Product Description

When Caitlin first meets Rogerson Biscoe, he seems to be everything she wants him to be. He's handsome, sensitive, and more than a bit mysterious. And before long, Rogerson has cast a spell over Caitlin. A spell that keeps her in a dreamland from which she can't seem to break free-even when the dreams turn into nightmares. Beautifully crafted, with a vivid plot and sharply drawn characters, this is a powerful and intensely compelling story of a young girl struggling to break free of an abusive relationship.

"Dreamland is the story of many contemporary teen relationships. Compelling reading." (School Library Journal, starred review)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4126 in Books
• Published on: 2004-05-10
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

From Amazon.com
Strange, sleepy Rogerson, with his long brown dreads and brilliant green eyes, had seemed to Caitlin to be an open door. With him she could be anybody, not just the second-rate shadow of her older sister, Cass. But now she is drowning in the vacuum Cass left behind when she turned her back on her family's expectations by running off with a boyfriend. Caitlin wanders in a dream land of drugs and a nightmare of Rogerson's sudden fists, lost in her search for herself.

Why do so many girls allow themselves to get into abusive relationships--and what keeps them there? In this riveting novel, Sarah Dessen searches for understanding and answers. Caught in a trap that is baited with love and need, Caitlin must frantically manage her every action to avoid being hit by the hands that once seemed so gentle. All around her are women who care--best friends, mother, sister, mentor--but shame keeps her from confiding in any of them, especially Cass, her brilliant older sister, whose own flight from home had seemed to point the way.

Dessen has here created a subtle and compelling work of literature that goes far beyond the teen problem novel in a story rich with symbolism, dark scenes of paralyzing dread, quirky and memorable characters, and gleams of humor. With the consummate skill and psychological depth that brought her praise for Keeping the Moon, she explores the search for self-identity, the warmth of feminine friendships, and the destructive ways our society sets up young women for love gone wrong. (Ages 14 and older) --Patty Campbell

From Publishers Weekly
Caitlin O'Koren has always had to follow in the footsteps of her perfect older sister, Cassandra (homecoming queen, soccer star, student body president, soup kitchen volunteer). When Cassandra runs away from home, Caitlin finds herself trying to fill the gap Cass's absence creates. Shortly after, when she meets mysterious Rogerson Biscoe (a bad boy of the type Dessen hinted at in Someone Like You), Caitlin sees a way to forge a path for herself, away from Cass's shadow and the expectations weighing on her. Rogerson seems vaguely ominous, but Caitlin is taken by surprise when he first gets violent with her. Unwilling to give up the freedom she thinks her relationship gives her, she withdraws from her friends, starts failing in school and drifts into confusion. Her parents, the stereotypically meddling mom and stiff, emotionally distant father, and her close neighbors, two touchy-feely ex-hippies, are so caught up in their own concerns, and particularly in Cassandra's disappearance, that they fail to notice the difference in Caitlin (including what seems to be alarming physical evidence), pushing the limits of plausibility. For all these shortcuts, however, the characterizations have an unmistakable depth; readers may grow impatient with Caitlin and the obliviousness of her nearest and dearest, but they will believe she is real. Ages 12-up. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 9 Up-Cass, activist, athlete, and academic success, runs away to work on a TV talk show with her boyfriend. Sixteen-year-old Caitlin, always overshadowed by her older sister, feels ever more invisible as her parents single-mindedly seek to locate and bring Cass home. Caitlin's best friend convinces her to try out for cheerleading. She makes the squad and discovers that her mother begins to live vicariously through her activities, just as she had done with Cass. Then, Caitlin meets Rogerson Biscoe and falls in love with him. He's not like the jocks at Caitlin's public high school; he's rich, attractive, enigmatic, and wild. She smokes dope supplied by Rogerson, a small-time dealer, and their physical relationship is consummated. Anger drives him, and he controls Caitlin with fear and pain. Shocked and physically hurt, she lies to her parents. Rogerson's beatings escalate, and Caitlin is shattered psychologically as well as physically. Powerfully written and not soon forgotten, Dreamland is the secret story of many contemporary teen relationships. Caitlin's dependency on Rogerson is a realistic and finely drawn portrait of a young woman without a strong sense of self-esteem. Characters are well developed; even Cass comes through as a complete person. The high-school milieu is accurately depicted as is a family's reaction to an unpredictable crisis. Compelling reading with contemporary teen appeal.
Gail Richmond, San Diego Unified Schools, CA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

AMAZINGLY FANTASTIC!!!!
I never really picked up this book because I thought it, like another book I'd read with a similar plot, took place in a dream. I borrowed this book from the library prepared to completely hate it. Fortunately I was pleasantly surprised. It does start out a bit on the boring side but it catches you up in its whirlwind of emotions and its just impossible not to love it. Maybe not love it but you will not be able to keep from reading from front to back with this one. Its amazing. Caitlin's emotions are so real and , as a girl with an older sister who im always second to, I definitely understand where she's coming from. Not to ruin the story or anything but when the character of Rogerson is first introduced I fell for him so hard. It was like I was caught in that relationship too. I have never been,nor do I ever hope to be, in an abusive relationship but I have always wondered why a woman would stick around through that but this book definitely made me understand. Sure it doesn't have the perfect, everything-works-out-in-the-end ending but I wouldn't consider it depressing. A definite must read.

deliciously different
The thing that struck me while reading Dreamland is the same element that causes many people to label the book 'disturbing'... the focus on how Caitlin let herself be abused and hurt. The language is beautiful and honest, and the characters are remarkably sympathetic- not in the sense that the reader feels sorry for them, but that the reader understands the reasons behind their behavior. Dreamland may be dark and gloomy, but it is also painfully honest, realistic, and compelling. A must read for anyone that isn't under the delusion that all teen literature has to be coated with happy pills!

Depressing
When I began to read this book it sounded like a fantasy novel. But it turned into a story about drugs. If you like depressing scary stories this is the book for you! I would suggest "THis Lulaby" instead.