THE SEEMS

“Reality,” as we understand it, is a lie. Contrary to popular belief, a mysterious realm called The Seems has always maintained the world in which we live. Time, weather, dreams, colors and everything we perceive around us originates there, and earnest 12-year-old recruit Becker Drane is now The Seems’s youngest Fixer. Fixers go about mending damages to various elements so as to keep the world running smoothly. How unfortunate, then, that the boy’s first job may lead to the end of reality itself—if he happens to screw up. There’s a glitch in the production of sleep, and Earth is currently beset by worldwide insomnia. Becker soon learns through trial and error that mistakes happen, and that working through them is sometimes the only way to get out of a sticky situation. Metaphors and turns of phrase take on new meanings without feeling overdone in this engaging title. The authors have a firm grasp on the potential complexity of their world, and the end result can only be described as fun. (Fiction. 11-14)