It was a very good book I liked that there were real-life things such as her sister running away, her getting abused and her feeling like the black sheep in her family. The only thing that I did not like was that her sister was there in the end I feel like it was a good ending but it was very happily ever after and I feel like a lot of books and movies end that way. But it was a very good book.

Say what you will about Sarah Dessen, but I think she has the greatest range of any YA writer. Actually, don't say anything bad about Sarah Dessen. I love Sarah Dessen. I love all of her books, but more importantly I love that she has the capability to write swoony-worthy romances like This Lullaby and Along for the Ride and still tackle serious issues like rape (Just Listen) and domestic abuse in Dreamland. Throughout all of her books, Dessen manages to keep her signature writing style, offering up great insights and maintaining her thrown as Queen of YA.

Dreamland is definitely one of the best Dessen books, but I would also say that it is the best book I've ever read about domestic abuse. Dessen is not afraid to delve into this topic. We get to know Caitlin before Rogerson Biscoe. She feels inferior and eternally in the shadow of her dazzling older sister Cass. Cass, however, has ditched college to be with an older boyfriend and thrown their family into chaos. Caitlin copes by trying to fill the hole Cass left behind. She becomes a cheerleader, and more importantly she meets Rogerson Biscoe.

“It's so easy to get caught up in what people expect of you. Sometimes, you can just lose yourself.”

What is important (and wonderful) about Dreamland is that it shows Caitlin and Rogerson's relationship at every stage: their first meeting, their first conversation, the first time Rogerson hits Caitlin, and how she reacts to it. Rogerson isn't painted as a simple villain because it isn't that simple. When love is involved, it is never that simple. Caitlin does love him, and that's what makes the story feel so real. You can understand why she stays silent, why she hides her bruises and makes excuses for Rogerson, even as you are waiting for the shoe to drop. I actually cried the first time I read the novel when Caitlin's family finds out. It just was so sad, and I felt my heart break. This could happen to any girl. It could happen to me. It's a terrifying thought, but Dessen manages to turn it into one of compassion for her main character. Caitlin didn't do anything wrong. She didn't cause Rogerson to hit her. She is a victim and eventually a survivor.

“If you didn't love him, this never would have happened. But you did. And accepting that love and everything that followed it is part of letting it go.”

I recommend all of Sarah Dessen's books, but I especially recommend this one.

TW: physical and emotional abuse.

Definitely feel like my heart was ripped out of my chest. Definitely was not prepared?! I knew it was going to be darker, but WOWZA. Very well written and so heartbreaking. I don't know how else to review it or to add on to that. Just... Brace yourself, and don't be afraid to give yourself a break and eat some pizza and watch something funny/uplifting while you're reading this one. It's an important one, though. Definitely. I'm glad that there are authors out there who aren't afraid to touch on the really dark stuff. In away, it's like them saying, "You are not alone. You can get help. It will take time, but you will heal."

5 stars because this book is so important. huge huge huge trigger warnings for this book. i highly suggest and encourage reading about what the triggers in this book are before beginning it!

that being said, i was blown away by sarah dessen’s lack of fear “going there”. obviously, her books are written for a younger audience, teenagers specifically, and yet she was not afraid to talk about intense and dangerous situations, because young girls find themselves in those same positions too dang often. i applaud her ability to raise awareness of something so real within a beautiful narrative.

something i really loved about this book of hers is that it was not strictly a romance story. there were a bunch of other crazy things going on, in addition to the romance story, which I think only enhances the book as a whole.

i loved the main character of this book, and i felt like there were so many moments that my heart broke for her. the way her thoughts were described, you couldn’t help but feel sympathy for her and the manipulation she was experiencing.

the witness of friendship and sisterhood is awesome in this book, and it really taught me a lot. one of her shorter books, so it was even quicker to get through. definitely was not at all a feel good story, but one that was so important, i had to give it 5 stars.

So, I'm a writer and I wrote a story similar to this one. I keep picking up these stories about teens in abusive relationships to make sure mine was unique, and I keep being disappointed in the stories.

I was totally not disappointed in this one. Sarah Dessen has a definite writing style, and did a beautiful job with this.

I wish she'd done less skimming over events to show the passage of time, because I felt like for some of those things I really wanted to be present, but that was my only complaint. This book will stay with me for a long time. Well done :D

This is the first Dessen book that actually really enjoyed. I have read Just Listen and Lock and Key and while I liked them I thought the plot tended to drag a lot. While with Dreamland I found it interesting and entertaining from start to finish.

There is no doubt that Dessen has beautiful prose. Some times a little too wordy for my liking but definitely thoughtful and gorgeous writing.

The characters were well developed and likeable. I even had a bit of a crush on bad boy Rogerson at the beginning until he did the unforgivable. So I liked that you could clearly see what Caitlyn was attracted to Rogerson in the first place.

Overall, this book has definitely encouraged me to read more of Dessen's work. Just a really good read.

I definitely had a hard time connecting with the main character, mainly because she was in the throes of high school drama. I felt so old reading it because I did not understand what she saw in Rogerson and kept wanting to yell, "Make better choices!"

I guess I am officially a mom now...

I did appreciate how the end was resolved. I thought that Caitlin was able to work through her issues and come out on the other side more mature, and with a better understanding of how events in her life impacted the person she is going to be.

Also, I want Boo and Stewart to be my neighbors!

*2.5 stars - I finished this book for my book club (yay) and it’s not my cup of tea. I didn’t like nor find many of the characters interesting, other than Rina, and the protagonists’ choices frustrated me. I also found the drama escalated quickly, and while the ending was satisfying, I felt it was not wholly realistic. However, it gave me some understanding of why people remain in certain situations and the psychological difficulty of overcoming the challenges Caitlin faced in the book. Not my favourite though.

So Dreamland is the fifth Sarah Dessen novel I have read, and her work is really hit or miss with me (for example, hit: Saint Anything. miss: That Summer). On a positive note, Dreamland is definitely a hit. I really enjoyed this book.

Premise: It’s common to hear the term, “This book really draws you in from the first few pages,” but Dreamland really does just that. I was sucked into the drama Sarah Dessen had woven about this family. Caitlin’s perfect older sister running away, the family falling apart, Caitlin’s emotional crisis. The tension and grief within the first few chapters are gripping, making you really feel for our main character. I do recommend reading the prologue, so the first chapter will be a bit clearer.

Characters: An aspect of the story that really leapt off the page for me was the cast of characters. They’re all familiar, but not clichéd. We have our protag, who feels lost and forced into the shadow of an older sister. We have the promiscuous best friend, Rina. The cuckoo, hippie like neighbors always offering advice ("I think your Barbie can go shopping, and go out with Ken, and also have a productive and satisfying career of her own."). Two concerned parents. And the stereotypical bad boy, Rogerson, who beats his girlfriend. And even though it was easy to predict what all these characters were going to do, it was never boring to read about.

Message/Theme: This book is an emotional, sad, intense read to say the least. Anyone who has personally been through, or known someone to go through domestic abuse can identify with the characters and issues with this book. Ms. Dessen captured everything about Rogerson and Caitlin’s dysfunctional relationship with such authenticity, they legitimately felt like real people, mirroring real life situations. The text showed how quickly relationships can spiral down. Like how at first, Caitlin was scared about the little things, like making Rogerson wait a minute too long, and how she knows not to ask him too many questions because it makes him angry. Then their problems grew bigger and bigger.

Writing: Ms. Dessen’s writing style was on point with this one. Beautifully written to the point the text was almost poetic.

A thing that bothers me about this book is how Ms. Dessen glosses over the start of Caitlin and Rogerson’s relationship. It’s almost like she pressed the fast forward button, giving me the instalove vibe. The story telling aspect of this story, especially when it came to scenes about/with Rogerson, was more often told than shown. Another disappointing part of this story was that Caitlin was into slut-shaming.

I want to read more Sarah Dessen books like this one. Books that are heartbreaking and emotionally gripping. From what I can tell, Dreamland is definitely one of her more mature pieces of work. There was plenty of pot, sex, and language sprinkled in the pages. If you are new to Sarah Dessen, I recommend starting with this one or Saint Anything.

The end of this book had me feeling like this:
  

BROKE ME.

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First reason I picked up this book? Someone commented on one of my Instagram photos telling me about it. Second reason I picked up this book? I have the same name as the MC and have NEVERRRRR gotten to read a book with that fun fact.

And if you’re not one for reading synopsis (I’m not, I usually read it initially then by the time I get to read the book I’ve forgotten it and don’t look at it), let me say, this is not a fluffy Dessen novel. It’s the most mature and serious one I’ve ever read of hers.

Initially, I felt like this book was all about Caitlin’s sister, Cassandra, than it was about Caitlin. This changed. And it changed hard. I was practically in tears listening to this (audio book was good!) because of how much it hurt me listening to what was happening to Caitlin [trigger warning: physically abuse relationship – more details in Overall audience notes].

I felt in physical pain myself because of how Rogerson was treating Caitlin. It was unfathomable and I was upset on so many levels for her. While a very hard hitting novel, it also approached hope and recovery in the last few chapters. I anxiously listened waiting until she was broken free of her bonds to him and had a chance to grieve. The aftermath felt more realistic as well. It wasn’t this immediate, I’m happy again!, it was a process that took months and I loved that it showed that side of therapy.

It’s a very quick and short book that packs a lot in. I wouldn’t recommend this to everyone and would caution to please look into the triggers before reading. The pain explored and expressed had me clutching my heart. This was good, raw, and important.

n  Overall audience notes:n
- Young adult contemporary
- Language: some strong
- Romance: kisses/make-outs; quick mention of them sleeping together, but no details
- Violence: see trigger warnings below
- n  Trigger warnings:n drug abuse, underage drug use, toxic/abusive relationship [physical] with multiple scenes of the main character being harmed, domestic abuse, underage smoking

Hadn't read this before.

#readaDessen

This book started slow for me, but I definitely got more into it as the story went on. The author does a good job of pulling the reader into Caitlin's plight; I cared what happened next.

That said, I had trouble with the way the abusive relationship was portrayed. I've done a lot of volunteer work in this area and abuse tends to happen in a "cycle"... the abuse occurs, then the abuser apologizes/says he'll never do it again/loves on the victim big time/etc. It goes from absolute terror to absolute bliss and then the cycle starts again. And ongoing abusive relationships involve no small amount of manipulation/screwing with the mind. The typical "no one loves you like I do" or "you deserved it; I didn't want to hit you, you made me." That type of stuff. And in this book, while I could see why Caitlin was attracted to Rogerson in the first place, I couldn't get why she'd stay with him because he did none of that manipulation. Of course it's easy to say "why stay" about any abusive relationship when you've not been in one, but usually it's pretty clear why (whether financial reasons, state of mind, the manipulation). In this book, once Rogerson started hitting her, he was a jerk the rest of the time. None of the "I'm sorry" or kissing up or any of that. Just flat out asshole. It made his character and their relationship seem really flat. Just the downs, none of the ups. So I just didn't buy into it the way I have other stories similar in nature. But I do think it was smart and brave of the author to tackle this issue for young adults as I think people overlook this happens in high school relationships too. So kudos to her for that.