Dreamland

Dreamland By Sarah Dessen Reviewed by Naira Demirchian

“She was always the last thing I tried to see before I fell asleep. ‘See you in dreamland,’ she’d whisper.” Caitlin O’Koren has been living in a dreamland all her life before she was roughly shoved awake when her older sister Cass ran away from home. Caitlin was used to being second place, after her sister. She states a lot of things like this throughout the book, once saying: “It’s just that I’ve been always been the weaker one, the less talented. The perennial second-place also-ran. The more likely to screw up. And now, I’ve, like, totally proved it. To her, and to everyone.” Cass was the “perfect” daughter and sister. Now that Cass is gone, Caitlin feels like her life is on pause. Then she meets Rogerson, who shows her a care- free life. Caitlin’s life isn’t paused anymore, but going full speed ahead as she and Rogerson learn more of each other, and soon start to fall in love. Everything was finally looking up in Caitlin’s life, until one day when Rogerson gets so enraged that he hits Caitlin. Caitlin thinks it was only one time, and that it was her own fault, until Rogerson hits her again, and again, and again. Soon, Caitlin’s body is covered in bruises that she hides from everyone she used to confide in. She starts to fade away from her past life into a life of fear that she can’t seem to make herself leave. This is a young adult fiction about a girl who wants to find herself, and ends up finding more than she asked for. Sarah Dessen perfectly captures the true essence of a teenage girl in an abusive relationship, explaining the internal struggle girls go through. She fully explains the way Caitlin feels: “… and I missed Rogerson. Yes, it’s strange. I //missed// him.” Quotes like these show how any girl would feel in the situation of an abusive relationship. How she loves him so much that she keeps forgiving him, but at the same time she notices things she isn’t able to do anymore because of the abuse: “Last summer I would’ve been able to wear a short, strapless dress like this. But now bruises covered my arms and legs…” In only fifteen chapters, Dessen tells a story that will warm your heart, and yet chill you to your bones. I recommend this novel to teenage girls who have experienced the good and the bad of relationships. I personally felt like the emotions of any real girl were breathed onto the pages of this book, making it an experience I will carry with me through all my relationships.