Book Log: Dream Girl

[penmage]

Dream Girl by Lauren Mechling

Claire Voyant has always had visions. Pointless, annoying visions--and when she follows up on them, she usually ends up trying awkwardly to explain herself. But when her fabulous grandmother Kiki gives her a cameo broach on a chain for her birthday, suddenly the visions get a lot clearer, a lot sharper, and a lot more black and white. Oh, and more accurate, too. Suddenly, Claire is having visions that may actually be useful--and as she starts following up on her hunches, she realizes that her visions may mean the difference between life and death for some of the people she cares about the most.

This book is sooooooo good. Claire is my new favorite fictional teenager. She's up there with Veronica Mars and characters in Maureen Johnson novels.

Let me tell you why this book is awesome. Mostly it boils down to character and voice, like everything that's ever awesome about a book, but I want to be specific, because I want you to read this review and run out and buy yourself a copy of this book and then read it right away so you can love it too.

First of all, Claire. Claire is hilarious. She's sarcastic and funny, but she's not unreasonably or irritatingly smart or wisecracky. She's utterly and completely believable and real. I feel like we could be friends, Claire and I. She's crabby and loves her little brother, and her parents are sometimes annoying, and she's a good friend. And that brings me to the next thing I like about this book: friendship. Claire's friendship with Becca is so honest and natural and real. They work as friends. They're not just friends because the author wants them to be friends as a plot device--the friendship grows and develops and works, and it's a pleasure to read.

The rest of the supporting characters are great too, from Claire's fabulous grandmother Kiki who lives in the Waldorf Astoria, to her little brother Henry who likes to take long walks, to her French professor father and her wishes-she-was-French mother, to her neighbors, to her school friends, talented Ian and Silent Eleanor. They sound madcap and crazy, but they're not. They're just colorful and interesting, the way real people are, and they interact with each other naturally, comfortably. All of the supporting characters, no matter how minor, feel real and realized and interesting.

Even if nothing happened in this book at all, it would be fun to read about them hanging out with each other.

Oh, and let's talk about the plot. Claire is a fantastic crack detective! She's not as all-knowing and all-seeing as, say, Nancy Drew or Veronica Mars, but she's smart and determined, and willing to stick her nose into things, especially when a friend is at risk. It's fun to read about a girl detective who's realistic (aside from the whole vision thing.) She puts the pieces together, and you can see the thought process.

And another thing. Her name is Claire Voyant, and she has visions. Claire Voyant. Get it? Get it? Of course you do. But here's the thing--instead of being lame, the author calls it out right at the beginning--Claire acknowledges that her name is lame, and quotes the fact that her grandmother doesn't think that a child with the last name Voyant should have ever been named Claire, but them are the breaks. And then it's not mentioned again for the rest of the book. Which somehow makes this cheesy name totally cool.

Rock on, Lauren Mechling. I am impressed. Impressed and entertained and totally recommending this (pretty clean) book to all the teenagers I know.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Ohh, sounds good! I got this one in the mail this week, too. I'll have to move it closer to the top of the stack. :)
-Em (www.emsbookshelf.blogspot.com)

[charlotteslibrary.blogspot.com (from livejournal.com)]

Somehow I get the impression you liked this book :)

[(Anonymous)]

Everyone's right, the review does make me want to read the book

[penmage.livejournal.com]

I'm glad, and I hope you do read it--it's a great read! Also, do I know you? How did you make your way here? (I'm always curious about these things :)