Questions About In the Dream House

by Carmen Maria Machado (Goodreads Author)

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Answered Questions (3)

What age would you recommend this for? Is it too heavy for a 16/17 year old or would it be fine?

Kristen I would DEFINITELY recommend this to a dating-age young person. This is the perfect "what not to do" as young people learn how to love. There are bad …moreI would DEFINITELY recommend this to a dating-age young person. This is the perfect "what not to do" as young people learn how to love. There are bad words (mostly the f-word and the c-word in sexual connotations) but no outright violence or super sexy scenes. All the abuse is emotional.(less)

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I've recently finished this amazing book and was wondering about the original folk tale 'The Queen and The Squid' and what it means? I was a bit confused. Does anyone have any insights?

Andrea Sade Machado says this in an interview I found online, “… using a fairy tale, like The Queen and the Squid, to basically do a thing I couldn’t do — reprodu…moreMachado says this in an interview I found online, “… using a fairy tale, like The Queen and the Squid, to basically do a thing I couldn’t do — reproduce some emails from my ex. I wasn’t allowed to because they’re copyrighted to the person who wrote them. So I had to create another way of showing the reader what I was experiencing, and what I was reading, without actually violating copyright.” https://longreads.com/2019/11/07/inte...

My personal take away before reading this interview was that The Queen and the Squid served a purpose similar to Germanic fairytales, which may appear one thing on the surface but holds deep and profound messages riddled with symbolism. From personal experience with more heavy topics, using parables help me understand and decode my experiences to myself and others.(less)

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Is this book appropriate for Brammer school students?

Alyssa Bartoshevich I'd say 16+ would be more appropriate. …moreI'd say 16+ would be more appropriate. (less)

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