Nightmare Academy #1 by Dean Lorey

My name is Charlie, and my parents don't believe my nightmares are responsible for the disasters. They think it's me and that I'm a danger to others. They won't even let me attend the regular school. I can't explain the preschool destruction, the Naptime Catastrophe, or the Sleepover Apocalypse. I don't know why the giant spider didn't attack me too. Everything changed when I woke up one night, and a creature from my nightmare stood right in my bedroom! It probably would have killed me if Rex, Tabitha, and Pinch hadn't shown up. Rex said I released a Class 5 monster, and Tabitha said my Gift is the strongest she's ever seen. Now, I'm on my way to the Nightmare Academy where I'll learn to master my abilities, if I don't unleash one of the Named and kill everyone first. 

As in many books, Charlie's character has powers that are rarely seen. He may be the savior the High Council has been waiting for, or he may be a catalyst for its destruction. The premise of the book is that kids' creative nightmares sometimes release monsters into the world, and the Nightmare Academy graduates are trained to send them back to the Netherworld. The Named monsters are the worst, and one was accidentally freed many years ago. It hasn't been heard from in awhile, so readers can predict that it will pop up sometime in the book. Charlie almost makes the same mistake and complicates the situation. Despite the academy being in the title of the book, it isn't a major part of the plot. Charlie attends two classes before things go out of control. I'm hoping he'll get more formal training in the sequel, Monster Madness, and get his abilities under control. On the other hand, the uncertainty of how he'll respond in tense situations adds to the suspense. I'm enjoying the book more than I expected, and I'll probably check out book two.