Review: Dreamland

Title: Dreamland
Author: Sarah Dessen
Genre: Young Adult, Fiction
Pub Date: 2004, Speak
Trade Paperback, 250 pages
Book Source: Booksamillion.com

Synopsis

Ever since she started going out with Rogerson Biscoe, Caitlin seems to have fallen into a semiconscious dreamland where nothing is quite real. Rogerson is different from anyone Caitlin has ever known. He's magnetic. He's compelling. He's dangerous. Being with him makes Caitlin forget about everything else--her missing sister, her withdrawn mother, her lackluster life. But what happens when being with Rogerson becomes a larger problem than being without him?

My Thoughts

Sarah Dessen has done it again. While Dreamland was certainly not my favorite of her books that I've read so far, I can appreciate why she is so popular with teens (and even those of us who are no longer teens) today. She has a knack for making you believe that you could be reading about people you know, which makes for a more interesting story in my opinion.

This is the "darkest" of Dessen's books that I've read, but I won't say why, for those of you who have not read this book yet, because I do think that would spoil your reading of the story for the first time. While I did feel like the characters in the story could have been people I once knew or know now, I did not feel much of a connection with any of them, and I think that's what ultimately kept me from liking this book as much as my "favorite so far" of hers, Just Listen. While there always seems to be a guy you'd fall for in these books, Rogerson was never that for me, and certainly not as the story developed.

Reading this book is certainly an eye-opener as to how a young girl's problems can go unnoticed by friends and family. As I've never experienced what Caitlin did, it's difficult for me to believe events could play out the way they did, but that seems very often to be the case with situations like Caitlin's. (Don't you hate how cryptic I'm being? Makes you want to read the book, doesn't it?) Dessen has brought to life a story that is rather heartbreaking to read, but I think I would have been more affected if I had cared more about the characters in the story. Even still, as always, Dessen's writing is just right for her target audience.

My rating:

Other reviews of Dreamland:

The Book Reader ~ Reverie Book Reviews ~ Reading Rants!
The Ravenous Reader ~ Just Your Typical Book Blog

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