‘Dreamover’ (2025) — A Spellbinding Tribute To 2000s Nostalgia

Dreamover (2025) is transfeminine creator Dani Diaz’s debut graphic novel; this tender coming-of-age story infuses a realistic depiction of first love with a little magic and a hefty dose of nostalgia for the 2000s, creating a warm slice-of-life atmosphere to explore young love.

The Story — A Nostalgic Past Reimagined for Today’s Audience

Dreamover is about two kids, Amber and Nico, childhood friends who confess their love for each other and subsequently start a relationship in the summer before they start high school. The “dreamover” is a magical space where the two protagonists explore a dream world together, questioning their relationship along the way. However, in the early chapters, before the magic presents itself, the most interesting aspect is the 2000s setting.

What is most striking for anyone who lived through the period is that this is an idealized view of the 2000s, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Back in the early aughts, for instance, cell phones were still something of a status symbol for kids, even if they had become commonplace for adults.

In 2003, only about a third of children had cell phones, and the debate about letting kids have their own phone was still raging in 2005¹. Many less-than-middle-class kids, like Nico, never got a cell phone until they were almost out of high school. The ahistorical tech equity of every eighth-grader having a cell phone is the first sign that the story is set more in what Diaz wished the 2000s were than a realistic depiction of that time period.

Aside from the tech equity, the other notable difference from reality in Dreamover is queer inclusivity. Amber and Nico don’t bat an eye when their friend Drew admits to having a crush on another boy, and their friends Stella and Grace are clearly a couple (even if it is never made explicit). While certain cartoons from the last decade have the dynamic of the lone straight couple in an otherwise queer cast, in the 2000s, you were lucky to find a single gay character in a school-aged cast. However, it is hard to blame Diaz for wishing that the 2000s were kinder to people more like themself.

Overall, the story depicts a simpler time, back before social media, when all kids had to worry about were disagreements with family, getting along with classmates, and dipping their toes in the waters of romance.

The Plot — The Blurred Line Between Magic And Technology

The magical-realism premise, combined with fairly realistic characters, effectively explores the wonder that can accompany a first love while also grappling with the reality of navigating a world that does not revolve around these kids.

The setting also allows Diaz to consider technology differently than it is used today or than what it represented at the time. While cell phones are ostensibly designed for communication, in this story, they facilitate miscommunication, symbolizing Amber’s desire to spend time with Nico over anyone else, even when she is physically present with others.

However, video games are the most important technology in the book, as they not only serve as the setting where Amber confesses her love to Nico but also as the gateway to their shared dream-magic world.

When they are absorbed in a video game, it occupies most of the page (except for images of their faces), serving as an artistic foreshadowing of the actual magic later in the book. Initially, the dream seems to be them merely acting out what they were playing in the game before they fell asleep, but once they “lose the game,” their minds are seemingly opened to the possibilities of exploring a dream world.

The central conflict, which is pushed to the background for most of the book, is about Amber hiding from her other relationships by focusing on Nico. They share a dream as a method of escape, but they are constantly confronted by their friends and family, whom they would leave behind should they get lost in the dream forever.

“I wish we could stay here forever.”

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Nico seems to be the one who is (unconsciously) bringing these other people into the dream, as he is much closer to his family than Amber is to hers. He feels bad about abandoning his friends and family, even when his reality seems significantly more depressing than hers. Amber does not want to wake up (thus ending their dream), but Nico feels an obligation toward “reality,” as represented by his family and friends’ incursions into the dream world.

This disagreement causes a rift between them that continues over the next few days, as Nico seeks connection with a broader community — people Amber had deemed unnecessary in her vision of a life with him.

The Art Of Escapism Versus Reality

While the magical scenery is breathtaking, most of the book is set in the real world, focusing on more subtle emotions, and this is one of the few areas where the art occasionally falls short. In particular, Nico’s subtler expressions can be difficult to read at times. Given his reserved nature, this may be intentional, but it can still be somewhat frustrating. The magic is clearly the main point of the story (or at least its most prominent feature), with lush, colorful scenery that the reader wants to revel in forever, especially considering the sometimes-drab portrayal of “reality” — and that is the point.

The escapist fantasy of their dream world is meant to be appealing, but they are ultimately alone in that world. Tellingly, Amber’s mom only appears once, and her dad never even appears on-page, while Nico’s mom features prominently in several scenes. This helps reinforce that Nico has a better relationship with his mom (and his family in general) than Amber, even if he sometimes finds them annoying.

Eventually, after spending some time apart, they realize that they want to be a part of one another’s lives, but they also want community with other people, as represented by the final vibrant image of the two of them eating a hotpot with all of their friends.

This is a sweet story of two kids learning to navigate a romantic relationship as they slowly approach adulthood. The dreamscapes are lovely, and it would doubtlessly be even better in book format. The characters are well-written, and the message of making space for community — alongside the implicit call for acceptance — is timely. We are looking forward to whatever Diaz does next!

Footnotes

1. Ewalt, D. “Mobiles For Minors.” NBC News. 2005. ↩︎
2. Diaz, D. Dreamover. Top Shelf Productions. 2025. ↩︎