Dream Within a Dream

Gr 3-7–Twelve-year-old Louisiana, Louisa for short, and her little brother Theo are sent off to Deer Island for the summer to stay with their grandparents while their parents go bird researching. Every summer tends to be the same on the old sheep farm, but this summer feels different. Louisa is recognizing that her grandparents, Jake and Boots, are getting older; Theo decides he wants to stay on the island year-round and go to school; and Louisa meets George. George and his family live on the island, but they have spent their summers in Africa so the pair didn’t meet until this summer—this summer, when Louisa learns that Jake’s eyesight is failing, that Boots keeps secrets, and that she is falling in love. MacLachlan skillfully weaves a simple story of family, first love, and the quotidian events that shape human lives. The writing is gentle, innocent, and transports the reader right into text.