Dream Country comes out today! On this day, when in America we think about freedom, you can grab a copy from Amazon, the library, or your favorite bookshop to read about a Liberian family (5 generations) searching and fighting for freedom.
A Blog Tour means you get a chance to read what many of us thought of this newly published book by touring the participating blogs. Yesterday, An Existence Transcribed shared her thoughts, and tomorrow you can head over to Jena Brown Writes to see what she thought of the the book. Though this teen read is distressing, it is fantastic and adults as well as teens should give it a read.
Dream Country by Shannon Gibney is well deserving of it's 4.5 out of 5 stars in my review. I found this young adult book to be a page turner. It's a fascinating and enlightening story, that had me feeling for each of the characters in each of the parts of the story. Dream Country is truly eye-opening to experiences and journey that spans almost 200 years for a family.
This book was broken up into 5 parts, each section was set during a different time with a different main character. The parts of the story connect b/c they are all one family, but it isn't until you are in the last 2 sections you see how it all intertwines. Too be honest, I loved the different sections of the story and the history that I learned with not only the historical events but how the people and main characters were treated. The facts make the story interesting, but the character's feelings make the story powerful. I loved the complex nature of the story that brought everything together. I loved that the story of her family was created by Angel, a character you meet in the beginning. She wrote the story for therapeutic purposes to help her understand not only her family, but also herself.
Truly, Dream Country is a great book; it is well written (only one typo found). The only improvement to the story would've been the curse words. I felt the swearing was a bit excessive at the beginning, and a bit out of place in other sections. Sometimes, I feel writing a book with that much language is in an effort to attract teen readers. The story would've been just as powerful, if not more so, with less language.
Shannon Gibney's author note, at the end, explains how compelled she felt to write the story and who she hopes will read it. "It is for anyone anywhere who has tried to make themselves whole through small pieces of a larger story they could cobble together. It is for everything we have forgotten, and what we dream."
Dream Country is really great; I hope you get a chance to check it out. I learned a ton, and found myself completely engrossed in Angel, Kollie, Togar, Yasmine, and Ujay's stories.
My main thoughts while reading this book: Sad. Eye-Opening. Appreciative to know their stories. Sad tho. Can't wait to her what you think of it.
Happy Deep Insightful Distressing YA Historical Fiction Reading!
Dream Country by Shannon Gibney
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Best For: 15 and up, 9th grade and up
# of Pages: 337
Clean Read: No, a lot of language with mentions, though little detail, of violence and raping.
Worth a Check Out: Yes, this book is deep and sad, but so very good.
Buy It or Not: This book is well written with a beautiful story entwined. Definitely worth a purchase.
Book Club Discussion: What do you think of the term fictional canvas of fact in regards to the narrative family history Angel wrote? Why do you think it was therapeutic for Angel to find out where she came from? The author stated that "some stories you choose, and others choose you. How do you think that would change the writing experience? Do you think Yasmine changed b/c of where she was at, or b/c of the experiences she had?
Lesson Ideas: Refugees. Refugee Camps. Liberia/Congo conflict. American Colonization Society. Forced Labor Period. Liberian Civil War. Immigrants. African Americans and Black Americans. Monrovia. Slavery vs. Poor Wages. Racism.
Once you read Dream Country, I'd love to hear what you thought of it.
More than a few quotes I loved from Dream Country:
"They {curse words} were like ketchup on a hamburger or pepper in soup- they gave everything flavor." -Kollie
"The brilliant younger daughter who everyone liked, and the disappointing older son who just wouldn't try. Those had been their identities and their relationship to each other as long as he could remember." - referencing Angel and Kollie
"DAD CANNOT SAVE YOU FROM EVERYTHING. ESPECIALLY YOURSELF." - Angel
"They say that America is the Land of Opportunity, and I suppose that it is. If you want to better yourself, they will give you the opportunity to do so. But if you want to destroy yourself, they will give you that opportunity too."
"I worry I done wrong, brining you here," Yasmine said. "I worry that this place making you-making us-different. Meaner. Smaller, somehow."
"Time for allowing and forbidding and punishing's long gone. Now's the time for acceptance. And happiness for what's to be, and what already is." - Lani
"This was his favorite part of being a father; the physical closeness between him and the child. They way it inexplicably, magically translate into emotional closeness." - Ujay
"Our bodies enclose the twisted threads of history- passes flesh to flesh, from parent to child, conquer to conquered, lover to beloved." -Angel
I received an ARC from Penguin Young Readers in exchange for my review and honest opinion. All of my thoughts, opinions, and words are my own.
