Caragh O’Brien illustrates a dystopian society in The Vault of Dreamers in a manner similar to Scott Westerfield’s series, Uglies, and Veronica Roth’s series, Divergent.

The Vault of Dreamers follows the enrollment of main character, Rosie Sinclair, to the Forge School of the Arts, where everything is broadcasted as a reality show. Sinclair struggles with her identity as she continues “advancing her education.” At the same time, she knows that Forge is somehow responsible for her internal displacement. Readers are left with one question: what happens when everyone is in an induced sleep and the cameras are off?

It is a game, and like all games, there is a strategy. Students gain blip points for being watched on the reality show that Forge hosts. Because Rosie refuses to humor the viewers, her score is at the bottom; therefore, on the day of cuts, Rosie must face her fate and try to come to terms with going home to her abusive step-father. Luckily, with the help of an unlikely accomplice, she finds out the strategy to the game, and raises her rank enough to stay.

After several nights of following the rules, being “studious” and taking sleeping pills, Rosie decides to skip her nightly dosage. When she sees people moving sleep pods in and out of the sleep chamber, she knows they are working ulterior motives. The novel follows Rosie in her endeavors to understanding the night hours at Forge and what it means to dream for the people who can no longer dream.

The Vault of Dreamers is an excellent tale told in a way that takes hold of the reader. Because it is only the first book in a brand new trilogy, many questions are left unanswered, which is brilliant on the author’s account, as O’Brien is not  tied down to a certain path for her new series and can create an intricate story to unfold. Some readers may not like the lack of closure, but they must remember there is more to come.