Tender Loving Care

Sweet Dreams

by Anne Park

Juliet Adams tries hard to hate the runaway her mother has invited to stay with them, but she finds her feelings for Neil Evans are turning to love

Genres: Young Adult

153 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 1, 1983

Reviews

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of Sweet Dreams books I've had in my collection for years that I've only gotten around to reading now. Since I've been re-reading all my favourites SD, it got me hooked to read all the ones I had yet to read like this one. I loved it, I thought it was a wonderful book, in fact these ones are some of my favourite, the ones that have a deeper and more intense romance and are more serious in tone. This fit that bill, besides having a beautiful love story between Juliet and Neil, there was also the maturity of learning to accept what cannot be changed. I really liked the "rejected" trio of Juliet, her mother and Neil and how they all bond through that pain and help each other move on. I thought Neil was lovely, Juliet was prickly but understandable enough to like, her growth was also well shown. There was certain parts of the book that touched me, such as the poem by Yeats that Neil gives Juliet because it reminds him of her painting of an apple tree, it was also after their first kiss that he gives her this, making it even sweeter. She started crying when he gave it to her, same girl same.

"And kiss her lips and take her hands;
And walk among long dappled grass,
And pluck till time and times are done,
The silver apples of the moon,
The golden apples of the sun. "

One of the scenes at the end was also lovely and showcases the relationship that developed between them and how great it has been for them both. "After that we just sat for a while, holding hands, understanding each other without words, healing each other's pain." I could mention many other scenes as I found this book very touching. As usual I find myself wondering why the rating isn't higher, so many of these books are rated much lower than they should, beats me.

[KylieAtkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average romance. Weird that the mom didn’t think having an unknown runaway teenage boy stay in the same house as her teenage daughter was appropriate and safe.

[Gale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in 2006.

[Rovi Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this. It's one of those easy-not-so-heart-wrenching teen love story.