April 25, 2010
Dear Ms. Monaco,
I recently read a book called Dreamland by Sarah Dessen. Dessen is one of my favorite authors, and continues to write page-turning novels. This particular book was a realistic fiction book based on domestic violence. It happens in the present day and really hits home on some of the very real events in a young teen’s life.
The theme of Dreamland is definitely relationships. It focuses on the relationship between Caitlin and Rogerson and Caitlin and Cass. It also talks about Caitlin’s relationship between other important people in her life such as her mom, her friend Rina, her dad, and her family friend Boo. As these relationships change and develop, Caitlin’s personality does as well. The quote I picked ties in Caitlin’s view of many of these relationships and how they have changed her.
“I stood in front of my mirror and turned slowly, watching the skirt twirl up and fall around my knees. I wanted to be a girl who could wear a dress like this. Instead, the girl in the mirror looked back at me, and I hardly recognized her. She was just some strange girl who’d tumbled off a pyramid, falling into a dream, and now waited, in a beautiful dress, like some princess in a forgotten fairytale, for someone to come and save her.”
I chose this quote because it shows how different Caitlin’s viewpoint on life is now that her sister and boyfriend are gone. The key points in the plot are in this, as well.
Caitlin’s relationship with her sister was very strong. They always knew what each other were thinking and how they would react to certain things. But Caitlin always kept one thing hidden from her sister; her constant reminder of how perfect Cass was. Cass had the life Caitlin had always dreamed of; good grades, popular friends, and athletic ability beyond compare. Caitlin was tired of being in the shadow of her sister. Then the morning of Caitlin’s birthday, Cass disappeared. The only note left behind said that Cass had left with her boyfriend Adam and just needed some time away. Of course, Cass’s parents were extremely surprised and worried by this news. Suddenly Caitlin’s special day, her one day to be praised more than Cass had come, only to be ruined again by something more important.
Because of this, Caitlin thought she needed to fill the gap of Cass for her mom. She got involved in cheerleading, which made her mom very happy and gave her something to focus in on besides Cass. The relationship between Caitlin and her mom is like a typical teen relationship. There is enough trust to send Caitlin on a date or something like that, but still not hand-in-hand. Because of this, Caitlin tries to get away from all the stress at home by hanging out with the new guy she met; Rogerson. Rogerson slowly helps Caitlin feel better about her life and gives her someone to lean on and trust, until he lashes out one day and slaps her.
I thought this was a great thing to put in the book because a lot of teens these days can relate to domestic violence. It also shows the reader that not everything, even in a book, has the ending you want it to have. Things will never turn out perfect, so you just have to go with your instinct and try to make the outcome as good as it can get. In Caitlin’s case, Rogerson took that away from her. She was so afraid to let go of him that she started to lose her best friend Rina, along with all the things that had gotten her where she was.
I thought the author had a good layout of the book for the reader. Sarah Dessen did not put chapter titles, but put little sections. The first section was called Cass, and mainly focused on the family’s transition after Cass disappeared. The next section was called Rogerson, and obviously talked about Caitlin and Rogerson’s influence on her. This took up most of the book until the climax hit. Then the next and last section was called “me”, referring to Caitlin. I do not want to give too much away, but this part is pretty much just explaining Caitlin’s transition yet again from something that happens in the climax. I thought this layout fit the book well because chapter titles would have ruined the effect and given too much away.
Overall, I would definitely rate this book on the high end of the scale. Somewhere around an 8.5 to 9 would suit it well. I am rating it this because I believe, as I have said before, that it relates to a lot of problems teens our age or older are running into. It also has the style of writing I like, which is the kind that lets you figure certain things out if you look close enough, but never gives anything important away too early. I would recommend this book to girls more than boys, but saying that, I think it would suit any girls’ taste in genre.
Sincerely,
Brianna Young
