Published: May 11, 2004 by: Speak
Pages: 250
Rating: 2/5 stars
Caitlin O' Koren has been lost ever since her sister mysteriously disappeared. Her mother is disconnected from the world, her father is over protective of her, and Caitlin is stuck in the middle. The enters Rogerson, a cocky and seductive senior who takes Caitlin under his wing and shows her how to mask her feelings. Caitlin feels like she's floating in a dream, under Rogerson's spell. That is, until Rogerson starts acting different, more violent. Will Caitlin be able to bring herself back to reality?
All I can say about this book is: dark. It is EXTREMELY emotional, it is deep, and it is devastating. The book ultimately deals with abuse, with the main protagonist stuck in a dangerous relationship that she has emotionally bonded herself too. Caitlin feels alone and isolated, and so she enters the relationship so she can share her feelings with someone who relates to her. This book was so emotionally frusturating, with me many times wanting to hurl the book at the wall. It is sad :(
The characters were so real, so very, very real. Caitlin felt like a real person, that I was hearing her story and I couldn't do anything about it. Rogerson seemed exactly like a teenager who could do this in real life: broken himself, struggles with drug abuse, and so many terrible, horrible things. I understand exactly what Dessen was going for, she hit the realistic spot on, and it hit me hard.
I guess the reason that I didn't enjoy this book that much is because there was nothing happy about it. It is definitely to an aquired taste, and it hit hard after the humorous and lighter books that I have read from her previously. I would say that she did dark well, but it just wasn't for me.
There isn't that much left to say about this book, quite honestly. It wasn't what I expected at all, I thought that it would have been a fluffier romance quite honestly, but that just goes to show to not judge a book by it's cover. I sympathized with Caitlin so much, and it was so terrible to see her suffer.
So overall I guess, if you're into very dark, dreary and upsetting books, then this would be one for you. If you like to cry, but not in a good way, then this would be one for you. But it wasn't for me, and gosh darn I needed to read something happier after this one.
Have you read Dreamland? What did you think?
Emily @ Paperback Princess
I really love some Sarah Dessen novels- I should check this one out!!
ReplyDeletehttp://katelynmcphee.blogspot.ca
You should, if you can handle the frustration:(
DeleteThis book sounded really deep and emotional. Although many books of Sarah Dessen disappointed me, I'm glad I'm still willing to try this one given how much you loved this book. You totally sold me. Awesome review, Emily! This is very neat. :)
ReplyDeleteFiona | A Girl Between the Pages
Thank you, Fiona! While I do also have a love-hate relationship with Dessen's books, I would say that she does deep and dark stuff very well!
DeleteI haven't read Dreamland, but Sarah Dessen came to a book fest that I went to and she talked about it being a very controversial book which sparked my interest...but this review makes it clear that it might not be the best book. Great review, as always!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kate! Controversial... Definitely, but I do think that it could be very interesting to people nonetheless!
DeleteThis sounds really interesting and dark! I always thought that Sarah Dessen's novels were more light - will definitely add this to my TBR list! Great review!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Geraldine! I hope you can enjoy it more than I did, as I do think it could appeal to many people.
DeleteI think this is the only Sarah Dessen book (out of the ones I've read) I didn't like. Like you, I thought it would be more romancy and cute but nope. It was very real though!
ReplyDeleteA little too real... Definitely not what you'd expect.
DeleteHmm... I'm honestly not sure this novel is for me - I do enjoy dark and sort of painful to read books once in awhile, but for some reason I'm not really interested in this one. Maybe because I've read other books that dealt with abusive relationships and sort of had enough of the topic? IDK.
ReplyDeleteLovely review, though. :)
Yeah when reading this book I was reading a lot of dark and sad books, so maybe I was just feeling a little worn out! Wasn't for me.
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