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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great subplots, but the main plot is lacking, August 13, 2008
Claire Voyante is clairvoyant, although her visions have never shown her anything useful. For her fifteenth birthday, her grandmother Kiki Merriman gives her a gorgeous cameo that should direct her powers and allow her to find adventures. Claire doesn't seem to be finding any adventures - she's stuck at her new school. She becomes friends with Becca, another new girl who is less than thrilled to be a student at Henry Hudson. As they get to know the other's family, Claire discovers the first of her grandmother's promised adventures.
The adventure in DREAM GIRL is a fairly straightforward mystery, made frustrating by Claire's inability to see the obvious direction of her visions. Rye and Andy's relationship also seems underdone, as it's never explained why he's so devoted when she's around and seems uninterested in her at other times. This seems like Claire should worry about it as she begins to fall for him since he could do the same to her. The other characters seem remarkably unconcerned about a possible romance between a fifteen-year-old girl and an eighteen-year-old in college. In fact, the characters who know about it encourage it.
It's a shame that much of the book's emphasis is put on these elements when Claire's school and home life are far more interesting. Her father is a French professor and her parents hold a salon in their apartment, full of several colorful characters. Her school is full of them too. Ian carries a roller suitcase instead of a backpack and Eleanor effortlessly transcends the high school experience. Both of them are scene stealers who are tragically underused. Sheila, the queen bee, earns more screen time, which she deserves. She's a nerd in popular girl clothing and her mom hints at even more hidden depths. Truly, all the characters are well-done and so are most of the relationships. I just don't get Andy and Rye or Andy and Claire.
Becca, however, does deserve her screen time. She fully enjoys having a real friend and purposefully tells Claire little about herself at first. She's sweet and clever even if I get lost every time she starts waxing poetic about ketchup. (I do hate the stuff, since it's made from tomatoes. Blech.)
I enjoyed DREAM GIRL, but the A-plot doesn't hold up to any of the subplots. The paranormal element feels extraneous and didn't seem to add much to the book as a whole. I believe I prefer the 10th-Grade Social Climber books, which Lauren Mechling coauthored.
From In Bed With Books
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastique!, August 17, 2008
Claire Voyante has been unfortunately named. Sure, she's been having strange dreams and visions since she can remember, but they've never led her anywhere. Besides, the name is French. But on Claire's fifteenth birthday, her fashionable grandmother Kiki gives her a strange cameo made of onyx and ivory and tells Claire to wear it at all times. Suddenly, Claire's visions become clearer, although black-and-white. And though she's become very sleep-deprived due to these dreams, she starts to follow her hunches as her grandmother Kiki told her to, and to her surprise, she finds herself in the middle of a dangerous and old feud between two families. So, if Claire can just survive the horrors of her new high school, she just might be able to use her talent to save some lives.
Dream Girl has a little bit of action, romance, and mysticism, all of which fit together perfectly. Claire's dreams, though random, were very interesting to read, and I was always wondering where they would lead her next. I also really liked Claire's character; though she was a little insecure at times, she learned to trust her instincts, which led to new friends, adventures, and, unfortunately, enemies. I really enjoyed how Claire had to use her wits to follow each new clue, and it was pretty exciting to read along as Claire snuck around. It was also pretty interesting to see Claire's grandmother Kiki's lavish lifestyle as well as Claire's international exploits. Another plus was the other wacky characters in the story who kept the plot amusing. Together, the unique plot and characters really made Dream Girl an amazing story.
Dream Girl was definitely a satisfying and thrilling read that I recommend to all readers. Fans of stories with high style, high school, and high mystery will enjoy this novel. I hope there will be a sequel to this fantastic story, or at least another great novel from Lauren Mechling.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't be fooled by the pink cover!, August 6, 2008
Don't be fooled by the soft, dreamy pink cover. Dream Girl has got a lot more
going on than your typical teen book. It's a very funny fast paced
read, an adventure with lots of action and
there's a cute guy too. It's also about finding yourself . Claire
starts a big new school and has to
figure out who she is and how she fits in. And there's a mystery she
has to solve. I highly recommend this book.
It's not like anything I've ever read.
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