Hard to put down

books:


	• Dreamland (reissue) Sarah Dessen Puffin, 2004 - 256 pages average customer review:based on 172 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Dreamland

The topic of Dreamland breaks off from the rest of Sarah Dessen's novels in dramatic fashion, focusing on what would happen if Sarah's usual soul searching female lead fell for an abusive boy instead of the likable types we all know and love. What would happen then? How would the story change?

Abusive relationships are difficult for most who haven't been through them to process clearly, and in this regard I think Sarah Dessen does a good job of situating the characters and plot that lead to how such a relationship blossoms under the extreme stress placed upon Caitlin. Caitlin goes through the story bumping into things, becoming involved in things she doesn't necessarily like (Cheer leading, for instance) and insisting that they "just happened," as if she had no say in the matter. The same is true for her relationship to Rogerson, which "just happens" one day and manages to evolve because Rogerson is very intriguing. He seems to know the answer to any trivia question ever conceived, which Caitlin finds impressive, along with his wild hair and successful private school life. He's smart as a whip and definitely mysterious, a recipe for being a heart breaker. Caitlin is swept away quickly and shoved under before she knows it. Rogerson may be intriguing, but he's an obsessive type that leads quickly to his placing non-existent blame on Caitlin, and she suffers physically as a result.

Despite this, she can't break away. She's under water, drowning in Rogerson's abuse and unable to help herself or reach out for help. Instead she covers up the bruises and delves deeper into the relationship, seeing no other option for what to do. She becomes increasingly stressed, anxious, and pushes away her friends, doing anything she can to keep Rogerson happy as the cycle continues to spin out of control.

The cycle is an old one, but Dreamland makes it fresh and disturbing. Some readers have complained that Rogerson's voice is drowned out in the last half of the book, when the abuse starts, but I find this natural in abusive relationships. It's very much a lonely experience, even when it has very much to do with another person. Rogerson's voice is blacked out when the abuse starts, mainly because Caitlin, as the victim, is focusing on her pain, her love, her path and wondering how on earth she can finally wake up and surface from a relationship that has her head shoved underneath the water.

It's a must read for teenage girls, although I'd suggest a parent read it along with them and discuss its contents.

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Great

I began reading this two days ago, and I couldn't put it down. The storyline was good. It was a real view of what girls do in abusive relationships. It could help people understand a little more why women stay with abusive guys.
A realistic point of view about mothers with their daughters.

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Great Book

I read somewhere that Dessen didn't want people to just call this a problem book...though it does have a problem book plot but I would NEVER consider it a problem book because it's very good. This was my very first Dessen book and I am a fan of her work so this one is pretty good. Not good at summarizing so I'm not but please read this if you're into girly books because it's good...also if you're into books like Perfect by Natasha Friend I think you'll like it!

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Tear Jerker :]

Although at times the main character Cait frustrated me because I couldn't understand why she would stay in this abusivie relationship, it truely was a great book. A true tear jerker for me :]

Hard to put down

Dreamland is a very realistic book that shows what its like to be in an abusive relationship. It is about a girl named Caitlin and how she is constantly in her older, seemingly perfect sister's shadow. Cass, her sister, suddenly runs away on Caitlin's 16th birthday. Her mom basically flips out and can tell she is deeply concerned. She feels like she should have seen it coming. Her dad, on the other hand, becomes more quiet.
Caitlin always felt like she was under Cass in everyone's eyes. She turns down a football player in order to choose a different path than Cass. She ends up with Rogerson, this dark dreadlocked mysterious boy. He goes to a private school and everyone sees him as dangerous but Caitlin holds on because of how interesting he is.
At first, she is very excited about how the relationship is going- completely away from anything her sister would do. She likes how interesting and different Rogerson is. After a fight, ending in Rogerson hitting her, she is stunned. Although, she stays with him because she can see the hurt in his eyes after he has done wrong and she almost feels sorry for him since she knows he goes through the same thing at home. I never understood why people would stay with eachother in an abusive relationship but Dessen does a good job of getting the reader to understand. The book does have a good ending, though i wont give it away.
Not only was the story line intriguing, but the book was just very well written. You saw many different sides of each character and it really brought you into the story. I felt like i was watching a movie and when i had to stop reading i wanted to go back home and press play and let the story unfold.
I highly recommend this book to girls probably above the age of 14/15. It can be disturbing at some points, but given the plot line, its acceptable.
I really enjoyed getting to understand different reasonings from this book, and i thought it was written very well.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Rogerson Biscoe, with his green eyes and dark curly hair, is absolutely seductive. Before long, sixteen-year-old Caitlin finds herself under his spell. And when he starts to abuse her, she finds she's in too deep to get herself out...

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