book review dreamland

Book Review: Dreamland by Nicholas Sparks

Posted September 19, 2022 by WendyW in Book Review , bookblogger / 43 Comments

***I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.***

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Wish comes a poignant love story about risking everything for a dream—and whether it’s possible to leave the past behind.   Colby Mills once felt destined for a musical career, until tragedy grounded his aspirations. Now the head of a small family farm in North Carolina, he spontaneously takes a gig playing at a bar in St. Pete Beach, Florida, seeking a rare break from his duties at home.   But when he meets Morgan Lee, his world is turned upside-down, making him wonder if the responsibilities he has shouldered need dictate his life forever. The daughter of affluent Chicago doctors, Morgan has graduated from a prestigious college music program with the ambition to move to Nashville and become a star. Romantically and musically, she and Colby complete each other in a way that neither has ever known.   While they are falling headlong in love, Beverly is on a heart-pounding journey of another kind. Fleeing an abusive husband with her six-year-old son, she is trying to piece together a life for them in a small town far off the beaten track. With money running out and danger seemingly around every corner, she makes a desperate decision that will rewrite everything she knows to be true.   In the course of a single unforgettable week, two young people will navigate the exhilarating heights and heartbreak of first love. Hundreds of miles away, Beverly will put her love for her young son to the test. And fate will draw all three people together in a web of life-altering connections . . . forcing each to wonder whether the dream of a better life can ever survive the weight of the past.

Dreamland by Nicholas Sparks is a very emotional story of a farmer who enjoys music, an aspiring singer, and a woman escaping an abusive marriage with her young son.  Nicholas Sparks writes very emotional books, and Dreamland was no exception.  

Colby Mills is a farmer in North Carolina, who used to think he could have a career in music.  He was raised by his aunt and uncle along with his sister after their parents died suddenly.  When his uncle died suddenly of a heart attack, Colby knew he had to stay home and help his aunt run the family farm, and his music dreams were put aside.  After many years of running the farm, he managed to make it much more profitable, and he decided to take a three-week break, singing in a bar at St. Pete beach in Florida.   

In Florida, Colby meets Morgan Lee, and recent college graduate, spending time on the beach with her friends before they start their real life.  Colby and Morgan fall in love really hard and really fast.  But, Morgan wants to pursue a singing career in Nashville, and Colby has responsibilities back in North Carolina.  

While Colby and Morgan are falling in love, Beverly is on the run with her six-year-old son, from an abusive marriage.  Fearing for her life, and her son’s life, she makes sure she is able to escape without a trace.  She wonders if she can ever completely escape the clutches of such a controlling man.  

First, I loved Colby.  He’s a decent man at heart, who only wants a simple life, and doesn’t believe he deserves the love of such a pretty young woman.  Morgan is just what Colby needs.  She supports and loves Colby just the way he is, and wants him by her side as she pursues a music career.  She’s young, and her questions and some of her decisions are that of a younger character, but I thought that was a realistic portrayal.  

Beverly’s story was so intense and I was on the edge of my seat when I was reading her parts.  I was rooting for her and her son, so much.  And that’s all I’m going to say about her story.  

I highly recommend Dreamland to anyone who enjoys emotional stories.  I received a complimentary copy of this book.  The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

About Nicholas Sparks

Nicholas Sparks is one of the world’s most beloved storytellers. All of his books have been New York Times bestsellers, with over 105 million copies sold worldwide, in more than 50 languages, including over 75 million copies in the United States alone.

Sparks wrote one of his best-known stories, The Notebook, over a period of six months at age 28. It was published in 1996 and he followed with the novels Message in a Bottle (1998), A Walk to Remember (1999), The Rescue (2000), A Bend in the Road (2001), Nights in Rodanthe (2002), The Guardian (2003), The Wedding (2003), True Believer (2005) and its sequel, At First Sight (2005), Dear John (2006), The Choice (2007), The Lucky One (2008), The Last Song (2009), Safe Haven (2010), The Best of Me (2011), The Longest Ride (2013), See Me (2015), Two by Two (2016), Every Breath (2018), The Return (2020) and The Wish (2021) as well as the 2004 non-fiction memoir Three Weeks With My Brother, co-written with his brother Micah. His twenty-second novel, Dreamland, will be published on September 20, 2022.

Film adaptations of Nicholas Sparks novels, including The Choice, The Longest Ride, The Best of Me, Safe Haven (on all of which he served as a producer), The Lucky One, Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, The Notebook, Nights in Rodanthe, Dear John and The Last Song, have had a cumulative worldwide gross of over three-quarters of a billion dollars. The Notebook is also being adapted into a musical, featuring music and lyrics by Ingrid Michaelson.

Sparks lives in North Carolina. He contributes to a variety of local and national charities, and is a major contributor to the Creative Writing Program (MFA) at the University of Notre Dame, where he provides scholarships, internships, and a fellowship annually. He co-founded The Epiphany School in New Bern, North Carolina in 2006. As a former full scholarship athlete (he still holds a track and field record at the University of Notre Dame) he also spent four years coaching track and field athletes at the local public high school. In 2009, the team he coached at New Bern High School set a World Junior Indoor Record in the 4x400 meter, in New York. The record still stands.

The Nicholas Sparks Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit committed to improving cultural and international understanding through global education experiences for students of all ages was launched in 2011. Between the foundation, and the personal gifts of the Sparks family, more than $15 million dollars have been distributed to deserving charities, scholarship programs, and projects. Because the Sparks family covers all operational expenses of the foundation, 100% of donations are devoted to programs.

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I like the UK Cover better as it depicts the story better.

Have you read Dreamland? Do you enjoy books by Nicholas Sparks?

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43 responses to “ book review: dreamland by nicholas sparks ”.

[…] Book Review: Dreamland by Nicholas SparksTuesday: Top Ten Tuesday! Tuesday: Book Review: The Frederick Sisters Are Living the Dream by […]

I do enjoy books by Nicholas Sparks yes, but I haven’t read one in a year or two. I know the previous one is in our Book Club, I’ll try to take it next time.

The new one sounds good as well! He is a very good author for sure.

Wow it does sound so emotional. I haven’t read any of his books or seen films based on them, as I am a bit of a wuss when it comes to anything vaguely emotional!

I am glad that you enjoyed it 🙂

Have a great week!

Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog

I’ve never read anything from Nicholas Sparks, but Inhave enjoyed some adaptations his books. The books sounds so good and very emotional. This was a great review.

I haven’t read anything by Sparks. I’ve thought about it, though. I really enjoyed The Notebook and A Walk to Remember movies. I had no idea what he looks like! I did not imagine the picture you shared, lol. I thought he’d be much older. I’m glad you liked this. It does sound intriguing, especially the run from an abusive marriage part of the story.

I find his books comforting, as I know what I’m going to get.

This book sounds really good and have added it to my to be read – I haven’t actually read anything by Nicholas Sparks although the name rang a bell and when I read in the bio about The Notebook and Dear John I remembered where I heard the name before as I have seen those movies.

Parts of the plot also remind me of the most recent A Star Is Born movie – I guess the small-town country setting and Colby being an aspiring singer but will check this out 🙂

It’s similar to A Star is Born, but goes in a different direction.

I have yet to read any book by this author. This sounds heartwarming and emotive. Great review!

That’s the best way to describe his book. “heartwarming and emotive.”

Are there people out there who don’t enjoy Nicholas Sparks? I am really looking forward to getting to this book, it sounds as amazing as I would expect it to be. Wonderful review, Wendy.

Thank you, Carla. I think you will enjoy it too.

This sounds like a great Sparks book. I need to dip my feet into his repertoire.

I enjoy his books, but not everyone does.

I’ve watched some of the film adaptations of Sparks, but never read one of his books. I think I’d be on the edge of my seat worried about Beverly too. I wonder how their stories intersect.

It’s an interesting twist for sure.

I have been meaning to try his books, but never got around to it. This sounds emotional. Great review, Wendy.

His books are always so emotional.

I have never read him…I think I had intentions of it, at one point in time…great review, Wendy! It does sound intense and emotional.

Thank you, Cindy. I haven’t read all his books, but I’ve read quite a few of them, and I like his writing.

I didn’t realize he was coming out with another book. Great review!

I was excited to get this one, and now I’m really glad I did because I enjoyed it so much.

Sparks does write emotional books. My favorite is still The Notebook.

I loved that one too!

This does sound like a story that’s very intense with emotions. Nicholas Sparks is so good at that kind of story. Excellent review!

He sure knows how to bring out the emotions!

I haven’t been the biggest fan of his last few books but this sounds good. Might have to give him another try! Glad you enjoyed it!

I hope you enjoy it, if you get to it.

I didn’t know Nicholas Sparks had a new book out!

Yes, he’s fairly prolific.

I like the character of a farmer, quite unusual.

Yes, and he was a bit of a reluctant farmer at first and then became very good at it.

This sounds amazing. Sparks writes some truly emotional reads and they always have such a romantic feel even if they aren’t conventional romance.

Yes, that’s a great description of this book too.

This sounds like one I’d enjoy…on my wishlist.

I hope you enjoy it when you get to it, Cathy

We haven’t heard of this Nicholas Sparks book before. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Thank you! It’s a new one, out tomorrow.

Oh!! I have got to move this one up my TBR mountain. Wonderful review Wendy.🤗📚🌻💞

Thank you, Susan. Make sure you have that box of tissues nearby. 🙂

This does sound really good, I’m intrigued now, great review 😊

Thank you, Jenny!

Rachy Lewis

Dreamland by Nicholas Sparks | Book Review

This blog post uses affiliate links. All products linked and opinions are my own. Click here for full disclaimer .

Passionate whirlwind romance meets suspenseful thriller in Nicholas Sparks’ Dreamland and now that I’ve devoured every single page, it’s perfectly sensible I now share my candid review of the novel with you.

Believe it or not, whilst I’m as familiar with the infamous Nicholas Sparks movie adaptations as everyone else who loved them over the years, Dreamland is the first book of Sparks I’ve read from cover to cover. It would be undeniable I had high expectations for the book because of this. Did it live up to my expectations…?

Well, let’s dive in!

Book Summary

Colby Mills is not in his usual habitat when we’re introduced to his character. In fact, he’s very far from it. Taking a break from his daily duties working on the family farm, Colby is temporarily living a version of his childhood dream to be a paid musician. He jumps at a rare opportunity to play a few gigs at a bar in Florida and to escape the many responsibilities waiting for his return to his far home of North Carolina.

Meeting oddly confident and beautiful Morgan Lee one sunny day on the beach is the life-changing event he could have predicted. Unlike Colby, who has resigned to his fate, Morgan who is also seriously passionate about music, is bent on letting her passion drive her, and is about to move to Nashville to make her dreams a reality…

Meanwhile, the story takes on a complete shift of tone and rhythm with the introduction of Beverly, a woman who together with her six-year-old son flees from her abusive high-profile husband. She settles in a small-town intent to begin a new life but with her eyes always looking over her shoulder, will she be able to move on from her difficult past?

How do these stories intertwine with each other? Well, that’s something you’d learn if you picked up the book…

…as I walked down the beach, I found myself reliving the kiss, certain that my life would never be the same. DREAMLAND BY NICHOLAS SPARKS

To Read Or Not To Read?

(spoilers might be included below).

Dreamland by Nicholas Spark is one of those novels that border in between a ‘great read’ and ‘leaves something to be desired’. Here’s why.

The first few chapters do an amazing job of setting the story between Colby and Morgan. A soft summer romance ignited by a nearly-instant attraction drawing them closer with each interaction. The two get lost in comfortable conversations that don’t require the forceful need to fill up each moment of silence. I enjoyed that in particular. 

When Beverly’s story was introduced, I will admit I was completely thrown off guard and was utterly confused. As you may know, I almost never read the synopsis when I start reading a new book, hence I had no clue the story would alternate between Colby’s character and Beverly’s.

Colby’s was a first-person narration whereas Beverly’s story was told in the third person which I’ll admit I found the back-and-forth annoying at first.

Whilst Beverly’s story felt a bit random within the already established plotline, I couldn’t help but question her relevance to the big picture of the story, making her story quickly become the most intriguing part of the book. Mysterious, thrilling and filled with edge-of-the-seat moments – Beverly and her son became the part of the book I looked forward to.

Each time the story refocused on Colby and Morgan’s love story, I craved more of the gripping feelings I had when reading about Beverly’s story. I couldn’t help but wonder if Colby and Morgan were just generally not that fascinating as characters or if the second storyline was just too overpowering in comparison. I’m still not entirely sure.

As much as I loved them, I knew that somehow they’d also become my prison dreamland by Nicholas Sparks

Whilst I am a sucker for romance, I think Colby and Morgan’s didn’t come across as passionately as the writer might have intended. Whilst they managed to keep my attention for the most part, I wasn’t necessarily losing my mind over them being together. In fact, by the end, I was sure I would have been fine with things either way – whether they stayed together forever or went their separate ways. I felt I would have been satisfied with whatever story Nicholas Sparks chose for the characters.

The novel presents a rather unexpected twist I didn’t see coming at all. It all comes full circle when the reader is finally let to see the bigger picture and Beverly’s role within it. The twist was definitely well done – whether you like it or not is a different story.

Overall, despite a few flaws Dreamland by Nicholas Sparks was an enjoyable read. I looked forward to picking it up before bed at night and had a strong desire to pull all the threads together and fill in the dots – especially when it came to Beverly.

I prefer a more colourful writing style than the one Spark presents. The dialogue was very simple and direct ~ maybe a little too simple. What I mean by that is the words used and descriptions were really easy to follow, and things were stated in such an obvious way, that there was little room for my imagination to do any work. The simplicity, however, made flicking through the pages faster.

Frankly, I picked this book up because I expected swoon-worthy passionate romance and ended up staying for the thrills.

Rachy’s Rating:

Your restless romantic roamer

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'Dreamland' is the must-read book about America's heroin crisis

Award-winning journalist Sam Quinones combines thorough research with superlative narrative skills to produce a horrifying but compulsively readable book about opiate addiction in the United States.

• By By Kevin O'Kelly

April 28, 2015

At least 300,000 Americans use heroin, according to the latest statistics. From 2010 to 2013, the number of deaths from overdoses tripled from 3,036 to 8,257. Not coincidentally, since 1999 the number of prescription painkillers prescribed and sold in the United States has quadrupled, although incidents of chronic pain have not. Heroin use thrives on a disturbing symbiosis with painkiller addiction: 3 out of 4 new heroin users have reported they had previously abused prescription painkillers.  

And these twin addictions have spread in places one wouldn’t expect: Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee. The face of opiate addiction is no longer the inner-city homeless or actors in Greenwich Village. It’s suburban white kids in Columbus, soccer moms in Nashville, rural men in West Virginia. 

Award-winning journalist Sam Quinones (“True Tales from Another Mexico,” “Antonio’s Gun and Delfino’s Dream” ) traces the history of opiate addiction and its spread through the nation in Dreamland , a book that every American should read. And I state that without reservation. The story Quinones tells is an illustration of the failures of medicine in the so-called free-market system, of the destructiveness of corporate venality, and of the desperate and criminal lengths to which people mired in poverty or tormented by addiction can be driven.

“Dreamland” is the result of relentless research and legwork on the part of Quinones, as well as his talented storytelling. The opiate addiction epidemic was caused by a convergence of multiple, seemingly unrelated factors, and Quinones takes these narrative strands and weaves them together seamlessly. He takes us from pharmaceutical laboratories to the trailer parks of West Virginia, and from the poppy-growing regions of Northwestern Mexico to the streets of the Rust Belt town of Portsmouth, Ohio, without a moment’s confusion or narrative misstep. He knows the perfect moment to leave one topic and move on to the next.

For decades US pharmaceutical companies had been trying to create a non-addictive drug that could effectively control chronic pain. The 1995 FDA approval of Oxyontin, a drug almost chemically identical to heroin, occurred when insurance companies were increasingly reluctant to cover long-term treatment of chronic pain via effective but expensive techniques such as physical therapy and counseling. Purdue Pharma, which owned the patent to Oxycontin, reassured everyone it was non-addictive. When the company sales representatives cited non-existent studies demonstrating that Oxycontin could be used safely to treat chronic pain, doctors were all too willing to listen. Soon patients were hooked. Then people who didn’t suffer chronic pain but had heard about Oxycontin’s effects were eager to try it. And retirees who could get prescriptions began selling the pills to supplement their retirement income. Scams for getting and selling the drug multiplied.

Then the Xalisco Boys came to town. One of the finest narrative and journalistic accomplishments in this book is Quinones's portrait of this drug-dealing network whose members are both business paragons and criminal geniuses. They all come from a poppy-growing region of Northwest Mexico and sell black tar heroin, which is cheap, potent, and easy to make. Their dealers are paid a salary, so they have no incentive to dilute their product to maximize sales. Since violence almost always draws the attention of cops, the dealers seldom carry guns.  And since police and the press like big drug busts, large quantities of heroin in one location or with one dealer are rare. And they have a customer service ethos that matches Apple’s or Trader Joe’s, along with a delivery policy similar in spirit to “Domino’s 30 minutes or less:” Did a customer feel overcharged? Was the driver late? You’ll get free extra heroin next time. Was a driver unfriendly? Expect an apologetic phone call from his boss.

The Xalisco Boys also multiplied their return on investment in superior product and customer service by seeking out territories where there were no competitors. They avoided the American Southwest and the biggest cities, which were overflowing with drug dealers. The untapped markets were in places like the dying industrial Midwest, where members of families deep in second-generation unemployment were desperate for something that would make them feel like (in the words of one drug user) “king of the world.” They had already discovered Oxycontin and doctors who would write a prescription without asking questions. And if that doctor got caught, the Xalisco Boys were ready to step in with a product that gave the same high. And no more waiting in line at the pharmacy: The Xalisco Boys delivered.

The story of how opiate addiction spread is fascinating enough, but “Dreamland” is also peppered with bitter ironies. Heroin was invented by Bayer. The wife of the inventor of the hypodermic needle was the first person to die of an injected drug overdose. The dirty, worn clothes of a Mexican looking for farm work make him an automatic target for the Border Patrol, while a well-dressed drug dealer in a nice car can cross the border with ease.

This book is as much of a page-turner as a good mystery, as well as being thoroughly and disturbingly illuminating about a national crisis.

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59 pages • 1 hour read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

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Character Analysis

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Summary and Study Guide

Dreamland (2022) is a contemporary romance novel by Nicholas Sparks. Its contrapuntal narrative alternates between the first-person perspective of Colby Mills , who is on vacation in Florida at the insistence of his sister and aunt, and the third-person perspective of Beverly, a mother who, with her young son, is fleeing an abusive relationship. Once an aspiring musician, Colby has been running his family’s farm since the sudden death of his uncle. While Colby is in Florida, playing music at a local beachfront bar and falling headlong in love with Morgan, a young vocalist planning her future career, Beverly is navigating anxiety and danger. As their stories unfold, their narratives converge in a surprising twist that explores the transformative power of art and love.

Nicholas Sparks is the author of 23 novels, 11 of which have been adapted for the screen, and two works of non-fiction. His first novel, The Notebook (1996), became a bestseller in its first week of publication, and each of his subsequent novels have been New York Times bestsellers.

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This guide refers to the 2022 Random House Kindle edition.

Content Warning: The source text includes discussion of domestic violence and mental illness.

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Plot Summary

As a child, 25 year-old farmer, Colby Mills, lost his mother to suicide. With no father in the picture, he and his older sister, Paige, were raised by their aunt and uncle who own a small family farm in North Carolina. After his uncle died unexpectedly of a heart attack, Colby stepped in to run the family farm. When the novel begins, he is on vacation in St. Petersburg, Florida, relaxing and playing music at Bobby T’s, a beachfront bar.

One day at the beach, he encounters Morgan Lee , a 21 year-old college graduate who studied to be a vocal performer. The daughter of affluent doctors, Morgan had every advantage growing up, but she also faced challenges after being diagnosed with scoliosis. She faced ridicule from her peers because of her medical condition, and her parents became overprotective. As a result, she strived to achieve as much independence as possible, dedicating herself to her studies in order to attend college a year ahead of her age group.

Colby eventually learns that Morgan sought him out after hearing him perform and loving his voice . She is in St. Petersburg with a group of friends from her TikTok dance group. Individually and together, they have multi-million followings on social media. The trip is their last vacation together before each moves on to the next phase of her life which, for Morgan, means moving to Nashville to pursue a music career. When she asks about Colby’s future, he insists that his family responsibilities make it impossible for him to make music anything other than an enjoyable hobby.

Over the next few days, Colby and Morgan spend more and more time together. They kayak together through mangroves , have a picnic on the beach, and work on music together. Morgan and her friends attend his sets at Bobby T’s in between rehearsals for their final dance recording session, and he joins them for meals. After a powerful storm that results in a blackout, Morgan stays over at Colby’s rental condominium, and the two profess their love for each other.

Each outing brings them closer as they share intimate details about their lives, though Colby is holding back something about his sister, whom he describes as a survivor and a talented designer of Tiffany-inspired lamps. Though Colby wishes he could have a future with Morgan, he does not believe this is possible because of his family responsibilities. Falling in love with Morgan has inspired him as a song writer and forced him to confront his work-life imbalance. He knows that whatever happens with Morgan, he will never be the same again.

Elsewhere, Beverly carefully plans her escape from Gary, her abusive husband who works for Homeland Security, bringing their young son, Tommie, with her. Donning a disguise, she and Tommie board a bus in a random direction, switching at different stations, and eventually hitching a ride to a random town. There, she rents a house that appears to have been abandoned in a hurry by its previous occupants, who she suspects are wanted by the police.

With little money and no identifying documents (she left them behind to prevent Gary from tracking her down), her situation becomes increasingly precarious and her anxiety spikes. Unable to eat or sleep, she tries cleaning out the house and repainting the walls to burn her nervous energy. After Tommie claims to have heard someone calling his name in the middle of the night and an unknown man in a pickup truck twice comes looking for her, she decides Gary must have tracked her down and decides it’s time to run again. She tries to prepare food for their departure but cuts a finger on one hand and badly burns the other. Her financial resources have dipped so low that running has become impossible.

Tommie fails to come home from school and she finds a pair of designer shoes—a gift from Gary that she left behind when she ran. Beverly realizes he must have found them. Despondent at the idea of Tommie being taken from her, she collects prescription drugs she found in the house, takes the pills, and lies down on Tommie’s bed, intending never to wake up.

In Florida, Colby dreads saying goodbye to Morgan, but she surprises him by inviting him to come to Nashville with her. For their final days together, he plans a catamaran outing with her friends and helps them record their last dance performance. While they are celebrating afterwards, he receives a call from Toby, the family farm’s general manager, who tells him that his Aunt Angie has had a stroke and is in the hospital. Angie’s condition combined with the fact that he has not heard from Paige sends up red flags, and he departs immediately for North Carolina.

As he speeds straight for home, Colby repeatedly tries to call Paige. He tracks her location using Find My Friends and discovers that her phone is at home, but his calls go directly to voicemail. Nurses at the hospital where Angie is a patient think they have seen Paige recently, but Toby has not, increasing Colby’s concern. When he arrives at home, the house is in shambles. The walls are in the process of being repainted. In the kitchen, burnt food is on the counter, and bloody band aids litter the bathroom. He knows what this means and rushes upstairs to find Paige unconscious and barely breathing.

He rushes her to the hospital himself, and they are able to save her. While Paige and Angie remain hospitalized, Morgan arrives unannounced to support Colby. She helps him clean the house and cooks dinner for him. Colby finally reveals the full truth about Paige. Taking Morgan to Paige’s barn studio, he tells her about his sister’s artistic talent, thriving business, and loyalty to her family. She also has bipolar I disorder, has tried to kill herself multiple times, and experiences episodes of psychosis—the first after Gary and Tommie were killed in a car accident. In the stress of Angie’s stroke, she forgot to keep up with her medications and experienced a psychotic episode. The narrative of “Beverly,” which is Paige’s middle name, is the narrative of the hallucinations and delusions she experienced during her most recent episode of psychosis.

Riddled with guilt that he was away when his family needed him, Colby cannot go to Nashville with Morgan; Angie needs him for the farm, and Paige needs his supportive presence. Though he loves Morgan, he sets her free to become the superstar he sees her as, believing that eventually she would have left him behind anyway. Angie and Paige both stabilize and eventually return home. In Morgan’s absence, Colby strives to make changes in his life, incorporating time with friends, playing music, and relaxing away from work. In Nashville, Morgan becomes an immediate sensation, leaving Colby feeling vindicated for having let her go. Though they initially remain in contact, their calls and texts diminish as Morgan becomes increasingly busy. One day while Colby works on his car, Morgan arrives in his driveway and announces that they are getting back together and will have a long-distance relationship. Colby realizes she has said exactly what he hoped she would say. The first thing Morgan wants to do during her visit, she tells Colby, is meet Paige.

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New york times best sellers, valentine's day reads: the theme of love.

From the #1  New York Times  bestselling author of  The Wish comes a poignant love story about risking everything for a dream—and whether it’s possible to leave the past behind.   Colby Mills once felt destined for a musical career, until tragedy grounded his aspirations. Now the head of a small family farm in North Carolina, he spontaneously takes a gig playing at a bar in St. Pete’s Beach, Florida, seeking a rare break from his duties at home.   But when he meets Morgan Lee, his world is turned upside-down, making him wonder if the responsibilities he has shouldered need dictate his life forever. The daughter of affluent Chicago doctors, Morgan has graduated from a prestigious college music program with the ambition to move to Nashville and become a star. Romantically and musically, she and Colby complete each other in a way that neither has ever known.

While they are falling headlong in love, Beverly is on a heart-pounding journey of another kind. Fleeing an abusive husband with her six-year-old son, she is trying to piece together a life for them in a small town far off the beaten track. With money running out and danger seemingly around every corner, she makes a desperate decision that will rewrite everything she knows to be true.   In the course of a single unforgettable week, two young people will navigate the exhilarating heights and heartbreak of first love. Hundreds of miles away, Beverly will put her love for her young son to the test. And fate will draw all three people together in a web of life-altering connections . . . forcing each to wonder whether the dream of a better life can ever survive the weight of the past.

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“Specific dreams and ambitions may differ widely from person to person, but to nurture a dream is such a universal experience. I wanted to capture the powerful allure of following your heart, and the sometimes painful cost of doing so. Most of all, I wanted to illuminate how our own versions of “Dreamland” can be found within ourselves and in our most precious relationships. Having built my career as an author, I certainly also channeled some of my own experiences of pursuing a dream that didn’t always feel achievable. Like Colby, before committing to my dream (in my case, of being a writer) I tried other industries and jobs, but was always drawn back to my passion. The settings are also extrapolated from my life—I live in North Carolina and have set most of my stories there; St. Pete Beach, Florida also has a soft spot in my heart, as I visit the Don Cesar almost every year and cherish my time there.”

St Pete Beach, FL Located just off the mainland of Saint Petersburg, Florida, St. Pete Beach is a resort city known for its miles of white sand beaches, a long list of outdoor recreation activities and its vibrant arts community. A popular seasonal vacation destination and winter residence, St Pete Beach has roughly 10,000 residents that call it 'home' year round.

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Saturday, December 3, 2022

Book review: dreamland by nicholas sparks.

"As I slid behind the wheel, I recalled what Paige had once said about love and pain being two sides of the same coin and finally understood exactly what she meant."

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Dreamland by Rosa Rankin-Gee review – first love and rising tides

In this coming-of-age story set in a near-future England, a teenager discovers life’s possibilities as climate chaos intensifies

R osa Rankin-Gee’s first novel, The Last Kings of Sark , explored the fraught emotional fallout of an idyllic summer in which three young people run wild together on the small Channel island. While two of the trio are quick to move on from the experience, Jude finds herself mired in the past, unable to let go.

Keenly attuned once again to the heady sensations of those caught between adolescence and adulthood, Rankin-Gee’s second novel, Dreamland , is an equally enthralling coming-of-age story. But whereas in The Last Kings of Sark her characters retreated from the wider world, no such respite is possible here. Jude was mourning the end of something almost impossibly intimate, but Dreamland faces up to much broader, collective losses in the story of 16-year-old Chance, discovering life and love while all around her the world is crumbling.

To call the novel dystopian is perhaps a stretch, not least because socio-political and ecological collapse seem to creep closer every day, making it harder to separate speculative conjectures from the myriad disorders of the present. Instead, Dreamland is set in an instantly recognisable near-future Britain just a few degrees removed from our own: think Russell T Davies’s Years and Years .

We are in the once refined but now rundown seaside town of Margate. This is an area already steeped in a strange, singular psychology, slightly out of step with the rest of the country. David Seabrook’s 2002 All the Devils Are Here depicted Kent’s coast as both a bolthole and a blind alley for a motley, menacing band of eccentrics. “Planet Thanet” is how Chance explains their environs to an outsider; an increasingly isolated ecosystem in decline.

Across the entire country, heatwaves are becoming more relentless, but Margate also has to contend with the immediate issue of rising sea levels. At high tide the streets are flooded, evidence of the ocean’s ingress left behind when it retreats again. The dank lobby of a high-rise block is strewn with debris from the deep: “mountains of damp sand. Broken shells and rubbish, all the colours faded. Seaweed.” “Who needs Thailand, eh?” jokes Chance. “We got all the sun, sand and tsunamis you could want right here.”

This may not be Britain as we know it, but much of what’s described has been put in motion already – not just the climate crisis, but government policies displacing social tenants. “London was too expensive to be the future,” Chance’s mum explains to her and her brother JD when, in the backstory at the beginning of the novel, a non-government-run organisation offers them cash to relocate to the coast. London is “a hotbed, a bomb waiting to go off. That, and an island for rich Russians.” In recent years Margate has already welcomed plenty of homegrown refugees.

Despite her high hopes, the fresh start Chance’s mother dreams of never quite materialises. She, like so many others, struggles to find work, and anger towards a government that’s all but abandoned them begins to fester among the town’s residents. In the ever-widening gap between the haves and the have-nots, those with the resources to do so have long since fled; the only people left are the ones with nowhere else to go. When Chance falls in love with Franky, a middle-class Londoner volunteering with a humanitarian project that runs food banks for the struggling local community – do-gooding gap-year students are like cockroaches, it seems, still standing even at the end of the world – the possibility of a different kind of life opens up. Little does she know, however, that she and Franky are caught up in something much bigger than themselves.

Although Rankin-Gee’s nuanced, astute world building deserves applause, it’s this relationship that holds the novel together, in large part because it feels so real. She vividly captures the balance between ferocity and vulnerability as the two girls explore their burgeoning desire; one minute they’re greedy for each other, the next they’re proceeding more gingerly. Theirs is a great first love, blazing bright and furious amid the poverty and the pain, the perfect counterweight that’s needed to make the novel sing. Dreamland brings us face-to-face with much of what we’re on the threshold of losing; nevertheless, it manages to convince us that its characters have everything still to live for.

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Dreamland: the true tale of america's opiate epidemic audible audiobook – unabridged.

Bloomsbury presents Dreamland by Sam Quinones, read by Tom Jordan.

Winner of the NBCC Award for General Nonfiction.

Named on Slate's 50 Best Nonfiction Books of the Past 25 Years, Amazon's Best Books of the Year 2015—Michael Botticelli, U.S. Drug Czar ( Politico ) Favourite Book of the Year—Angus Deaton, Nobel Prize Economics ( Bloomberg / WSJ ) Best Books of 2015—Matt Bevin, Governor of Kentucky ( WSJ ) Books of the Year— Slate .com’s 10 Best Books of 2015— Entertainment Weekly’s 10 Best Books of 2015— BuzzFeed’s 19 Best Nonfiction Books of 2015— The Daily Beast’s Best Big Idea Books of 2015— Seattle Times’ Best Books of 2015— Boston Globe ’s Best Books of 2015— St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Best Books of 2015— The Guardian’s The Best Book We Read All Year—Audible’s Best Books of 2015— Texas Observer’s Five Books We Loved in 2015—Chicago Public Library’s Best Nonfiction Books of 2015

From a small town in Mexico to the boardrooms of Big Pharma to main streets nationwide, an explosive and shocking account of addiction in the heartland of America.

In 1929, in the blue-collar city of Portsmouth, Ohio, a company built a swimming pool the size of a football field; named Dreamland, it became the vital centre of the community. Now, addiction has devastated Portsmouth, as it has hundreds of small rural towns and suburbs across America—addiction like no other the country has ever faced. How that happened is the riveting story of Dreamland .

With a great reporter’s narrative skill and the storytelling ability of a novelist, acclaimed journalist Sam Quinones weaves together two classic tales of capitalism run amok whose unintentional collision has been catastrophic. The unfettered prescribing of pain medications during the 1990s reached its peak in Purdue Pharma’s campaign to market OxyContin, its new, expensive—extremely addictive—miracle painkiller. Meanwhile, a massive influx of black tar heroin—cheap, potent and originating from one small county on Mexico’s west coast, independent of any drug cartel—assaulted small town and mid-sized cities across the country, driven by a brilliant, almost unbeatable marketing and distribution system. Together these phenomena continue to lay waste to communities from Tennessee to Oregon, Indiana to New Mexico.

Introducing a memorable cast of characters—pharma pioneers, young Mexican entrepreneurs, narcotics investigators, survivors and parents—Quinones shows how these tales fit together. Dreamland is a revelatory account of the corrosive threat facing America and its heartland.

• Listening Length 14 hours and 15 minutes
• Author Sam Quinones
• Narrator Tom Jordan
• Audible release date April 23, 2022
• Language English
• Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
• ASIN B09X629NGN
• Version Unabridged
• Program Type Audiobook
• See all details

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THE TRUE TALE OF AMERICA'S OPIATE EPIDEMIC

by Sam Quinones ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 16, 2019

A scrupulously researched, well-crafted tale that sheds light on a timely topic.

In this young adult adaptation of his adult title Dreamland (2015), seasoned journalist Quinones narrates a fast-paced exposé of the opiate epidemic.

The story begins and ends in Portsmouth, Ohio, a leader in both societal decline due to addiction and, years later, hope for recovering addicts. Quinones lays out the causes of the epidemic as if bringing together puzzle pieces. Purdue Pharma’s ad campaign targeting physicians downplayed the addictive nature of painkillers; physicians overprescribed them, most—but not all—with sincere intentions of helping their patients. A seemingly endless stream of Mexican drug dealers sought out the addict population as customers for their imported black tar heroin, which provided the same euphoria but with less cost and inconvenience. Presented as victims are the addicts—predominantly white families, at first poor and rural, later from privileged backgrounds. The efforts of law enforcement and public health officials to tackle the problem are detailed. Personal profiles crafted from interviews keep things interesting, and the technical descriptions of the various drug forms and the history of opiates are informative. Although the author describes the radical about-face by lawmakers who took a “tough on crime” approach to drugs when victims were predominantly black, readers may finish the book with the impression that Mexicans have wreaked havoc on innocent white lives.

Pub Date: July 16, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-5476-0131-8

Page Count: 224

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Review Posted Online: April 10, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT HISTORY | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT NONFICTION

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BOOK REVIEW

by Sam Quinones

THE NEW QUEER CONSCIENCE

From the pocket change collective series.

by Adam Eli ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 2, 2020

Small but mighty necessary reading.

A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.

Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.

Pub Date: June 2, 2020

ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9

Page Count: 64

Publisher: Penguin Workshop

Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT NONFICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

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by Shavone Charles ; illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky

by Gaby Melian

by Leo Baker ; illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky

DISCOVERING WES MOORE

by Wes Moore ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 11, 2012

Though awkward, this adaptation still makes for a hopeful and inspiring story.

This story, an adaptation for young people of the adult memoir The Other Wes Moore (2008), explores the lives of two young African-American men who share the same name and grew up impoverished on the same inner-city streets but wound up taking completely different paths.

Author Moore grew up with a devoted mother and extended family. After receiving poor grades and falling in with a bad crowd, his family pooled their limited finances to send him to Valley Forge Military Academy, where he found positive role models and became a Corps commander and star athlete. After earning an undergraduate degree, Wes attended Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. When the author read about the conviction of another Wes Moore for armed robbery and killing a police officer, he wanted to find out how two youths growing up at the same time in the same place could take such divergent paths. The author learns that the other Wes never had the extensive family support, the influential mentors or the lucky breaks he enjoyed. Unfortunately, the other Wes Moore is not introduced until over two-thirds of the way through the narrative. The story of the other Wes is heavily truncated and rushed, as is the author's conclusion, in which he argues earnestly and convincingly that young people can overcome the obstacles in their lives when they make the right choices and accept the support of caring adults.

Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2012

ISBN: 978-0-385-74167-5

Page Count: 160

Publisher: Delacorte

Review Posted Online: April 24, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT NONFICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES

More by Wes Moore

by Wes Moore with Erica L. Green

by Wes Moore with Shawn Goodman

by Wes Moore

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