Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - Dreamland

Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

41 reviews

kayleigh_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

So I started reading Sarah Dessen when I was a teenager and I've basically made it my mission to eventually read all her books. I decided to read this because it was short and I knew Sarah Dessen books were light, fluffy, contemporaries and that's exactly what I was looking for. If you are going to read this don't just assume everything she writes is light and fluffy because this certainly was not.
Personally I just don't think this book was for me. I feel like some of the problem could have been because I truly wasn't expecting what I got from this book. That's completely a me problem and that's on me for not doing my research. Sarah Dessen did a really good job writing the story but I just feel like she should stick to her usual. She really made me like Rogerson before everything changed and I'm hoping that was was the intention. I'm not saying you can never branch out but it just seemed weird coming from her.
My big problem with this book was that this is a book where the main plot is Caitlin being in an abusive relationship and it takes more than half of the book for that to develop. You could argue that she was building up to it and there were subtle things in the beginning but I just didn't see them. I was so bored waiting for the main plot to happen and honestly I thought about DNFing multiple times. Also the abusive relationship felt like it came straight out of left field. It just seemed like Rogerson flipped a switch and it didn't make any sense. I know that this is sometimes the case and maybe that's what we were going for and it was supposed to be like that or maybe once again I missed subtle things in the beginning that would of made it make more sense but I just didn't like it.
This is also one of Sarah Dessen's earlier works and I think that I just prefer her newer books to the older things she has. From what I remember of the books that I've read from her I've enjoyed her newer books a lot more than any of her other books.

Content Warnings

whatchareadingheather's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

This was a re-read and it was a wild ride looking back at my younger self’s reading taste. I can definitely see how a certain TikTok famous author is huge if you were a loyal reader of Dessen in your younger years.

Content Warnings

dogayye15's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I liked seeing the main character struggle with all the emotions around everything that is happening in her life and seeing how it changes how the family dynamics work. I loved seeing a functional family dynamic full of love. Decent book but hard read.

The domestic abuse was really hard to read, especially as the main character is struggling with rationalizing the actions.

Content Warnings