After so many wonderful books by this author, this book fell flat. Unlike so many of her wonderful description books, this one lack the sentimentality and joy of the many other books I've read. I kept hoping for some redeeming qualities, but it was page after page of boredom.

Two grandchildren are spending the summer with their beloved grandparents who live on an island. Sadly, Louisiana and her brother Jake help as much as possible, but this his macular degeneration is not a condition that can be stopped, and gradually wears away at the eye's vision.

The children's parents are on an archeological dig and Louisiana and Jacke love being with their grandparens so much so that they do not want to leave as the new school system approaches.

Louisiana meets a fascinating boy who lives on the island. And he quickly becomes someone to love and adore. Even this relationship seemed emotionless.

Jacke is the remeeming character. He likes to paint and is quite a wonderful photographer. He tries to take photos of things he knows his grandfather cherishes and wants very much to hang them throughout the house while grandpa's eyes afford some semblance of sight.

There is a storm on the island, but even that lacks description of the fear such a storm can create.

After so many wonderful books by this author, I'm not giving up. I have many more to read, and I am quite sure the many books I haven't read yet will be stellar.

This book seemed like one of those self-fulfilling projects that you can only do once you've made a name for yourself. I wanted to like it (McLachlan deserved her Newberry for Sarah) but ultimately didn't. And I'm rather beat up about it.

I couldn't find the why for the story to exist. It's not really about race, family, or love. Nor could I buy the need for a 12-yr-old to fall in love. And I really think that it should be a Mary Poppins-esque tale. It certainly seemed that way at the end. But it wasn't. And libraries never let 12-yr-olds head up community projects. Heavens, there are too many adults, usually, clamoring to do that sort of thing.

I loved the caprese salad and fish though. I want that meal... like now. Tonight. For dinner.

Louisa and her brother Theo are spending the summer with their grandparents as they do every summer. But this year things are different -- their grandfather is increasingly losing his vision, Theo wants to live with their grandparents year-round, and Louisa meets George to instant mutual attraction. But Louisa doesn’t like change and isn’t sure she can handle this all.

I picked up this slim book by the author of Sarah, Plain and Tall (which I loved as a child), thinking I could finish it in an afternoon. However, I just couldn’t get into it and it took me more like two weeks to complete it. The book is written simply like for a young child, but then the vast crux of the story is essentially a romance between two 12-year-old characters, with all the adults nodding their approval and acting like these two are soulmates. Perhaps I’m being either overly cynical or overly prudish, but I don’t see two middle schoolers falling in love and staying that way forever; I also don’t think the target audience is super into romance novels. For example, here’s a passage from the book:

George takes my hand and puts his arm around me, and we dance, turning around, his face close to mine.
“We’ll have eggs later,” George whispers in my ear, making me smile.
He pulls his face away from mine so I can see him smile too.
We don’t know how long we dance, Jake and Boots, George and I. It could be minutes or longer. An hour maybe. George puts his hand on my cheek. I suddenly remember the day he first put his hand against my hair and how that changed me.
I move closer to him, our faces almost together. I think about kissing him.
Then he stops dancing.
“What?” I whisper.
He begins to dance again.
“Silence,” he whispers.
And suddenly I know that George doesn’t mean no music.
The storm is over. Only rain. No whining wind. No hail against the windows. Silence.
I kiss him.
Too fast for Boots and Jake to see.

It’s not exactly thrilling reading in my opinion and again, not particularly what kids really love to read. Some minor things that I didn’t like is how all the adults were referred to by their first name or nickname (e.g., “Jake” instead of “Grandpa”) and despite being a short book with a limited cast, Maclachlan for some reason chose some similar sounding names for some characters (e.g., Jake/Jack and George/Georgia).

There’s some attempt at diversity with George and his family being from Africa and another family who seem to be Latinx immigrants. Sadly, Maclachlan still falls into some traditional gender roles throughout the book, such as when after a bad storm the male characters (young and old) all fix the barn roof and chop fallen trees while the female characters (again, young and old) cook food and cut bouquets of flowers.

Overall, it’s a pretty sappy story in which nothing bad really happens and everything ends up better than it should (hence, the dream within a dream title). I guess it's fine if someone is looking for a feel-good read, but it didn't do much for me. ( )

While their parents are away doing bird research, Louisiana and her brother Theo spend the summer with their grandparents Jake and Boots at their island home. Jake’s vision is going and Louisa fears the changes that will come with it. Boots says “Change comes, and sometimes you can’t do anything about it.” Changes do come and they are surprising and good, including a special new friendship with George. George and Louisa talk so formally. No kids talk like that! ( )

Utterly delightful book with so many delightful characters and an island to love.

When Louisa (short for Louisiana) is sent to stay with her grandparents for the summer, she’s not looking forward to it. While her brother is determined to find a way to stay on Deer Island forever, Louisa would rather be off having adventures with their globetrotting ornithographer parents. She’s a writer, and there’s nothing on all of Deer Island to write about—right?

Louisa quickly discovers that small doesn’t necessarily mean quiet, and the island has plenty of scope for the imagination. It also has George, the boy who helps her see the world in a whole new light.

The end of summer is coming fast, and Louisa must decide what she really wants: travel the world with her parents, or stay on Deer Island with the people she’s only just learning to love? ( )