That was something that Caitlin had grown used to and seemed to accept it…She was also used to Cass leading the way, she never had to worry about getting along because there was always a clear cut path for her to follow. She was used to always coming in as second best and with a “perfect” older sister like Cass, that was not a hard thing to do.

She didn’t really know who she was which isn’t all that uncommon for girls her age. While this book was one of her shortest, I still think that she was able to incorporate both of her signatures into this book smoothly and although Caitlin’s story is much darker than her more recent books, it had the same strong effect. When I think of Sarah Dessen, I always think of a strong, solid story and well developed characters. The book itself is a sad one, but I find these responses to it even more heartbreaking. Rather than condemning Rogerson for being a manipulative brutalizer, they are judging Caitlin, a lost teenage girl, for “allowing” something like this to happen to her. It also shocks me that people are so focused on the reasons Caitlin stayed (which are pretty clear to me) rather than the reasons and the facts of what Rogerson was doing to her. It amazes me how little empathy people have and how they miss the point completely. In general what I am seeing is that, although it was a good story, a lot of people have an issue with the “poor choices” the main character, Caitlin O’Koren, has made and they cannot understand how or why she would stay in a relationship where physical, emotional and mental abuse were taking place.

Of course, I cannot expect everyone to like every single book that I like or see every story the same way I see it, but I am actually confused by the arguments being made for disliking this book. My Thoughts: I have read a ton of reviews on this book and I have to say I am pretty shocked at the content of a lot of them. But what happens when being with Rogerson becomes a larger problem than being without him? Being with him makes Caitlin forget about everything else–her missing sister, her withdrawn mother, her lackluster life. Rogerson is different from anyone Caitlin has ever known. Synopsis: Ever since she started going out with Rogerson Biscoe, Caitlin seems to have fallen into a semiconscious dreamland where nothing is quite real.

Dreamland book summary sarah dessen