Dreamland

This is a book I've kept on my shelf since I read it as a teenager (along with Keeping the Moon and This Lullaby), and I wasn't sure if it would hold up now that I'm older. But this book hit me just as hard as it did the first time.

This book is about a girl who feels lost and invisible in the aftermath of her sister running away, and it chronicles a romantic relationship that slowly turns abusive.

There are two things that make this book great. First is how it pulls you into Caitlin's emotions. You're right there with her as she struggles with feeling lost, the excitement of Rogerson and doing something new. And you're right there with her the first time he hits her, and she decides not to tell anyone. Because being with him makes everything better, more bearable, and she can't bear to lose that.

The second thing is all the side characters. Stories like this are often written way too deep in the character's head, so that all we see are their thoughts, and other characters are filtered through those thoughts and never right on the page. This book isn't like that. The other characters are vibrant, with their own lives and struggles. And it makes it all the more striking as she withdraws from them, and they either don't notice or can't seem to catch hold of her.

My only critique of this book is that there are some descriptions and language that are no longer PC. It was written in 2000 and you can really feel it sometimes. I had a similar feeling re-reading The Bean Trees, which has some character descriptions that made me cringe, but is another book I absolutely love.

A random thought: I want to say that every teenage girl should read this book, but I wonder if the lack of technology makes it entirely irrelevant. One of the major sequences of the book hinges on the fact that Caitlin is trying to call Rogerson, but he's not at home (this is before cell phones). I feel like this story would be written so differently if it was put out today, with cell phones and social media.