A Winter Night's Dream [Hardcover]

Andrew Matthews (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 13, 2004

“Go out and fall in love with somebody! It’ll do your understanding of literature the world of good.”

For Casey and Stew, this advice from their English teacher is just the beginning. How exactly do they fall in love?

Casey meets Dean at a party. Dean is gorgeous, he rides a motorcycle, and he’s dancing with her. But Casey soon discovers that Dean’s rebel-without-a-cause act can only go so far.

Stew meets Lucy at the school dance concert. He’s doing the lighting; she’s the star. Everything is going well—until Stew realizes that Lucy’s dancing will always come first.

Literature is one thing, but what happens if the person you fall in love with doesn’t fall back?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up–Freshman Casey and senior Stewart fall hopelessly in love with the wrong people in this tale based loosely on William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Their well-developed stories alternate in sequential chapters, with Casey mooning over bad boy Dean and Stewart agog for the beautiful dancer Lucy. After some realistic teenage messes, Dean and Lucy eventually pass out of the picture; Casey and Stewart are introduced by their not-so-subtly named teacher Mr. Hart, and all's well that ends well. Matthews's fun imagery (shy Casey wants to "go tap-dancing with Tigers") lifts this book above the average love story.–Paula J. LaRue, Van Wert City Schools, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Gr. 7-10. Whether or not they get the title's reference to Shakespeare, many teens will see themselves in this comic drama about two high-school kids who fall in love with the wrong people. Freshman Casey dreams of loving a wild loner, "a bit dangerous," who would lead her "deeper into the forest" to new places, and she falls hard for angry Dean, who rides a motorcycle. But Dean isn't what she thought she wanted ("he wanted sex with no commitment, and I didn't"). Stewart is a senior who gets a crush on Lucy, a star dancer. Though she loves him back, she loves her career more. Casey and Stewart tell their anguished stories in alternating first-person narratives, and it's sometimes hard to keep all the characters straight. With the help of a teacher, the two teens' lives begin to intersect. First published in Britain in 1997, this features fast, frank talk about friends, family, snogging ("I didn't know you could do that standing up"), as well as love both hilarious and heartfelt ("I've been waiting for so long, I'd forgotten how to do anything else"). There are plenty of great lines to read aloud; in fact, several whole scenes are perfect for readers' theater. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (July 13, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385730977
• ISBN-13: 978-0385730976
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,421,639 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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