This review originally appeared on the book review blog justonemorepaige.wordpress.com.

I’ve been wanting/planning to read something by Sarah Dessen for awhile now. She is a rather prolific and well-respected YA author and she happens to be from NC. O heyyyy, that’s where I live! And especially since she just published a new novel, her name has been everywhere for the last few weeks. In any case, I’ve almost checked out one of her books at the library like 7 times and for some reason I never actually have. Then I was at a used book sale one day and this was sitting right on top of a pile in the YA section. Although it’s not one of Dessen’s more well-known titles, I figured if I buy it for like, $1, and it’s in my house (removing the step of checking it out at the library and having a time limit on getting through it), maybe that’ll be what actually gets me to read it. It did work, though in a slightly different way than I had imagined, as there was a perfect opportunity for a photograph with it and then, once that was taken, the pressure from my husband to actually read it (so I could post said photo with the review) was pretty strong.

It’s a weird coincidence that this novel is on theme with It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover, which I posted about a few months ago, and is probably the only other book in this genre that I’ve read in years. And it’s a little unfortunate, I think, because that makes it impossible to avoid drawing comparisons between the two. But I’ll try to give a non-comparison review first (the best I can).

This was such a fast read - I think it took me a total of maybe 3 hours, over 2 sittings, to finish it. The dialogue was solid, not stilted or overdone, and the writing didn’t have too much telling/explaining, but trusted that by showing the reader what was happening, we would be smart enough to draw the “right,” or really any, conclusions. So the normal things that make me cringe while reading weren’t present. However, that lack of overt bad didn’t necessarily equate to a full “good.” The character development ranged from nothing special to nothing at all. Caitlin, our main character and narrator, was the only one in the story that had any real sort of depth or development. And though the author clearly tried with Rogerson and Cass as well, and there was some promise, it just didn’t quite happen. The rest just felt like a lot of tropes all mixed up together: the “hippie” neighbors, the sports-enthused dad, the “bad influence” friend… Also, there were a lot of what seemed like “trying too hard” efforts to create metaphors with sports references and swimming/drowning. Even the titular “dreamland” reference started very forced (though it grew into itself a bit throughout the story). But despite all that, the story that’s told is one that I think a lot of youth can identify with. In fact, if I look back, I definitely can. The pressure from parents to live up to “your full potential,” or to match the potential of a sibling, and the need to do something totally opposite/different in order to get out from underneath that, is widespread. As a high schooler, it is much easier to let that carry you too far away, or in too deeply, as happened here with Caitlin, and really Cass as well. This book is important in that it talks about concepts and situations that are important to recognize and represent in literature about this age group, even if, perhaps, adults would rather pretend that none of it is happening. 

However, this is where I really have to jump into a comparison with It Ends With Us. The same type of [negative] relationship is handled there, in what I felt like was a much more capable, nuanced way. Now, to be fair, Hoover’s book is about an older couple, both of whom had graduated college and had their own lives, jobs, etc. I do believe that that allows for a more complex handling, because at that age there is more freedom for the characters actions and, theoretically, they know themselves better and have grown into who they are more. But the fact that Hoover's main characters' youths, backgrounds, etc. were more fleshed out and handled better as well is a stark difference. Plus, some of the deeper consequences of this type of relationship can be, and were, explored - which is much more real and does allow for the reader to really learn more (in my opinion, super important, in this case).

Mini spoiler alert: If you are looking for a story about an abusive relationship, Hoover’s is significantly deeper and more compelling and I recommend it. I will say though, that if you are looking for a novel specifically to introduce the idea of an abusive relationship to a younger person, and you want something they’re more likely to identify with and that will cover everything (getting into it, getting stuck in it, working to get out/over it) in more of a surface level way, then I do think Dessen’s book is a good choice. Also, it would be good to read so that even if it’s not something that ever happens to a young reader directly, they could perhaps recognize signs in their friend(s) and be able to help. Learning signs and how to step in for someone else can be just as important as learning how to step in and help yourself. And Dessen really does show, perhaps even more so than Hoover, that anyone can get into a situation or relationship like this, even if there are no “red flags” in their background.

All in all, this was not necessarily something special, but it did give me some insight into Dessan's popularity with her YA readership, and, for me, that made it worth reading. After reading some reviews though, it also seems that this book is very different than her others, so perhaps I'll have to read one more to truly get it - we'll see.