Per the accolades on the back cover flap of Nicholas Sparks' newest book Dreamland ©2022
Nicholas Sparks is the author of twenty-three books, all of which have been New York Times bestsellers. His books have been published across more than fifty languages with over 150 million copies sold worldwide, and eleven have been adapted into films.
I used to claim Nicholas Sparks as one of my favorite authors but no longer. Dreamland ©2022 is his twenty-fourth book and, like his previous book, The Wish ©2021, it was a mild disappointment to me. I rated The Wish three stars overall, but two stars relative to is own work. I rate Dreamland two stars overall.
There are three main characters. Colby is a professional farmer who fell into that occupation by default. Parentless, he is raise by his sister, aunt, and uncle on their farm. He is musically talented but he is accepting that other farm and family commitments stand in the way of reaching for his dream of a singing career. On a three week temporary gig, a rare occasion to be away from the farm, he meets up with Morgan, an amazing vocal talent who is pursuing a performing career. Predictably they fall in love. The third character is Beverly, a mom with an incredible love for her six year old son, and who will go to great lengths to protect him and keep him safe. Chapters alternate between Colby and Beverly and are seemingly unrelated. It is my wonder/confusion/curiosity about how the separate paths will cross and intertwine that keeps me engaged. Dreamland does have a climactic section with heart pounding action, but on the whole the book is slow-moving.
There are three upsides of Dreamland. First, it was a short, non-taxing read that I complete in one evening and part of the next day. (Recently returned from travel, it was all I had energy for.) Second, I learned some aspects about farming such as "what are heirloom tomatoes" and "how you keep cage free chickens from running away". Third, commitment to the people in our life can take many forms; an uplifting theme of this novel was seeing aspects of selflessness.
Nicholas Sparks always has a twist in is novels and that is why I claim him to be a favored author of mine. I want to see if I can figure out the twist before he reveals it. Usually I do not and this time was no exception. I hopefully step along through each chapter, having faith that I would eventually be surprised. And I was. Maybe that is why Sparks remains a best-selling author because of those characteristic surprises. Maybe that is why I keep reading his books. But I no longer buy them as soon as they are released. I put my name on the library wait list and once a year I eventually read the next one, just to keep my perfect record intact of having read all his works.
His most recent track record in my book is not stellar. I gave The Return ©2020 only two stars; I gave The Wish ©2021, Every Breath ©2018, and See Me ©2015 , Two By Two ©2016 a mediocre three stars each. Dreamland is below par with some of his earlier novels but I do not regret reading it. Sometimes even a stale cupcake can taste pretty good. I will read his future works, not with gusto, but with a relaxed attitude of anticipation.
★★☆☆☆ Ok, not great; some redeeming features; I finished it
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