Author: Siobhan Curham
Publisher: Authorhouse, 208 Pages (March 28th 2010)
From: the Author - Thank you so much Siobhan!!
Synopsis: “I’m so tired of feeling sad. And waiting for other people to make me happy and they don’t. And if no-one else is going to make you happy, well maybe you just have to do it for yourself?”
Fourteen year old Georgie Harris feels as if the summer holidays are over before they have even begun. Banned from going to the local drama workshop by her bully of a step-dad and her increasingly fragile mum, she is consigned to six long weeks of looking after her tooth-fairy obsessed kid sister. Sick of feeling like the outsider at home and at school, she starts emailing the one person she thinks might understand; Dylan Curtland, star of the popular soap opera Jessop Close. And when Dylan starts emailing back, Georgie finally feels a spark of hope. At last she has someone who really gets her, someone who really wants to help. But in the faceless world of email all is not as it seems…
Review: 3.5 Stars - When I first started reading Dear Dylan I wasn’t sure just what to think, it took quite a few pages to really get into. It’s written in alternating emails between a teenage girl and someone she believes is Dylan - a star from a well known TV show in England. She’s a teen with a lot of troubles at home and uses the emails to vent with someone – real and the character he played - who she felt she connected with and could understand just what she is going through.
Curham did a great job writing from a troubled a teen’s point of view. With how serious things were throughout each email there were times I couldn’t help but to laugh out loud at the great lines that each of the characters had.
The way Georgie was able to get help to deal with her home life and the problems she was facing with her friends was honest and caring. It was wonderful how someone who’s an outsider was able to view things from a distance and tell Georgie just the right thing at the right time. As a reader it was sweet watching the changes in Georgie and how she grew up over the course of a summer.
There’s a little bit of everything in this book and I commend Curham’s ability to write such strong and realistic characters that many people of all ages will be able to relate. Having done it the way she has in email format might be hard at first to get into, but in the end worked pretty well for me as a reader.
I just wanted to take a minute to say Thank You to Siobhan for taking the time to write up a guest post, which you'll all get a chance to read later today or tomorrow - so be sure to come back to check it out.
FTC Disclaimer: I did not pay for this book, nor have I been compensated at all in any way or means for reading and writing this review.
Sounds like Curham handles a tough subject well with real characters. Hadn't heard of this one. Thanks!
ReplyDelete~Alyssa
Teens Read and Write