I love Sarah Dessen. She’s become one of my favorite writers, and this is the last of her books I had to read. I saved it for last because I knew it was darker than the others. Just because it is shorter than her other novels, do not be deceived, it is much harder to get through. I actually took my time reading this one. I took a break when I reached the half way point, once I got to the point where the relationship between Caitlin and Rogerson becomes abusive. There are a lot of scenes that are difficult to read, but they don’t make the book bad by any means.

The novel is beautifully written, and Dessen’s style really helps you to get into the head of a teenage girl who allows herself to be pulled into an all consuming, and ultimately very destructive relationship. When Caitlin first leaves a party with Rogerson on a whim, I was confused, wanting to yell at the book, what girl goes off with a guy she just met and knows nothing about? But, it happens, and the other characters react the same way I did. There is this magnetism that draws her to him, and she doesn’t understand it, but she wants to escape into it. So much is going on in her homelife that Caitlin sees Rogerson as a safety net, a new adventure, and then she gets stuck in this perpetual “dreamland” because of that.

If you read this novel, be prepared to find it both disturbing and fascinating. It will simultaneously suck you in and push you away. It’s not easy subject matter to go through, but in a world where hiding abusive relationships has become more and more common, it is a good read for adolescents, especially young women.