NOT *EXACTLY* A SAPPY LOVE STORY
** POTENTIAL SPOILERS **
For sixteen years, Caitlin O’Koren lived in the shadow of her older sister, Cass. In Dreamland by Sarah Dessen, Cass was perfect -- she was well-liked, always first-place, a high-achieving student, and Yale-bound. However, on Caitlin’s sixteenth birthday, Cass abandoned Yale, and consequently the life set out for her, by escaping to New York City with her boyfriend. With her parents desperately waiting for Cass to return home, Caitlin’s life is turned completely upside down.
On a whim, Caitlin’s incredibly beautiful, head-turning best friend, Rina, convinces Caitlin to join the cheerleading squad. As a cheerleader, she now has her year planned out for her, much like Cass did; she would only be allowed to date football players and would be required to show up to dances and parties to flaunt her new level of seniority. But with her new persona, Caitlin also meets Rogerson Biscoe, a mysterious, charming, and attractive fifth-year high schooler from Perkins’ Day, an expensive, elite, and private high school. Intrigued by Rogerson, Caitlin begins to spend an increasing amount of time with him and soon discovers that he is a drug dealer. In fact, he was busted the previous year for selling drugs; thus, having to repeat his senior year. Over time, Rogerson introduces Caitlin to smoking pot, something Caitlin strongly disapproved of and claimed she would never do. But things do not go according to Caitlin’s plan as both Caitlin and Rogerson become constantly intoxicated, leading to several risky situations.
Dreamland by Sarah Dessen was shocking, particularly because it was not necessarily the kind of book I was expecting Sarah Dessen to write. Typically, her books are light and fun novels, but this book was darker and was centered around two heavy topics: adolescent drug use and abusive relationships.
** SPOILERS (highlight to read) **
In Dreamland, Caitlin begins as a fairly typical sixteen-year-old, eager to learn and catch up academically to her older sister, but as the chapters progress, she gets pressured into trying things she would never try, such as cheerleading. With her sister’s disappearance act and her parents acting senseless, the introduction of Rogerson and his substance stash ultimately seems to be the solution to most of Caitlin’s problems. After spending hours upon hours with Rogerson, Caitlin observes a darker, abusive side to Rogerson. When Rogerson is upset, for undisclosed reasons, he takes his anger out on Caitlin by hitting and punching. The first time Caitlin experiences this, she immediately feels shameful, even though she did not do anything wrong. Even after months of repeating these situations, Caitlin keeps her bruises and encounters to herself, withdrawing herself from her family and friends, as Rogerson will punish her for speaking out. Trapped in these situations and unable to confront Rogerson, due to the fear of more punishment, Caitlin ends up turning to smoking pot as a remedy.
** END OF SPOILERS **
Throughout this novel, Dessen points out several common signs of abusive relationships and drug use: Caitlin becomes irritated by her closest friends and family, loses focus while doing what she used to love, is always wearing dark colors and long-sleeves, and misses several of her classes or ends up sleeping through them. Dreamland by Sarah Dessen is much more than just a sappy love story. Although it might have started out somewhat cliché -- a high school cheerleader rebels from the societal norms and runs away with a sketchy but charming guy -- a terrible twist spirals out of control, ultimately leading to Caitlin’s downfall. All in all, this book was incredible, and I would definitely recommend it. On the bologna scale, I would give it a 12/13.
For sixteen years, Caitlin O’Koren lived in the shadow of her older sister, Cass. In Dreamland by Sarah Dessen, Cass was perfect -- she was well-liked, always first-place, a high-achieving student, and Yale-bound. However, on Caitlin’s sixteenth birthday, Cass abandoned Yale, and consequently the life set out for her, by escaping to New York City with her boyfriend. With her parents desperately waiting for Cass to return home, Caitlin’s life is turned completely upside down.On a whim, Caitlin’s incredibly beautiful, head-turning best friend, Rina, convinces Caitlin to join the cheerleading squad. As a cheerleader, she now has her year planned out for her, much like Cass did; she would only be allowed to date football players and would be required to show up to dances and parties to flaunt her new level of seniority. But with her new persona, Caitlin also meets Rogerson Biscoe, a mysterious, charming, and attractive fifth-year high schooler from Perkins’ Day, an expensive, elite, and private high school. Intrigued by Rogerson, Caitlin begins to spend an increasing amount of time with him and soon discovers that he is a drug dealer. In fact, he was busted the previous year for selling drugs; thus, having to repeat his senior year. Over time, Rogerson introduces Caitlin to smoking pot, something Caitlin strongly disapproved of and claimed she would never do. But things do not go according to Caitlin’s plan as both Caitlin and Rogerson become constantly intoxicated, leading to several risky situations.
Dreamland by Sarah Dessen was shocking, particularly because it was not necessarily the kind of book I was expecting Sarah Dessen to write. Typically, her books are light and fun novels, but this book was darker and was centered around two heavy topics: adolescent drug use and abusive relationships.
** SPOILERS (highlight to read) **
In Dreamland, Caitlin begins as a fairly typical sixteen-year-old, eager to learn and catch up academically to her older sister, but as the chapters progress, she gets pressured into trying things she would never try, such as cheerleading. With her sister’s disappearance act and her parents acting senseless, the introduction of Rogerson and his substance stash ultimately seems to be the solution to most of Caitlin’s problems. After spending hours upon hours with Rogerson, Caitlin observes a darker, abusive side to Rogerson. When Rogerson is upset, for undisclosed reasons, he takes his anger out on Caitlin by hitting and punching. The first time Caitlin experiences this, she immediately feels shameful, even though she did not do anything wrong. Even after months of repeating these situations, Caitlin keeps her bruises and encounters to herself, withdrawing herself from her family and friends, as Rogerson will punish her for speaking out. Trapped in these situations and unable to confront Rogerson, due to the fear of more punishment, Caitlin ends up turning to smoking pot as a remedy.
** END OF SPOILERS **
Throughout this novel, Dessen points out several common signs of abusive relationships and drug use: Caitlin becomes irritated by her closest friends and family, loses focus while doing what she used to love, is always wearing dark colors and long-sleeves, and misses several of her classes or ends up sleeping through them. Dreamland by Sarah Dessen is much more than just a sappy love story. Although it might have started out somewhat cliché -- a high school cheerleader rebels from the societal norms and runs away with a sketchy but charming guy -- a terrible twist spirals out of control, ultimately leading to Caitlin’s downfall. All in all, this book was incredible, and I would definitely recommend it. On the bologna scale, I would give it a 12/13.
Nice review! This sounds like a really interesting direction to take the type of story setup that, as you pointed out, often becomes predictable and formulaic. I think a lot of fiction books, especially ones geared towards teens, often avoid heavier topics like drug addiction and abusive relationships, but it's really good to see books tackling issues like these, since this both can allow for much deeper, more compelling stories and help provide education on and insight into these problems. Overall, this was a really interesting, well-written review!
ReplyDeleteThis was a really great review! I myself often times stray away from the romances that include heavy topics such as addiction and toxic relationships (possibly because I'm a sucker to cheesy relationship stories). But I think it might be time and branch out and read Dreamland by Sarah Dessen. I like how your summary of the novel was brief yet thorough, and I also appreciate the spoiler warning. Overall, great job!
ReplyDeleteThis is a really good review! Like Mariam, I tend to avoid dramatic romances, but your review may have changed my mind. Usually, I do not see many people our age reading these types of heavy novels, but this book seems really good. Great review!
ReplyDeleteGreat review! This sounds like a really interesting book and I will try to check it out as soon as I can. Your summary of the story was informative and brief and I appreciate that you took the time to cover up the spoilers. Overall, great review!
ReplyDeleteGreat review! This sounds like a really intriguing book. It sounds kind of like the darker side of what would probably actually happen in most teen romance novels (since a lot of the relationships in those books don't seem the healthiest). I think the twist on the classic trope (good girl and bad boy) is pretty cool. Good job!
ReplyDelete