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Dreamland cover art

Dreamland

By: Rosa Rankin-Gee
Narrated by: Kristin Atherton
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Summary

For fans of Children of Men, Years and Years & Station Eleven, a postcard from a future Britain that’s closer than we think.

'You said that you would come back. You looked me in the eye and said that. Well, if you had, this is what you would have seen: soft wood, black cracks, fridges in the road. The broken spines of old rides at Dreamland.'

In the coastal resort of Margate, hotels lie empty and sun-faded ‘For Sale’ signs line the streets. The sea is higher - it’s higher everywhere - and those who can are moving inland. A young girl called Chance, however, is just arriving.

Chance’s family is one of many offered a cash grant to move out of London - and so she, her mother, Jas, and brother JD relocate to the seaside, just as the country edges towards vertiginous change. 

In their new home, they find space and wide skies, a world away from the cramped bedsits they’ve lived in up until now. But challenges swiftly mount. JD’s business partner, Kole, has a violent, charismatic energy that whirlpools around him and threatens to draw in the whole family. And when Chance comes across Franky, a girl her age she has never seen before - well-spoken and wearing sunscreen -something catches in the air between them. Their fates are bound: a connection that is immediate, unshakeable, and, in a time when social divides have never cut sharper, dangerous. Set in a future unsettlingly close to home, against a backdrop of soaring inequality and creeping political extremism, Rankin-Gee demonstrates, with cinematic pace and deep humanity, the enduring power of love and hope in a world spinning out of control.

©2021 Rosa Rankin-Gee (P)2021 Simon & Schuster UK

Critic reviews

"A beautiful book: thought-provoking, eerily prescient and very witty." *Brit Bennett, author of The Vanishing Half

"Water courses through its pages, as rising sea levels heighten inequalities, buoy populist politicians and wash away every certainty of civilisation. But there’s also the novel’s prose – its liquid grace and glinting sparkle – and the sheer irresistibility of a narrative that sweeps along with a force that feels tidal in its pull." (The Observer

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incredible

I was absolutely hooked from start to finish. I laughed and I cried. Brilliant book.

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The pictures painted beautiful with words.

Wonderful r gripping story which starts slowly and builds to excitement, desperation joy and dispair. Utterly absorbing. You can't take your ears off it. Leaves an atmosphere with you after you have spent an hour with it. Just like when you were a kid leaving the cinema after the latest film.

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Incredible

Never before have I read / listened to a book that touched me the way this book did. I laughed and cried in equal measure. The author created characters and settings that come to life. And the narration is absolutely spectacular.
I really hope there will be a follow up!

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Stunning

This book is beautiful. There is so much ugliness within the story, but it is told with such realism and such beauty it has touched me and I don't think I will ever forget it.
The way the author writes about the main characters' connections touched my soul. The juxtaposing flaws and merits of humans. I was there with Chance, feeling her feelings, the joy, the pain, the complications of family life and relationships, the excitement of first love, the deep trenches of friendship that endures from childhood. It was real. I'll be buying a hard copy to keep on my shelf so I don't forget this story, and I hope to revisit Dreamland again.
The narration was superb, the characters all brought to life so well I forgot there was a single narrator. I'm heartbroken this is over.

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A poetic read

A book that is beautifully written and spoken. So much good in this book, a must read for lovers of dystopian novels

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Heartbreaking, Harrowing, Hopeful

I found 'Dreamlamd' difficult to get into but glad I persevered; by Part 3 I was hooked. Rankin-Gee lets us glimpse a not far-off, not improbable future where sea levels are rising fast, the sun burns hot even in winter, and all 'undesirable' elements of society are herded together in a wasteland. The poverty and violence described was shocking and distressing at times, the ending strangely uplifting and hopeful. Not an easy read but rewarding, and eye-opening.

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Believable and Captivating. Dystopian story

This dystopian story is so full of love in amongst the hurt and trauma.
the characters became like friends.
scarily believable future.

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Terrifyingly real dystopian fiction with love and loyalty at the heart of the story

Frightening, beautiful, gruesome and terrifyingly real. Dystopian fiction at its best. I read the novel when it came out, and loved it. The audio is brilliant. Kristin Atherton really brings the characters to life with great empathy. Chance and Davy, the feisty, resourceful and tough leads are two of my favourite characters in fiction. Love, friendship and loyalty in the grimmest of circumstances lie at the heart of this story.

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Bleak but utterly gripping

Just fabulous. The narrative voice is compelling and I felt bereft when it was over! I want to know more though …..

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Letdown

Having read all the rave rviews I was looking forward to this book. I managed to struggle on to chapter seven before giving up and realising this just wasn't for me. I found the actual writing felt disjointed and at times didn't make sense. Sorry but have wasted a credit!.

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