DREAM WATCHER

by Barbara Wersba

Albert Scully is the quintessential miserable teenager. He considers himself the "All-American" failure until he meets Mrs. Orpha Woodfin, an eighty-year-old neighborhood eccentric who helps him to see the value of being an individual. Originally published in 1968 - the same year as Paul Zindel's The Pigman and the year after S.E. Hinton's The Outsider - The Dream Watcher heralded the beginning of books written specifically for young adults.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

Barbara Wersba was born in Chicago, moved to California, and then to New York City. She attended Bard College, and after graduating returned to Greenwich Village to study acting with Paul Mann. She received an honorary doctorate from Bard. In 1994, Wersba founded The Bookman Press, a small-press publishing company. She lives in Sag Harbor, New York.

Reviews

[Zuberino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice change of pace - after the enveloping intensity of Colombian politics! I needed this. Dream Watcher was apparently one of the very first books in the YA genre, published back when LBJ was still president - I'm guessing they mean American YA though, because every other culture in the world was publishing books for Young Adults long before then. No matter. The themes, the problems are eternal.

Albert Scully is a teenager in 1960s New Jersey - the worser part of the sixties, none of that starry-eyed Camelot shit - and he is unhappy as fuck. Materialist conformity, American style, is clearly not his thing, it's grating on him every day of his life, but he's stuck in this psychic cul-de-sac in this little slice of suburbia - with no obvious exit in sight. Until, that is, the day he meets old Mrs Woodfin. What follows has aptly been described as "Catcher in the Rye meets Harold and Maude", although it does come with a rather sharp sting in the tail.

As someone who grew up something of a loner, who still lives life on his own isolationist terms, I can well relate to Albert's angst, his inner Sturm und Drang, expressed so vividly in Ms Wersba's acute, perceptive prose. This book should have wider currency, not really sure why it's not better-known.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet, touching YA novel from 1969, apparently one of the earliest of the genre. An aimless, miserable teenage boy named Albert Scully meets and befriends an eccentric old woman who teaches him the importance of life dreams and subsequently, a few things about self-esteem. I enjoyed it; perhaps the Lessons Learned here have been taught many, many times in very many YA stories since, but there's a sincerity and simplicity of feeling here that I found winning.

[Clarabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ce roman devrait se lire à tous les âges, car il vous donne une confiance en vous et vous ouvre les yeux sur ce qui est bon et beau. La relation naissante entre Albert et sa voisine met du baume au coeur, cela rappelle Harold et Maud. On assiste à des échanges passionnants sur la littérature et le théâtre, c'est grandiose. Et en-deçà il y a la petite vie étriquée du garçon et de sa famille. C'est laid, assez triste et pathétique mais cela apporte du poids à l'ambition cachée de Mme Woodfin, qu'on retrouve dans la citation de Rilke : "Si ta vie quotidienne te semble pauvre, ne l'accuse pas, accuse-toi plutôt ; dis-toi que tu n'es pas assez poète pour en convoquer les richesses..."

[tia · Rating 4 out of 5]

lovely book. it's about a teenage boy who just recently becomes close to his neighbor whom is an old lady with many amazing stories. the old lady shows him how to become himself and have dreams with her stories of life.

[Jane Ayres · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love this writer!

[Joresa Dainty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This made me crazy. The first book I've totally read from the SMU main library tho :3

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's like a cross between "Catcher in the Rye" and "Harold and Maude," set in late-1960s New Jersey. A quick, fun YA story with a timeless lesson: Don't be afraid to be yourself.

[X · Rating 3 out of 5]

(The spoilers are very, very minor!)

Wow! What a lovely little novel.

Although some of the pop-culture references dated The Dream Watcher, this is a relatable story that stands the test of time.

Albert is a miserable, tortured boy—his misery is only eclipsed by Lord Hamlet himself. Until one fateful evening, he meets an eccentric old woman living in a shabby house down the street. His worldview is unequivocally altered.

Unfortunately, I never quite connected with our main character, nor with the writing style. I wanted just a bit more from Albert. I understand why he likes Thoreau, but why did he garden? Why did he collect recipes? Did he ever make the recipes? Detailing his motivations surrounding anything besides suicide and failing school would have added to The Dream Watcher's believability. The writing style is also a sore spot for me here. While yes, it does feel like a teenage boy picked up a pen and decided to write a memoir, is that necessarily a good thing? I fully appreciate the immense skill necessary to so convincingly take on a persona as a writer, I simply wish it was used more sparingly. The grammatical choices took me out of the story multiple times! With a hair's breadth more development and revision, this could have been something extraordinary.

Regardless of my minor troubles, this was an excellent way to spend an evening. I think that anyone who picks up this volume will have a wonderful time with it. Generations to come will dig this snappy YA novel; unless they're squares, that is.

[Rick-Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

The comparison to Catcher in the Rye is apt. I appreciate this novel for pulling someone out of a hard trajectory rather than them having the breakdown.