Dreamland: A Novel - book cover
  • Publisher : Dell
  • Published : 08 Aug 2023
  • Pages : 384
  • ISBN-10 : 0593449576
  • ISBN-13 : 9780593449578
  • Language : English

Dreamland: A Novel

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A twist you won't see coming. A love story you'll never forget. From the acclaimed author of The Notebook comes a powerful novel about risking everything for a dream-and whether it's possible to leave the past behind.
 
We don't always get to choose our paths in life; sometimes they choose us.

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: PopSugar

After fleeing an abusive husband with her six-year-old son, Tommie, Beverly is attempting to create a new life for them in a small town off the beaten track. Despite their newfound freedom, Beverly is constantly on guard: she creates a fake backstory, wears a disguise around town, and buries herself in DIY projects to stave off anxiety. But her stress only rises when Tommie insists he'd been hearing someone walking on the roof and calling his name late at night. With money running out and danger seemingly around every corner, she makes a desperate decision that will rewrite everything she knows to be true. . . .
 
Meanwhile, Colby Mills is on a heart-pounding journey of another kind. A failed musician, he now heads a small family farm in North Carolina. Seeking a rare break from his duties at home, he spontaneously takes a gig playing in a bar in St. Pete Beach, Florida, where he meets Morgan Lee-and his whole life is turned upside-down.
 
The daughter of affluent Chicago doctors, Morgan has graduated from a prestigious college music program with the ambition to move to Nashville and become a star. Romantically and musically, she and Colby complete each other in a way that neither has ever known.
 
In the course of a single unforgettable week, two young people will navigate the exhilarating heights and heartbreak of first love. Hundreds of miles away, Beverly will put her love for her young son to the test. And fate will draw all three people together in a web of life-altering connections . . . forcing each to wonder whether the dream of a better life can ever survive the weight of the past.

Editorial Reviews

"Sparks has the magic touch."-USA Today

"The love that [Sparks] writes and conveys to the reader, and the intricacy of his stories is captivating. . . . These characters feel like people you know in real life-people chasing dreams while maintaining their responsibilities and the tangible parts of life that chain us to reality. . . . The perfect summer read."-BookTrib

"From this singular work it's clear that [Sparks] . . . continues to hone his craft."-The Cullman Times

"Another fantastic work of Nicholas Sparks, combining elements of finding true love with pursuing one's dreams, along with hidden family secrets and mental health issues. The author brilliantly presents an idea of a dreamland being not only a wonderful vacation destination, but a person's state of mind and worldview, as well."-Fredericksburg Free Lance–Star

"Woven throughout is a suspenseful subplot . . . beautiful, heartbreaking . . . [Sparks's] empathetic characters and their down-to-earth personalities make it easy to get immersed in this world. Readers who love epic romantic sagas will want to snap this up."-Publishers Weekly

"Sparks's latest appealing novel is filled with plenty of serious situations among the dreams and romance and rewards with a satisfyingly hopeful ending."-Booklist

Readers Top Reviews

Robin A MartinoKi
In this time of hatred and turmoil, we needed a basic true to life story . I always enjoy his books as he writes from the heart and takes time to make it real. Thank you Mr Sparks!!!
Glenn D ScottRobi
I was confused for the first half of the book with the separate chapters for each character. Once it became clear and the mystery was solved then it turned into a wonderful love story.
sara B. JonesGlen
Most of the book I kept looking at how many pages I had left because there were two different stories going on and no way could I relate them to each other. When about 25% of book is left, all is revealed. Great read for me.
mrsmorgangoffsara
I really enjoy Nicholas Sparks books even though they somehow always break your heart. I’ve read every one of his books and look forward to his new releases every fall. This one is no different from any of his others, but I still really enjoyed it. I loved the characters right away and could not put this one down. Colby is a farmer who takes a week off for vacation, falls in love and his whole world falls apart while he is gone. I wasn’t shocked by his choices but was pleasantly surprised how it ended. Please note, this book has references to mental illness and domestic violence. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC, so I could read this one early.
Stormi Cloudsmrsm
Interesting premise of bouncing between 2 different points of view (Colby and Beverley) who aren't at all connected for the majority of the book. Colby's love interest, Morgan, doesn't even have chapters told from her POV, which was also interested. I did really enjoy the story, but at times it seemed to move a bit slow. I listened to this audiobook and the narration was excellent. I was drawn into the story and my attention held without any trouble.

Short Excerpt Teaser

It was morning. She was in the bedroom of the house she'd just rented, and her six-year-old son, Tommie, was asleep in the room across the hallway. She had only recently arrived in town. Yes, Beverly thought, reminding herself. My new life. I'm beginning my new life, and only then was she able to push the covers back. She got out of bed, feeling a thin silky rug beneath her feet, a pleasant surprise. The bedroom door was closed, but she knew the short hallway beyond it would lead to the stairs and that, on the main floor, there was a living room and a small kitchen furnished with an old Formica table surrounded by four scuffed wooden chairs.

Beverly slipped into the jeans and T-shirt that had been heaped on the floor and wondered how long she'd been sleeping. She couldn't remember what time she finally went to bed, other than that it had been really, really late. But what had she done? The memories of the night before were nothing but dream smoke, blurring at the edges and black in the middle. She couldn't remember what she'd had for dinner or even if she'd eaten at all, but she supposed it didn't much matter. Starting over always carried with it stress, and stress made the mind do funny things.

She crept from her bedroom, peeked in on Tommie, and saw him jumbled under the covers. She quietly made her way down the stairs to the kitchen. As she poured herself a glass of water from the faucet, she remembered a recent night when she'd snuck from her bedroom, moving quietly and without turning on a single light. She was already dressed when she roused Tommie. His small backpack was loaded and hidden beneath his bed. She helped him get dressed and they crept down the stairs. Like Tommie, she carried only a backpack, for ease and speed. She knew that neighbors might remember a woman and child hauling rolling suitcases along the sidewalk in the middle of the night; she knew that her husband, Gary, would seek out those neighbors and they would tell him what he needed to know to find her. In Tommie's backpack were his favorite Iron Man action figure and Go, Dog. Go!, a book she still read to him every night. She'd also packed two T-shirts, a second pair of pants, socks, underwear, toothbrush and toothpaste, and hair wax for his cowlick. In her backpack were the same sorts of items and other things, along with a smattering of makeup, a brush, sunglasses, an Ace bandage, and a wig. Near the front window, she didn't bother looking for the black SUV with tinted windows that had been parked along her street for the past three days. She already knew it would be there, even if parked in a different spot. Instead, after she helped Tommie with his jacket, they slipped out the back door. She made sure not to let the screen door bang or squeak, inching it closed as slowly as possible. They crossed the damp grass to the wooden fence that bordered their lawn, and Beverly helped Tommie climb over into the neighbor's backyard. Through all of that, Tommie had said nothing. He wobbled when he walked as though still partially asleep. They exited through the neighbor's gate and stayed near the hedges until reaching the street that ran parallel to her own. There, she hid behind a car parked on the street and peered in both directions. She saw no black SUV with tinted windows.

Where are we going? Tommie finally asked her.
On an adventure, she'd whispered.
Is Daddy coming with us?
He's working, she'd responded, which was true, even if it didn't really answer his question.

It was the middle of the night and quiet, but the moon was half full and the streets were illuminated by lampposts at the intersections. She needed darkness and shadows to remain invisible, so she cut across lawns and driveways, sticking close to the houses. In the rare moments when she heard a car coming, she led Tommie to whatever nearby secluded spot she could find-behind bushes or trellises and even an old RV. Occasionally, a dog would bark, but the sound always came from a distance. They walked and walked, but Tommie didn't whine, didn't so much as whimper. Residential streets gradually gave way to commercial ones, then, an hour and a half later, to an industrial area, with warehouses and a salvage yard and parking lots surrounded by chain-link fencing. Though there was no place to hide, the streets were empty. When they eventually reached the bus station, the entrance smelled of cigarette smoke and fried food and urine. They went inside. In the restroom, Beverly pinned her hair up with ...