Tom Delonge and Suzanne Young’s Poet Anderson… In Darkness is a young adult fiction novel and the second book in the Poet Anderson series. It follows Jonas Anderson attempting to piece his life together one year after the tragic battle with REM in the Dreamscape.  

In the Waking World, Jonas juggles a full time job at the infamous Eden Hotel, visiting his still comatose brother at the Center for Sleep Sciences and keeping his relationship with his high school sweetheart Samantha Birnam-Wood, who is his boss’ daughter.

At night he is Poet Anderson and a gifted lucid dreamer. He can control his dreams and the dreamscape itself, and as the last true remaining poet, it is his job to utilize his abilities and guide lost and wandering souls through the dreamscape.

When REM returns, it is up to Poet Anderson along with four other poets to protect the Dreamscape from total annihilation. As REM grows stronger by feeding off the nightmares of everyone in the Dreamscape, Jonas ponders if the Dreamscape is worth the price of the ones he loves.

This sequel does an adequate job of re-entering the life of Jonas Anderson and continuing to show how he struggles on his own and how he’s coping without his brother. It is detailed in describing what Jonas was feeling and making it relatable.

As the book progresses Jonas is faced with multiple life-altering choices that could potentially lead to the end of the world — and the Dreamscape and reacts in a way many of us would by saving the lives of the ones we love.

The choices he faces seem to be lose-lose and Jonas doesn’t change as a character as he makes them. The story is well-written and keeps the personality of Jonas Anderson straight-forward.

Although this can be a plus, it doesn’t create any room for improvement in his character. He is making his decisions based on how he feels and doesn’t see the bigger picture, like protecting the world from an inevitable end.

In all, the story does a good job of introducing new characters and reintroducing the old ones, staying with the plot, overall continuing the story of Jonas Anderson, and in the end leaving us wanting more.