Book Review: Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

Title: Dreamland

Author: Sarah Dessen

Pages: 205

Publisher: Penguin Group

Year Published: 2000

“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 Being with him makes Caitlin forget about everything else- her missing sister, her withdrawn mother, her lackluster life.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 Rating: 10/10

This is an incredible book. I loved that Sarah Dessen makes the reader feel as though they are the main character. I feel like this book touches on so many teen issues and although twelve years have past since it’s been published they are all relevant. Really in the past decade or so things haven’t changed that much. I have not read a lot about some of these issues and I hope to find a book from the opposite point of view in Caitlin’s relationship. Curiosity makes me wonder what that book would be written like. I hope to read more Sarah Dessen books, but I hope I probably won’t read more back to back.

THANK YOU SARAH DESSEN FOR WALKING THROUGH SO MANY TEEN RELATIONSHIPS!

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Sidny ♥♪♫

Spoiler: Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

I loved this book! It had so many unexpected elements that made reading it entertaining. I wasn’t bored even when something wasn’t popping out of no where. I think that so many teens can relate with Caitlin’s story. At least one element of it.

Drugs are a big thing in this book which isn’t suprising to me really. I live in a small town with a drug problem, so I understand how drugs can be everywhere. I think it’s important that Caitlin actually experiences pot. I do wish that she hadn’t used it so easily but really she does mostly in the book without much of a consequence.

Peer pressure is another thing that I noticed in this book. Rina practically forces Caitlin to join cheerleading. This doesn’t surprise me in the least as this is normal in teenage society. If one friend is doing something the other friend usually joins to fit in.

Caitlin is a very over shadowed child who doesn’t get the attention she deserves. Many younger siblings have the same thing where the older child is a shining star so why even bother to live up to expectations when it doesn’t get them noticed.

Abuse is a huge deal in this novel and I think it’s important that teens learn about this. I was shocked when this first happened in the book, but fascinated to see how it would play out. Would it be a one time thing, or would it happen over and over? Soon it became apparent that this was to become a norm in this relationship. I was practically yelling for someone to see that Caitlin was being hurt so horribly.

Characters:

Caitlin: A superb main character who really helps us walk through so many teen issues (mentioned above). I could hardly believe that a girl would simply let a boy hit her, but she did really love Rogerson so it wasn’t something so out of the blue. I was so happy when they broke up even though it hurt her, being with him would have hurt her more.

Rogerson: I really liked this character in the beginning thinking that he was the misunderstood bad boy, but after he started hitting Caitlin, I lost all respect for him. The fact that it wasn’t just a one time thing, that he said I love you after and that he used it to get sex as well were awful. It really opened my eyes though.

Rina: I think that Rina isn’t really the best friend I hoped that Caitlin would have. I would hope that I would notice if one of my friends was being abused in any way.

Caitlin’s Mom: I don’t think that her mom really even tried to treat her daughter’s fairly. It is obvious throughout the book that Cass is who was her favorite and still is even though she isn’t even in the same state anymore. I’m happy that she finally realized what was going on with Caitlin, because if she hadn’t who would have?

Caitlin’s Dad: I was hoping that her dad would just say she couldn’t go with Rogerson one night and so Caitlin would just start to pull away from Rogerson but he didn’t. If I was her dad I would have kicked Rogerson’s butt.

Boo & Stewart: I wish that my parents had a couple of friends like this. Hippies (I find) are hilarious.

Cass: I wish she hadn’t have left because I feel like this is what changed everything for Caitlin.

Corinna: One of my favorite characters. I thought that her and David had it made, but we don’t really know what happens in their relationship and though it’s obvious they were in love it just didn’t work.

Moments to Remember:

♥Pg. 92

“I’d watch his expression change as he got closer, hearing the strains of one of my baby-baby-oh-please-baby songs.

‘Oh, my God,’ he said to me once as he flopped into the driver’s  seat, pulling the door shut behind him. ‘What is this shit?’”

♥Pg. 115

“‘Which two planets are almost identical in size?’

‘Duh,’ he said, smoothing my hair back, ‘Venus and Earth.’

‘Rogerson,’ I asked him sweetly as we sat watching a video in the pool house, ‘where would I find the pelagic zone?’

‘In the open sea,’ he said. ‘Now shut up and eat your Junior Mints.’”

♥Pg. 124

“Corinna was still crying, even as Dave kissed her forehead and smiled. Taking one of her hands and twirling her around the small, paint-peeling kitchen. ‘Stop,’ she said, half-laughing as he dipped her over the garbage can. ‘David, honestly.’”

Hope you enjoyed,

Love,

Sidny xoxo

Book Review: Keeping The Moon by Sarah Dessen

Title: Keeping The Moon
Author: Sarah Dessen
Pages: 228

"One summer can change everything."
"Colie expects the worst when she's sent to spend the summer with her eccentric aunt Mira while her mother tours Europe. Always an outcast- first for being fat and then, after she lost the weight, for being 'easy'- Colie has no friends at home and doesn't expect to find any in Colby, North Carolina. But then she lands a job at the Last Chance Bar and Grill and meets fellow waitresses Morgan and Isabel, best friends who take Colie under their collective wing and help her realize the potential that has been there all along."

My Rating: 9/10

Most of you people out there are going to think that I have lived under a rock, but I have never read a book by Sarah Dessen before. I have heard her name and wasn't sure if I would like her books from things I'd heard about them, but this book was a big suprise. It was a good chicklit, I seem to be into that right now, and I love the characters. I also enjoyed the setting. Being a small town girl myself, I could understand some of the things in Colby. I loved that all the characters where unique. I hate clone characters!
I loved hearing about the Last Chance Bar and Grill. It felt like the story took place there mostly, and I was happy for that!
I didn't like that Colie called herself fat and even the back description says she was. I guess I'm just one of those people who thinks that overweight is a proper term.
THANK YOU SARAH DESSEN FOR AN AMAZING SMALL TOWN ATMOSPHERE!
Love,
Sidny♪♫♥
PS. Photo will be added later, because the "Add Photo" button is not Dial Up friendly

Spoiler: Keeping The Moon by Sarah Dessen

I really enjoyed this book. It was kinda fun and easy going. I loved how Colby was, with the quik stop, my town has one, it was amusing. I also could understand the small town gossip. That is a sucky part of small towns.
The characters were amazing and I felt alot like Colie. She had very low self esteem and I could understand that. When you are teased for so long it's hard to see who you really are and not what they say.
I love garage sales so what Norman and Mira bought made me laugh hysterically, maybe it wasn't that funny but to me I could picture some of the people I hang out with buying some of this stuff.
Let's talk about some characters:

Colie: She seems like a really awesome person who pushes everyone away because she's afraid. I think that this summer changed everything, for the better. She found herself and saw beyond all the gossip. She learned to stick up for and be true to herself. She seems like someone I would be friends with. I wish this book didn't focus so much on weight in someways. I feel that now a days, the pressure to be perfect is huge, but this book didn't over do it. It just showed that losing a ton of weight won't necessarily make you happier.

Mira: She's a little strange, but this trait makes for a wonderful all around character. She doesn't need to fit in, she's happy with who she is and no one can take that from her. I admire that! I think she honestly feels sorry for the people in the town more than for herself. That amazes me.

Morgan: She was so nice, and a lovely friend to Colie in her times of need. I can see them spending every summer together after, with Isabel of course. I hate her boyfriend, I don't even want to mention his name, he was a total dick and didn't deserve to have someone so amazing.

Isabel: She seemed like a total snot, but really she was wary of other people, I think... don't you? She helped out Colie even more than Morgan and showed her what matter was how she thought on the inside, way more than on the outside.

Norman: Ok, you are so cute fictional Norman! I thought he was kinda weird at the beginning, but it turned out to be a cute weird. I believe that he loved Colie from the beginning! His paintings seem amazing and the way that they are described I can picture them in my mind. To bad he's dad is horrible!

Favorite/Memorable Lines and Moments:

♥Pg. 1
"My name is Nicole Sparks. Welcome to the first day of the worst summer of my life."

♥Pg. 34
"The one thing I clearly remembered about visiting her were the doughnuts she'd made out of Pillsbury biscuit dough, friend and rolled in cinnamon and sugar."

♥Pg. 39
" 'I saw Bea Williamson this morning,' he said in a low voice. 'Lurking about looking for cut glass.'
'Oh, of course,' Mira said with a sigh. 'Did she have it with her?'
Norman nodded solemnly. 'Yep. I swear, I think it's almost gotten... bigger.'
Mira shook her head. 'Not possible.'
'I'm serious,' Norman said. 'It's way big.'
I kept waiting for someone to expand on this but since neither of them seemed about to, I asked. 'What are you talking about?'
They looked at each other. Then, Mira took a deep breath. 'Bea Williamson's baby,' she said quietly, as if someone could hear us, 'has the biggest head you have ever seen.' "

♥Pg. 41
"Norman opened the glove compartment, and aboutsix pairs of sunglasses fell out, all different kinds: Ray-Bans, purple framed old-lady glasses, wraparound seventies styles."

♥Pg. 48
" 'Mayonnaise,' Morgan said, 'is alot like men.' "

♥Pg. 57
"I'd been called fat and easy, slut and whore, Hole in One. So I didn't mind being ignored. For so long, it had been all I wanted."

♥Pg. 67
" 'But the worst part was she talked the mailman, Mr. Rooter -- who was about seventy, even then -- into modeling for the class.'
I looked up at this.
'Nude modeling,' she added, doing another filter. 'Apparently, it was quite horrifying. I mean, my mother never really recovered. She said she could never look at the mail the same way again.' "

♥Pg.132
" 'And she runs every morning.' Isabel came back and plopped down on the floor, reaching for a beer. 'I always see her when I get up to pee. She's out there at some ungodly hour.'
'Eight o'clock,' I said.
'Exactly.' Isabel said."

♥Pg. 136
" 'Men,' Isabel said, after pausing to suck down some beer, 'are wired, by nature, to take everything they can from you. It is their basic instinct to screw you over.'
'Really.'
'Yes,' she said solidly. Then she leaned closer. 'If you think that girl from the restuarant yesterday can hurt you, you just wait. All the bitchy girls in the world are just a training ground for what men can do to you.' "

♥Pg. 161
" 'You're pathetic,' she said to me, and started to turn away.
'And you're such a bitch,' I said back. And I laughed, surprised at how my voice sounded, strong and steady. 'I fell sorry for you, Caroline.'
'I hate you,' she snapped.
'You should get over that,' I told her. And I imagined Isabel, eyes closed, saying these same words. 'It's unhealthy. Just let it go.' "

♥Pg. 174
" 'Last night. I totally forgot.'
'Forgot what?' Morgan said.
'He was going to make me hot chocolate.'
'Was he really?' Morgan said, sitting up. 'Man, that is good stuff! I'm not lying to you. He makes it with milk, not water, and then he--'
'Morgan.' Isabel put down her magazine.
'Yes?'
'Shut up.'

♥Pg. 213
" 'A card!' Mira said, gesturing grandly to the boxes behind her. 'There are thousands of ways right her to console her on a loss. Just pick one.'
'He's not dead, Mira,' I said.
'He should be,' Isabel said darkly."

And with that last quote, is where I leave you. The next book I plan on reading is Sometimes it Happens by Lauren Barnholdt. Have a good one, whatever that one is :D
Love,
Sidny♥♪♫