I found this book while doing some random perusing of the YA section at the library. I looked it up on here and was surprised how many 5 star reviews it had, so I went for it. Honestly, I just never really got into it. I mean it was good. And it had some features that I really enjoyed - the ideas of dreamhunting is something I had never encountered before really. And the "Place" stuck me as a very real name...something people would name something that they couldn't explain and most couldn't see. A small detail, but one that really stuck out at me. I also liked the steampunk feel of the novel. I'm not too into the genre, but the old school camera/video references seem reminiscent of the genre. It's a cool feel. A chance to be historically minded but not have to follow all conventions or research of the time. I had a love/hate relationship with the dialogue - I liked that it wasn't stilted or teenager-y, but I also had a hard time following or understanding sometimes. It seemed as if the cousins were speaking in special code or...like since they knew each other so well, when they spoke they left out parts that they already know but other people, outsiders, wouldn't. It gave me a strange, disembodied feeling and maybe explains why I never felt a part of the story like I wanted to. But on the whole, for some reason I just didn't find myself as engrossed in the reading as I normally am. So even though that's not a real reason, that's why the 3 stars. I have the second one and am planning to read it as well. I don't like not knowing how things end. And I'm hoping I'll be able to get more into it.