Public Book
They Meet in Dreams
A Queer Coming-of-Age Novel
by H. B. Wasiak
About the Book
It’s 1999, and Max Reid’s summer gets pretty weird when a boy from his dreams starts feeling way too real. Seventeen-year-old Max seems to have it all. He’s popular with girls, great at baseball, always surrounded by friends. But behind the jokes and effortless smile is a kid who’s been running on autopilot for years, feeling almost nothing, dodging his mother’s meltdowns, and just trying to make the hours pass. Everything changes when he falls asleep under a starry sky and dreams of a boy named Andy.
Andy is nothing like the people in Max’s real life. He's honest, curious, unguarded, and kind of weird—the kind of person Max didn’t realize he’d been starving for. Their meetings happen only in sleep, but each one feels more real than anything Max wakes up to. They explore places that shouldn’t exist, and with every dream, Max slips further into feelings he never expected and can’t quite admit. But the dreams are changing. Andy is hiding something. Whenever Max asks him to meet in real life, he refuses.
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He won’t explain why, leaving Max questioning everything, including his own sanity. Max is determined to prove Andy exists. Because if the dreams end… what is he supposed to do with feelings for someone who might not be real?
Content Warning: This book contains themes of trauma, difficult family dynamics, and mental health struggles.
Key features
He won’t explain why, leaving Max questioning everything, including his own sanity. Max is determined to prove Andy exists. Because if the dreams end… what is he supposed to do with feelings for someone who might not be real?
Benefits
Content Warning: This book contains themes of trauma, difficult family dynamics, and mental health struggles.
Book details
Confirmed Reader Feedback
3 confirmed reader reviews.
Thoughtful and heartfelt, this novel resonates long after the final page.
They Meet in Dreams is a beautifully written queer coming-of-age story that blends emotion, longing, and self-discovery with a touch of magic. The connection between the characters feels intimate and genuine, capturing the vulnerability and intensity of first love. Thoughtful and heartfelt, this novel resonates long after the final page.
Emotionally
Written in an emotional and piercing way. It feels like a reflection of real, painful personal experience. Similar feelings can be familiar to people of any orientation — that sense of being misunderstood or out of place in real life while growing up and trying to figure out who you are.
This book is worth reading
The story is about dreams, but it feels very real and emotional. Sometimes I was confused, but in a nice way, like dreams really are. The book made me think about feelings, memories, and people we meet in unexpected ways. It’s not a loud or fast story, but it stays in your head after reading








