Fun Reads Friday: “The Dream Heist” on Kindle Vella

Have you discovered Kindle Vella? If not, let me sing its praises. As an avid reader, I like to sneak in a few minutes of page turning every chance I get. If I’m waiting in line, I usually hit the headlines on a news app or surf Instagram. Now I find myself in the Vella section of the Kindle app.

Vella is a section of Kindle that specializes in serial stories. That is, it’s a platform that offers thousands of stories in multiple genres for you to binge-read like you would binge-watch TV shows or listen to podcasts. Each episode lasts about five minutes, enough time to shuffle your way to the front of a line. For more information on Vella’s costs and technology, check out my personal blog.

This week, I’m reading Christina Farley’s The Dream Heist, a young adult thriller. The author has posted 73 heart-stopping episodes on Kindle Vella and seems to have no plans to wrap it up anytime soon. She has previously published a three-book series, Gilded, through Skyscape and a stand-alone called The Princess and the Page.

The Dream Heist begins with the main character, Aria Hale, climbing into a sleep pod in her father’s laboratory. In a quest to restore memories to dementia patients, her father has developed a device that allows members of his staff to enter the dreams of his patients. Aria and three friends are part-time members of that staff. Several times a week before school, they climb into sleep pods and enter the dreams of Dr. Hale’s patients to locate their storage vaults of memories.

One morning, Aria discovers herself in a classmate’s dream. How could he be a dementia patient? He’s her age. After she awakens, she quizzes her father, but he brushes away her concerns. Then their house is robbed while he’s home alone. The intruders beat him so severely that he ends up in the hospital, yet he still won’t answer Aria’s questions.

Her classmate starts flirting with her, and a sleep pod colleague begins to put the pieces together. Aria has no idea whom to trust, but she must figure it out before something worse happens to her father and his laboratory. Since there’s no ending to the story, I can’t give it away, but I will say that there are lots of surprises, twists, and turns that have kept me on the edge of my seat. I highly recommend it for both male and female teens.

An added benefit to the serial style of reading is that the author leaves comments at the end of each episode. She discusses the science behind dreams and even writes a little about her grandmother, who suffered from dementia. I love this personal touch.

To access Vella, go to the Kindle app, scroll to the bottom and click the Discover tab, then tap Kindle Vella. You’ll find a robust choice of genres, each featuring hundreds of stories. Like all Amazon books, they have popularity stars, customer reviews, and helpful book descriptions.

Let me know how you like it by commenting below!