These Dreams

by Barbara Chepaitis

Cricket Thompson's peaceful, ordinary life with her husband and two teenage daughters in a small town in upstate New York is turned upside down by the disappearance of one of her daughters.

320 pages, Hardcover

First published February 26, 2002

About the author

I once asked a college class I was teaching to give me their biographies using one piece of paper, any way they wanted. I got back origami, paper airplanes, essays, crayola drawings and more - which made for some fun, instead of reading insipid, uninspired lists of facts.
My biography, using one piece of paper, would be a drawing of a tree, with roots reaching down through the darkest part of the earth toward its molten core, and branches straining toward the stars.
Birds, a few monkeys, a jaguar, and a million fireflies would populate the branches hung with all kinds of fruit and flowers. And it would be a big tree. Very big indeed.
Big as a soul.

Reviews

[Timmy Cham]

The novel poignantly shows the devastating effects of a family's sudden loss of a child due to tragedy.

[Ellie Revert]

I loved this book! It was very thought provoking, and I don't want to forget it. About a mother and 2 daughters, Janis and Grace. And a very sad happening...

[Cathy]

3.5 stars

[Tracey]

a child dies in a mall and the mother leaves in search of something.

[Latiza Quijada]

I hope Grace's goldfish was fed well.

[Jeanne]

a good story about despair and hope. suffering is part of life but so is hopeand happiness.