Dream Journal

by Karen Halvorsen Schreck

Sixteen-year-old Livy Moore, shutting herself off from the world to deal with her mother's illness, must learn to face her grief and seek comfort in her friends when an ill-fated crush leads to disaster and her mother's condition takes a turn for the worse.

Genres: Young Adult

256 pages, Hardcover

First published September 15, 2006

About the author

Karen Halvorsen Schreck is the author of the historical novels Broken Ground (Simon & Schuster May 2016), called a “masterfully written . . . must-read” by USA Today, and Sing For Me, which Publisher's Weekly described as “an impressive debut…a well-wrought and edifying page-turner” in a Starred Review, along with two novels for young adults and a book for children. Her short stories, interviews, and essays have appeared in magazines and journals including The Rumpus, Belt, and Image. The recipient of a Pushcart Prize and an Illinois State Arts Council Grant, Karen received her doctorate in English and Creative Writing from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She lives with her husband, the photographer Greg Halvorsen Schreck, and their two children in Wheaton, Illinois, and is at work on her next novel.

For more information, please connect with Karen at: http://karenschreck.com
or Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Karen-...
or Twitter:
@KarenSchreck.
You can also find her on Instagram @khschreck.

Reviews

[Nayeli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sixteen-year-old Livy Moore had many questions about her mother’s illness, but she already knew and slowly watched her mother get weaker each day. Now she has to deal with the world knowing her pain of having to think of losing her mother. Livy then stops speaking with close friends and even not opening up to her father about this situation in their family. She soon gets caught up in an ill-fated crush and later learns to only trust herself.

The genre for this book is Domestic fiction, which I really enjoyed this book because the author has a unique formal Diction and shows a real-life situation among family relationships. This book was interesting yet different from the genres that I read, and yet showed many stages of grief and the character, Livy, losing hope for her sick mother. The plot also had a Paradox of Livy and her friends and other people in her life leaving and coming. For example, Livy listens and thinks of what her friends give advice to her and along the way starts to separate from them. The author also uses Parentheses which is common in many books and (shows a tangent or could be unrelated to the sentence.) The book was also very descriptive over the characters, settings, and objects in the author’s writing style. Another thing shown is a type of Repetition portraying how Livy is dealing and shows her daily lifestyle of caring for her mother and trying to do the best she can to help her. This book had lots of emotion towards family problems, and to be appreciated about having a healthy and communicated family relationship. The author also showed Allusion since this book shares personal experiences which is sad but has a better supporting lifestyle to grow stronger with their family. I overall recommend this book for someone who wants to read an emotional and realistic story.

[Taylor]

Livy Moore a 16 year old girl who is best friends with Ruth, the pastor's kid, but has been neglecting the friendship since her mother became extremely ill. Ruth decides to playfully kidnap Livy and take her for a ride with his sister Jackie, Charlie,and Ed, a benchwarmer who's goofy but has a great heart. They attend a party, get drunk, go home, and come together the next day to go to the Goodlove Forest. Guys crashed cars there, girls got pregnant, and nobody went there for the nature walks. Livy must now deal with not shutting herself off from the rest of the world once again. What makes this story so strong are the moments in which the teen remembers being with her mother before she was sick and the dream journal that opens each chapter and reflects on her feelings. The relationship with her father grows stronger at the end of the story... This is a great book for someone who has lost someone in their family or doesnt get along with their parents like Livy. I enjoyed this book because it made me think about how good and healthy my family is compared to hers. It was an emotional book there were parts were i cried and some where i smiled. if you are sensible and dont like to show emotion dont read this book

[Bianca Robles · Rating 3 out of 5]

If your mother became ill, would you take very good care of her? If you love your mom you should take care of her. It's the right thing to do. Even though it could be very hard. The book is named Dream Journal by Karen Halvorsen.
The main character is Livy-Moore. Through the story she's been trying to figure out her mom's illness. Her mom is also a main character. She's diagnosed with a type of cancer about 2 years ago. Her father is also in the story. Hes mostly taking care of livy and his wife. He's in his 40s.
The setting is mostly in the home. While Livy and her father takes care of her mom/wife. The beginning of the book is very interesting. It starts off by Liv's dad taking care of his wife while shes in bed watching tv. While the dad was doing that Liv was outside the door watching every step he does so she will know what to do with her mother when she needs to take care of her and watch her. This story is very interesting the end of the book is very surprising. It's beyond insane how it ended. But overall i thought it was a great book but also very sad and emotional.
I'll give this book a 3 out of a 5 because in some parts of the book, i got confused and didn't understand what i was reading. But then i kept reading, and i kinda understood a little more.
I wouldn't recommend this book to young kids because they could get confused. If they got confused then they wouldn't understand the story, they wouldn't know what the book is trying to tell you. Ill recommend this book to adults. Adults would understand more and probably take it more seriously. Adults could even read this book to their kids.
So overall the book was okay, but sad. If my mom or dad got very ill. I would drop out of school just to take care of them. You should read the book to find ouy what type of cancer the mother has and she if she survived the cancer...

[Hannah Patterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was better than I expected it to be, i would’ve wished that the writer had maybe incorporated a little more of the romance aspect into it but that’s just a personal preference. I think the way she built up the plot could’ve been a little better as well, maybe if she would’ve let us get some time to know Livy’s mom before she was diagnosed would have made the book a little better. I suppose the point of the journal entry’s was to give us that experience of a first person story with how Livy was feeling and her dreams and thoughts on it. I really enjoyed how a lot of the chapters kinda felt like the journal itself as well. It really put a lot of things into perspective especially at the end with her mothers passing and the chapters getting shorter. I think the focus was a little too hard on the fact that Livy’s mom was dying honestly, would’ve loved more talk about her dad and her life as a whole instead of brining ip the condition so much. All in all the book was pretty good definitely is a pretty easy read as well.

[Nancy Wolfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely story that deals with the different shades and shapes of grief. My favorite parts of the book are written as the lead-ins to the chapters - 16-year-old Livy's daily dream journal entries. This is so well-written, I recommend it for youth and adults.

[Kaylee · Rating 1 out of 5]

it very sad i don't rally like how she hanndle things rally i think that she could buldi a realship with her dad ovor the years but now that the mom is gone he is and i give him cardit for that but i don't undersand is that it's like he was never there for his own daughter wich is sad

[Callie Bishop · Rating 5 out of 5]

The setting of dream journal is mostly at Livy Moores house or around her town. Livy’s house is a quiet empty place. Her house was lonely and cold even when everyone was home. Her town is small and where everyone knows everyone. Her father is the track coach. The kids in her town are very athletic and if most of them wanted to go to college and make it out of their town they would need a sports scholarship. Her town isn't very wealthy but they make the best of what they got. When Livys at home she feels as if it shuts the rest of the world out. Like no one cares to ask about her or even notice when Livys gone. The mood in my book is dark and sad at the beginning it describes the sitting of her house and how the main characters in her house feel.
The main characters in this book is Livy Moores. The author is very direct with all his characters. Livy is tall and skinny. She has straight stick brown hair and freckles. The other main character in this book would be Livys mom shes dying. She use to look just like Livy but with curly brown hair now her hair is pushed back and looks dry. Her mom looks very sad her eyes look like a deer in head lights. Livys mom is static she stays the same threw out the book. Her mom is also flat she hardly has any personality in the book same as Livys dad. Livy is dynamic she changes the way she feels and how she acts toward people threw out the book.
I really enjoyed this book. It kept me reading. I liked this book because at the beginning i didn't think it was going anywhere then it turned around on me and i can picture the differents scenes. They were every descriptive. I like books like that because they make it more entertaining from the beginning till the end. The only thing i didn't like about this book is how short it was. I feel like the author should have kept going with this book. Other then that i really enjoyed my book and plan to read more from this author.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Jocelyn Pearce for TeensReadToo.com

Livy Moore is sixteen years old, and facing something no sixteen-year-old should have to face.

Her mother is dying.

Upon learning this, upon hearing for certain that it is inevitable, Livy shuts herself off from her friends, from her family, and from her own life.

Recording it all in her journal, Livy shares with readers the powerful emotions involved in love, loss, and life. She's forced out of her hiding place, forced to confront the reality that hiding from life will not make it all go away and will not make it any easier.

DREAM JOURNAL is a painful, honest, and wonderfully written story that should not be missed. Populated by realistic characters and full of the emotions that make Livy's story real, it's a sad, hopeful story, and one readers will not soon forget.

[Jenna Randell]

Dream Journal is a story about a girl that experienced the same life style as me. Her mother has the same cancer that my grandmother and aunt had. Her father is the same as my dad. He has no section in my life. This book really made me think about how you can go on trough life so fast. And that sometimes you have to slow down and take a break from all the craziness. And that’s just what Livy has to do. Let other people know how you feel don’t push the feelings down. That’s one thing I learned not to do. Because sooner or later all those feelings will come bursting out. There was however some parts I couldn’t relate to. When she went to the party to drink. I have never drank before or gotten that sick. But, she really acts just like me. A normal teenage girl just trying to fit in. So after reading this book, I would recommend it to anyone looking for a realistic story.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't have very many good expectations for this book. I thought that with its frilly pink cover and small size that it would be just another book written for pre-teen girls.

I was kind of wrong. I mean, this book could reach young girls, but it also reached me, too. I had a mother who died of cancer, so this book actually was something to which I could relate.

It wasn't an excellent book, but it was still good. I still liked it. I'm glad I read it.

It's ending wasn't the traditional sort of ending where everything is wrapped up, but it's still an all right ending for the mood of the book. I think I was hoping for a little more than I got, but I still enjoyed what I did receive.

[Emily W. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a pretty good book, but I'm nor sure I'm going to suggest it people when they ask for suggestions of a good book to read. I don't regret reading it, but it wasn't the best book ever written.
It had a good story, but I felt like I needed more background on the mother. it was a pretty quick read, which I actually liked. I probably wouldn't have finished it if it would have been a long one.
The writing itself was very good though, probably one of the reasons I kept pushing on. I believe Karen Halvorsen Schreck is very talnted, I just think this book had more potential.

[Martha Schwalbe · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the scenes in this book reminded me of Chalktown, Livy and her mother wander through a house that is painted with scenes of the surroundings and water.
It was an easy read, no particular insight for me though a good story.
I would recommend this book to my freshmen girls or any reluctant readers who are girls. I do wonder what a boy would think. Although the main characters are female, there are several strong male characters and their stories are strong too.

[Kezia L · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me, it was kind of heartbreaking and bittersweet. It made me remember how I felt when my mom was also dying from cancer. The feeling of wanting to be alone and care less so I don't hurt myself emotionally.
But, I think that's wrong, escaping from something that binds your emotions to someone you love so much because you're scared to know that they'll really leave you when the time comes.

Ok. Back to the review. Overall, read it 'cuz it's painfully good.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Livy is a 16 yr old girl dealing with her mother dying of cancer. She deals with the loss of what her mother used to be by shutting out her best friend and barely speaking to her father.

A sad story, but very realistic. I think upper middle schoolers might enjoy this book as well as high schoolers. There is underage drinking in the book.

[Aspen · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED IT!!!!!!!!! My absolute favorite book! IT provides you relateable content while at a suitable setting for the reader. It also expresses thoughts and view points that would other wise not be known. It also sheds light into familes' lives with cancer and things of that sort. Over all , it also expresses a father's deep love for his wife. Even when **SPOILER ALERT** she dies.

[Josie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't give Dream Journal an extra star because there were some language issues in it, but overall the book was amazing! It really made you think about friends or family members who have struggles with illness in their own lives or somebody elses!

[Katherine Bond · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of a girl growing up very quickly in the last days of her mother's life. Beautifully and poignantly written, Schreck does not succumb to the saccharine, but shows us characters who are authentic and flawed and who, through pain and loss, learn how to love more deeply.

[♥Marissa♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really cool book. You will love it!

[Kaori Miyazono · Rating 5 out of 5]

learning how to trust your dad. and yourself. and getting over the lost of a loved one.

[AquaMoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading for Teen Book Discussion Group.

[Ashley H]

This book was do sad. I cried.

[Krystal Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an absolute touching book! It really got me feeling with Livy.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in the summer of my junior year in high school. At first I didn't think this would be a good book, but surprisingly it was interestingly good.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not gonna lie. I was bored out of my guts in this book. Deserves two stars bc idk.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was an okay book not as good as i was hoping it would be

[Adara-Zo Banks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given this book by my stepmom & I absolutely loved it

[Lilliana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know why but I love this book so much!!!