The Year of Chasing Dreams

Reviewed by: Carla McAllister - New Gloucester Public Library, New Gloucester, Maine, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: April 24, 2015

Review

This coming-of-age story is centered around two characters who are best friends, Ciana and Eden. They are living together in Tennessee on Ciana's family farm and all sorts of drama are taking place. Both of them are in love with young men who are far far away, either geographically or emotionally and find themselves having to deal with what their feelings truly are for these young men. Ciana has lost her beloved grandmother and inherited the family farm and is trying to keep it a going concern while a developer is attempting desperately to make her sell to him for a housing development and some people in her small town whom she has known all her life are suddenly against Ciana and terrorizing her at every turn. The story has many unexpected twists and deals with several big issues such as bipolar mental illness, cutting, deaths by suicide and cancer, alcoholism, loved ones in coma,twisters, and grief. The story winds up impressing upon its reader the things in life that are of the most importance and how strong each of us are when the going gets genuinely difficult and challenging. I found myself quite enthralled with this story.

Overall Book Score: very good