Review: Dreamland

Title: Dreamland

Author: Sarah Dessen

Release Date: September 1^st, 2000

Series: None

Number of Pages: 250

Publisher: Puffin

Source: Bought

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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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I was really excited to finally read a Sarah Dessen’s book, as I’ve heard so many great comments about them. Yet, there was just something that stopped me from really enjoying it.

I may have compared it to the book But I Love Him that I’ve read not long away. I just couldn’t connect with the main character. I just couldn’t understand why she decided to stay with him. Where I wish we could have seen more the struggle of “I love him. I know he loves me too” kind of way, I saw more a girl that went there because she was looking for something to distance herself from her sister and family. After all, he was everything her parents wouldn’t want for her.

I ended up not liking Caitlin. There was just something in her that didn’t work for me. I couldn’t connect with her, which made me kind of uninterested in knowing what she felt. She just didn’t make me curious about why. Rogerson (what kind of name is that?) was just the bad boy of the story. He didn’t make me feel much. Well, I was disgusted by his actions, but that’s all. I think I would have rather read about Cassandra’s story, what made her leave her family. Finally, I didn’t like the parents. I just thought the mother was annoying and the father not there enough for his daughter.

Even thought I didn’t connect with the story, I will pick more books from Sarah Dessen. I did enjoy her writing, her style.