As Micah came of age at 15, in the land of Braumaru, he finally finds his gift, as did others before him. Micah Zomorah however, had no idea that his dreams might have anything to do with his gift and at the beginning, he ignored them and categorized them as merely fantastic dreams. When he realizes that his dreams are his gift, that he indeed is a dream traveler, this discovery sets him upon an adventure that will captivate and capture the imagination of all who read it.

On another plane and place within this book, the reader meets 6th graders, Vickie and her friends, Karen, Cathy, and Tricia. These four girls find themselves one day on the playground bored to tears, so they decide to become rich and famous by writing a book. Though there is a bit of a hard time deciding on a topic to write the book on, the four girls finally settle on a book which would be factual and would be about actual encounters with ghosts and goblins. This of course proves harder than they expected, but still they continue trying to write the book. As their work is ongoing , surprising things begin to happen to Vickie. One day much to her surprise, Vicki realizes that the girls have a special power of dreaming and they turn their focus from the book to developing their dream power, if only to see where it might lead them.

But, unbeknownst to all involved, while the girls and Micah are trying to wrap their minds around what is happening to them, there is nearby an "evil one" who is trying desperately to find the secret of dream travel. This person is evil in that he dreams of returning to a past world and gaining the power of king, a power he feels is his birthright. His intentions upon becoming king are not good and this is a worry for the girls and Micah when they finally do figure him out. One of the worst problems with this "evil one", is he will do anything in his power to gain that power, even if it puts Micah and the girls in harms way.

The evil one discovers a lost ‘dream traveling’ girl and falsely gains her trust, promising to help her find the secret to returning home. This man knows exactly what he needs to gain the power he seeks, so he sends the girl to help him find an ancient lost book that contains inscriptions from a long time ago ancestor, detailing the story behind how their home was lost, with only a few remaining. One he believes will give him the power he seeks.

The evil one uses the lost girl and her discovery of clues and his knowledge of his family history to try to find a way to find a way he can travel to the past and regain what he feels is his deserved royal status. The evil one also tricks another girl, by luring her to fall into a coma of which doctors, in the present, have no idea how to treat, much less how to help her regain consciousness.

Of course, evil as he is, he also locks his helper, Shanti and comatose Vickie, into a sort of dream house where they cannot escape. Micah knows of the house through his dreams and he and the girls attempt to find the house and rescue the two girls inside. During this time, Micha and the girls encounter creatures of which nightmares are made and quickly discover that the dream world can actually be more dangerous than the working, living world they came from.

The ending is filled with page turning surprises and shocks as the four attempt time and again to rescue the girls from the house. As they work, so does the evil one, calling up creatures and instances that both thrill and shock the reader into a point of disbelief and discouragement that anyone will prevail over the evil one. the discovery of the girls and what Shanti represents are as surprising to Micah as they are to the reader. What happens at the end of this book is best left for the reader to discover, as it is so intense that I found myself re-reading parts of it to fully grasp the ending and what happens to the characters within.

As the first of a trilogy, this sets the stage excellently for more books ahead and hours of suspense and great reading not just for the pre-teen and teen set, but for adults as well. Writer, Veronica R. Tabares, has a unique talent of writing a book that instantly captures the attention of many ages of readers and keeps one wondering, until the final page is turned.

I must be honest and admit, I have books 2 and 3 of the trilogy and intend to dive into number 2 this week to learn more from this trilogy, it so intrigued me. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who has a suspense, sci-fi loving pre-teen, teen or even a fun loving adult they wish to gift with a unique book. I can guarantee that this book is one of the best books I have read in all my years of reading, one that is somewhat on the level of A WRINKLE IN TIME, in it's intensity and suspenseful events strewn within. A book which can be purchased at many different outlets, it is easy to find and easier still to lose oneself in, once the first page is turned and the adventure begins! ( )

Coming of age in Braumaru was the time that each in the community found their gift, Micah Zomorah was the same. Not realizing that his dreams may have anything to do with his gift, at first he paid no attention to the dreams. Vicki and her friends (Karen, Cathy, and Tricia) wanted to make there mark in the world and decided on writing a book. Preferring it to be fact and not fiction, the girls set out to find ghosts and goblins. Realizing that maybe they had some special powers of dreaming, Vicki began focusing on that power. Micah had no idea at first that he was dream traveling and not just dream seeing. The whole time the girls and Micah are trying to figure out what is happening to them, there is another that is trying to find that very power to dream travel, with the hopes of traveling to a place - a parallel world - where they might have the power of a royal family.

Book 1 ….. Very interesting concept for a youth fiction book. The addition of the journal entry from a nearly extinct civilization as well as the large cast of characters from several different realms, the mystical, natural gifts that go along with the eye colors (premonition, telepathy and healing) gives a lot to keep track of for this first book of the series. I had a found the jumping back and forth between characters confusing at first, but after a time, and getting to know the characters better, it was easier to follow the progress of the story. Some of the transitions between characters were still a bit abrupt and seemingly out place but I did get used to it, although this may make it more difficult for some young readers to follow. While this story does answer some of it’s own questions, it is a great lead in to the next book of the series, Behold the Eye: Cerulea. ( )

Behold the Eye: Braumaru is the first installment of three that are sure to satisfy the imagination of young readers and even adults. This would be a wonderful addition to any school library. The first half of this unfolding story begins with Micah Zomorah, a young boy of fifteen residing in another realm, reflecting on his anticipated day of becoming a “man”. However, he is not truly considered a ‘full-fledged’ adult until he discovers his birth gift of power. Micah and his family are unaware however, that is birth gift has already arrived, as Micah is able to ‘dream travel’ on the night of his “Rite of Passage”.

We are introduced immediately to four girls; all of them are the closest of friends even though they have their little squabbles. Vickie is the one that decides to give the girls an adventure as the four are often so bored during lunchtime as they are at the age of being too old to play on the playground equipment and the physical games made them sweaty.
They all agree to Vickie’s idea and it is decided that the story will be based on fact, and it will be a book about a ghost story, as this is what they think will sell. Each girl seems to have her own unique talent that is explored to help with the story. One of the girls has the talent of seeing a ‘shadow’ that is truly Micah, as he is dreaming of these girls consistently.

An ‘evil’ character comes into play in this story, as another lost ‘dream traveling’ girl is caught in the time with the four friends. He has this girl spy on them and tricks her by promising to help her return home. This man has her gain him pictures of an ancient lost book that contained inscriptions from his ancestor regarding how their home was lost, save only a select few. He uses these clues, as well as some family history to plot his way to get back to his home. By tricking one of the girls and having her fall deep into a coma, he also goes back on his word by locking his helper, the girl in a ‘dream house’. Micah attempts to help the girl of his dream, only to find that ‘Dream Traveling’ can indeed be hazardous!

Being an adult, I enjoyed this story very much as it was vivid and with the changing from Micah’s world and the girls’ world, it was not too hard to keep up with and it was a very interesting idea. The story starts out with a letter from Vickie to her local librarian regarding the book that I found to be fun and with humor well placed. Veronica truly captured the girls’ attitudes and behaviors, meaning I liked the nice ones, and was not too fond of the mean ones, or had jealousy or bad intentions. It is full of suspense, imagination and action; without being overly frightening especially for a younger reader.
I have the second installment in my hand and I am looking forward to it as this book left me hanging! ( )

Reviewed by Joan Stradling for TeensReadToo.com

Vickie dreams of writing a true-life best seller. Her quest to find something mysterious and fantastic to write about leads her to discover powers she didn't know she had.

Micah lives in the land of Braumaru, where the people are blessed with gifts. At the age of fifteen, Micah has gone through the Rite of Passage and waits for his gift to be bestowed.

Micah's and Vickie's worlds are brought together in their dreams.

Unfortunately, they are not alone.

A man named Roland is determined to use their powers to reach Braumaru, where his ancestors were kings and where he believes he will be welcomed and given his birthright.

BRAUMARU, the first of the BEHOLD THE EYE SERIES, is told from many different points of view. The reader travels from one character to the other as the story fluctuates between dreams and reality.

It's an enjoyable concept and an interesting read. Through dreams, adventures, and reality, Tabares takes the reader on a journey of discovery and surprise sure to be continued in book two, CERULEA. ( )