is Meg? How did she get her job? What is the difference between a silk worm and a glowworm? Is this important to the story? Why or why not? 8. Who is Bentley? How does he feel about himself? Do any other characters in the story feel similarly about themselves? 9. How does Count Alucard explain existence, the human brain and Slumberia itself? Do his explanations interest, excite or frighten you? Who defeats Count Alucard and how? 10. What does Julie discover about the faces of the Moon People? What is unusual about the faces of the dream executives? How does Julie feel about each of them? 11. What does Vivan do to Julie’s “real life”? How does this add to the seriousness of Julie’s situation? Why doesn’t Julie simply rush back to the Creative Juices tank instead of continuing her search for the dream executives? 12. What are the Trull? What are Knight-Birds? How are these creatures’ appearances different from their actions and feelings? How is the notion of the difference between appearance and reality an important theme in the novel? 13. Make a list of the inventive creature and place names, such as grognits, Mount Quintessence and The Neuronal Swamp, used in the novel. How does the author use playful or metaphoric language to add dimension to his story? 14. How does Julie begin to gain control in the office of the dream executives? What actions does she take? 15. What are at least two ways to interpret the title of Chapter Ten, “The Bottom Line”? Why do you think the author titled the final chapter “Dreamgirl”? 16. What role, or roles, do contracts play throughout the novel? Why do you think the author chose to stress this concept? What types of contracts, or other agreements, important in your own life? 17. How does Julie help to change Slumberia? Describe how her actions change the landscape. What happens to the residents of Slumberia? 18. Does Julie complete her quest before moonset? How does she escape from Slumberia? What happens to Vivian? What, if anything, is different now? 19. In Chapter One, Julie observes that “Dreams were like parents, where you didn’t have any control whatsoever.” Do you agree or disagree? At the end of the story, how might Julie feel about this early statement? 20. Has Julie’s “dreamquest” been just a dream? Explain your answer.