Book Review: Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

Title: Dreamland
Author: Sarah Dessen
Published: May 11th 2004

I am a huge fan of Sarah Dessen's booking having read and proudly owning all of her books  now. Dreamland is a much more serious book compared to her others which are about the happy endings of romance, Dreamland is how love can turn your life upside down in a negative way.

After Cassandra, Caitlin's sister, runs away with her perfect man, her family is distraught. They can't come to terms why she would of decided to leave. Caitlin is constantly thinking about how to fill Cassandra's place so she joins the cheer leading squad. Then Rogerson, the bad-boy, enters. It all seems perfect but soon, everything goes spiralling down hill, and everyone is too upset of the absent of Cassandra to notice vulnerable Caitlin and everything inside her is crumbling.

Sarah Dessen's previous books such as The Truth About Forever, Along For the Ride and What Happens to Goodbyes are all very light hearted book about romance so I was very eager to get my hands on Dreamland which is the opposite to all her books. Dessen also said that this book was much more complex than her others when writing.

Anyone can end up in the situation in which Caitlin is in and I think the way in which Dessen showed how everything gets to the worst is done well in this book. Caitlin's development through the book was, for me, very sad. I felt sympathetic for Caitlin and despite her not admitting it, she was very lonely once her sister left.  Whilst everyone else's grief was more obvious Caitlin's was wrapped inside and she pushed it down to the point that she could let drugs and an abusing relationship damage her.

Within this book it teaches the biggest lesson of how if there is ANYTHING wrong, you must tell someone. When your feeling alone, speak up because if you don't your decisions could turn into something that you subconsciously think is right, but is terribly wrong.