Dreamland

Reader reviewed by Julie

*Spoilers*

I liked this book, though it wasn't my favorite. It started out sadly with Caitlin's sister running away. The story was just in the life of an average teenage girl at the beginning, who was a little depressed. Soon, Cailtin became a cheerleader and found some dark, alluring guy she couldn't stay away from. Rogerson. He was mysterious and exciting, he added 'fun' into Caitlin's life. Everything was perfect, except for the occasional drugs and all. Caitlin was slowly getting over her sister leaving. Then... Rogerson hit her. This started happened more and more everday, but Caitlin kept it a secret; she loved him. The story is a good, but sad book. The cover is eye-candy, first of all and second of all, I liked the plot. It was simple and normal, which I could relate to... kinda. This was a good read and I finished it in two short days. I would recommend it to anyone! It was a good read!

Reader reviewed by cintia

rogerson seemed like such a cool person at first and i can totally understand why caitlin fell for him. this novel is so realistic because it hppens to sooo many young girls and this incourages them to stand up for themselves. it all transitions so smoothly .

Reader reviewed by Tia

This was a very good book. I got sort of frusterated at Catlin the main character, but I really do like her!

Catlin's sister Cass is perfect and when Cass leaves, Catlin's mom takes over Catlins life. Can Catlin walk in Cass's footsteps? When Catlin meets Rodgerson everything changes. She loves him. But what happens when he hurts her?

Reader reviewed by Amanda Marasco

Caitlin doesn't want to be safe. She doesn't want the "perfect, football playing" boyfriend. She wants someone different, someone like Rogerson. Rogerson has a sad background but that doesn't make him a bad guy right? WRONG. Rogerson is a very bad guy. Rogerson is bad from the moment he hits Caitlin for the first time.

This book was really touching. The subject of abuse is really hard to write about and i think Sarah Dessen grasps it well. The only thing that annoyed me was that NO ONE noticed the physical and mental changes in Caitlin. How likely is that?

You should buy this the next time you go to the book store!

Reader reviewed by Katie

Once again, Sarah Dessen does it. Manages to find her way into the teenage mind. She portrays the struggles of a girl caught in her "perfect" sister's wake. I feel myself as I'm reading through her books thinking "Wow, I've felt this EXACT same way before."

Sarah Dessen is personally my favorite author. She always manages to relate you to her books, and draws the reader in. This book wasn't her best, because even though I'm a huge fan I struggled getting into it at first. But, my personal advice would be to stick it out, near the end is where you'll really love it. I read it in about 4 days, and the last 100 pages in about an hour. So, even though it wasn't her best, I would definitely say that it's worth the read, as are all her other books.

Reader reviewed by jamie

this is a good book that delve into the dangerous world of abuse in a relationship. Caitlin's family is turned upside-down when her perfect sister leaves town with her boyfriend. Caitlin tries to be good, but not fall into the place of her sister, who was an over achiever. in her struggle, her friend convinces her to become a cheerleader because 'it's one of the only things her sister didn't do'. on her way to an after game party, she meets the person who changes her drastically. Rogerson. her friends think he is a druggie and later she finds out that her friends are right. he abuses her and she covers it up, until.....

not the best, but a good book from Sarah. i liked it.

Reader reviewed by mh

Dreamland is about a girl who falls in love with a bad boy. Everything seems to be going fine until he starts hitting her. Not just once but all the time. Caitlin is too scared to talk to anyone about it so she says nothing and it continues. You can really feel for this character and feel with her. It's like you are in the story yourself. This book is really good and it's about stuff that happens nowadays too.
You should definetely read it if you like books where people have to deal with all kinds of problems.

Reader reviewed by Grace

When Caitlin's sister runs away, her parents are devasted and keep hoping for her to return. Caitlin tries to fill in Cass's gap by not following in her footsteps. When she meets Rogerson, she becomes hynotized by his mysteriousness. He smokes pot and knows the answer to any trivia question Caitlin asks him. But when Rogerson starts to hit her, and no one notices, Caitlin doesn't tell anyone and doesn't leave him. She never knows if he will be in a bad mood. Will anyone notice before it's too late?

Dreamland is a haunting story about a girl who is abused. I don't really understand why Caitlin didn't leave Rogerson. How could someone love a person who abused them? This is a sad but good book that everyone can learn from.

Reader reviewed by Amanda

Dreamland is a sad, but close to life book. Excuse me if some of my information is wrong, but I read this last winter. I read some of the reviews and I don't think they explained the entire picture of the tragic tale.


Caitlin is a young woman, deciding who to be, what to do with her life. After a terrible problem regarding her runaway sister (which goes off with a boyfriend and begins work on a Jerry Springer-esque TV show), Caitlin is left out of the family. She wants to do something to get attention back. Caitlin meets a dredlocked boy named Rogerson Biscoe. Her friends believe he is a druggie. It turns out that he is. Rogerson drags Caitlin into his dangerous life of drug trafficking, drinking, partying, and sexual behavior. He even gets her use drugs. Being the trafficker that he is, Rogerson even provides her with free drugs. Rogerson takes her to hang out with his "hazed" friends, who she later takes for her own. However, this is at his own luxury. Rogerson abuses Caitlin. Just as in most relationships like these, she says she loves him and won't tell others about the problems. He is "important" to her. Rogerson denounces Caitlin all the time with harsh words and his beating. He is an awful person. At this time, Caitlin ditches her other life.


Eventually, Rogerson is caught. Caitlin still must "do the time" for taking drugs, but also heals from the abusive relationship. If you want an inside look into an abusive relationship, read this novel. It is will help you make the right decisions.


I liked this novel because of the reality and the boundaries it crossed. Most books won't get into such topics. Sarah Dessen has the ability to show how awful it is and help others. She is one of my favorite authors.