Dream Within a Dream

Dream Within a Dream
Patricia MacLachlan
Simon & Schuster, 2019 119 pages
Grades 5-7
Realistic Fiction

Eleven year old Louisiana (Louisa) and her little brother Theo are sent for the summer to their grandparent's house on Deer Island off the New England mainland. Grandpa Jake's eyes are failing as he struggles to keep up with the small farm, work on his beloved classic car, and spend time with the love of his life; Grandma Boots. Boots is busy reinventing herself, as she prepares to pick up some of the slack created by her husband's declining health. The predicable summer changes for Louisa when she meets the neighbor boy, George, and sparks fly. It is love at first sight as the two new friends get to know each other through conversations, dancing, and interviewing local island folk for a special project. Theo and his new pals also get involved in the project and Theo decides and that he does not want to return to "normal" mainland life, but wants to remain on the island. Louisa agrees, so when their naturalist parents return from a birding exhibition, the kids plead their case to stay. Will they be allowed to remain on the island with their grandparents, new friends, and the sense of home?

Newbery winner, Patricia MacLachlan is consistently an amazing writer of children's literature. Her books are beautifully lyrical with intentional language, making every word count. This atmospheric story does not fail to disappoint in this regard. It is tightly written and feels like a magical fairy tale--yet the magic is real. My artist cousin lived on a small island off the coast of Maine. This island was a magical place: a simple life filled with eccentric and kind people, far away from the rat-race that is our consumer driven popular-culture worshiping society. I considered joining her on the island-for a hot minute. The lack of employment opportunities kept me in the New Jersey suburbs. This book is so reminiscent of that place that it truly brought me back. Deer Island captures the peace I remember, as well as the fabulous characters. One of Maclachlan's islanders is Ashley Bryan, who really does live on an island off of Maine, which was a playful touch. My trouble with this book is that I am not sure of the intended audience. The reading level, length, and font size make the story appear to be for third and fourth graders, yet the subject matter of first love makes it more appropriate for an older audience. I had trouble with an eleven year old falling in love with the complete support of all the adults, who lead Louisa to believe that finding your soulmate at eleven is completely natural. A bit quiet for young readers, I don't think that they will relate to the plot or appreciate the beautiful language. Also, between the family, friends, island people, dogs, and various livestock, there are a lot of names to keep straight and I, myself, struggled with this, so I can only imagine how a young reader will do with it. A beautiful book that is sure to end up on many "best of" lists, yet may be lost on the audience for which is was created.