Dream Factory
When the character actors at Disney World go on strike, the teens hired as replacements learn that it isn’t exactly the Happiest Place on Earth. Ella gets to be Cinderella, simply because the shoe fits. It should be a dream come true, but Ella no longer believes in dreams. Luke is a fur character, Dale the chipmunk. Chip is played by his girlfriend, Cassie, who is perfect in every way. Why, then, does Luke find himself more drawn to imperfect things like the theme park’s Phantom? A team-building scavenger hunt brings Luke and Ella together. As they uncover the Magic Kingdom’s treasures, they discover an undeniable magic between them.
When Disneyworld’s cartoon characters—or at least the people inside of them—go on strike, the park quickly hires young fill-ins to literally step into their shoes (some of them hired, in fact, specifically for their ability to fit into the extant costumes). Two such hires are our alternating narrators: Luke, who occupies the role of Dale (the lesser-known chipmunk in Chip and Dale) and Ella, who, appropriately enough, inhabits the Cinderella costume. Luke immediately hooks up with Cassie, the all-around American girl who conveniently plays his partner, Chip; Ella falls in with Mark, her Prince Charming. The two narrators nonetheless grow closer, sharing their taste for looking below the surface and questioning the past (Ella still grieves the loss of her beloved older brother) and future (Luke resists following his older brother and father into the family business). This is ultimately a classic romance about soul mates finding each other against the odds, but Barkley and Hepler reenergize the old theme with their creative approach and setting. The book makes genuinely clever use of the Disneyworld milieu, exploring the merchandising of magic and the playing of roles in ways that tie into Luke and Ella’s personal dilemmas. Yet it’s affectionate rather than cynical, with Disney-true-believer Mark a pretty good guy and respect given to the craft of a long-term character actor who takes his job very seriously indeed. This is a witty and sweet romance about the magic of finding both oneself and a true love.
From Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (Recommended)
- Junior Library Guild selection….Book of the Month for June 2007
- Texas Institute of Letters Best Young Adult Book for 2006
- Writers’ League of Texas Best Young Adult Book for 2006
- Independent Booksellers Book Sense ’76 pick for Summer 2006
