Heather O’Neill’s The Capital of Dreams is the kind of book that feels like a fable wrapped in a dystopian war story. It follows fourteen-year-old Sofia Bottom as she tries to smuggle her mother’s manuscript out of Elysia, a once-thriving artistic haven now crumbling under authoritarian rule. It’s a poetic, surreal, and sometimes heartbreaking exploration of creativity, survival, and the power of stories.

O’Neill’s writing is undeniably beautiful—her prose has that dreamlike quality that makes you feel like you’re floating through a world both magical and cruel. But at times, the book gets a little too caught up in its own lyricism. There are moments when the storytelling meanders, becoming more about the words themselves than the plot, which can feel self-indulgent. Some sections feel convoluted, as if O’Neill is layering metaphor upon metaphor until you lose sight of what’s actually happening.

That said, the book is still powerful. Sofia is a compelling protagonist, navigating war-torn landscapes while wrestling with big existential questions. And the cast of side characters—including a talking goose with intellectual aspirations—adds both depth and whimsy. If you love books that blur the line between fairy tale and reality, you’ll probably appreciate this one. Just be prepared for a few detours along the way.