The Girl Who Could Not Dream
#2564.17 adjusted 4.10 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 2015 Reading commitment Low Sarah Beth Durst Last reviewed 2026-11-01
Overview
Sarah Beth Durst published The Girl Who Could Not Dream in 2015 with Clarion Books. Sophie's parents run a bookshop that secretly buys and sells dreams, and Sophie, who cannot dream, befriends a monster released from a stolen dream. When her parents vanish she searches for them with the monster and a boy named Ethan. It is a middle-grade fantasy that stands alone; no sequel or companion in the same world is listed.
Urban fantasy · For Middle grade
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
The Girl Who Could Not Dream Sarah Beth Durst
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Girl Who Could Not Dream | 2015 | 1 | core | 4.17 (2,325 ratings) |
A standalone middle-grade fantasy about a girl whose parents sell dreams.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Girl Who Could Not Dream? The Girl Who Could Not Dream's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is The Girl Who Could Not Dream finished? Complete (2015).
- How much reading does The Girl Who Could Not Dream take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book).
- How is The Girl Who Could Not Dream ranked? #256 in this site's official ranking, based on 2,325 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #256?
Ranked #256 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.17 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (2,325 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #255, The Checquy Files (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.46.
Why explore this universe?
Highly rated · 1 book · Complete · 2k ratings · Ranks #256 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment urban fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- Mythopoeic Award, 2016: finalist: The Girl Who Could Not Dream
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Suggestions computed from what The Girl Who Could Not Dream and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- The Sisters Grimm Fairy-tale retelling / Urban fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.24
- Archer's Goon Urban fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.08
- Mary Poppins Comic fantasy / Urban fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.00
- Tumble & Blue Urban fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 3.95
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.17 across 2,325 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon Extension: 27 universes; 5 candidates ruled out; older open items closed accepted 2026-11-01
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Publishers Weekly Tier 2
- Kirkus Reviews Tier 2
- AbeBooks listing Tier 2
- Wikipedia: Sarah Beth Durst Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-11-01
Rule: Core Canon = The Girl Who Could Not Dream (2015).