Book Review: Dream Girl by Lauren Mechling

Release Date: July 22, 2008
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 320

Book Source: My local library.

Summary:
Claire Voyante has been having strange visions ever since she can remember. But the similarity between her name and her talents is purely coincidental. The name is French, and unlike the psychics on TV, she can't solve crimes or talk to the dead. Whenever Claire follows her hunches, she comes up empty - or ends up in pretty awkward situations. But that all changes on Claire's 15th birthday, when her grandmother, Kiki-former socialite, fashion icon, and permanent fixture at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel - gives her something a little more extraordinary than one of her old cocktail dresses: a strange black-and-white onyx cameo on a gold chain. It's not long before Claire's world becomes a whole lot clearer. And a whole lot more dangerous. (From laurenmechling.com)
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Lauren Mechling's Dream Girl is quirky, intriguing, and adorable. Claire Voyante, the main character and charming first-person narrator, does well on a standardized test and accidentally gains admission into Hudson, an institution she describes as, "a nerd school on the Lower East Side known for its competitive math and science departments, nationally ranked chess club, and recurring asbestos problem."

She doesn't want to leave her old school--which is more laid back and certainly more interesting than Hudson--but Hudson is free, Farmhouse is not, and Claire's parents are "cash strapped." Claire's feelings for Hudson don't improve when the school sends a letter prior to the first day of school:

"Attention, incoming students," it read. "Our new metal detector system is highly sensitive. All students are advised to keep jewelry, hair accessories, and orthodontic contraptions to a minimum."

Lovely.

Claire goes to Hudson for the first day of her sophomore year, but not before receiving a black and white cameo necklace as a birthday gift from her grandmother and having the first of many strange black and white dreams. Hudson turns out to be as awful as it sounds, but becomes more bearable when Claire makes a new friend, Becca Shuttleworth, who happens to have a handsome older brother, Andy, and a wealthy family. It isn't long before Claire's dreams begin pointing her toward clues that spell danger for Becca and her family, and Claire--an avid reader and watcher of murder mysteries and detective stories--is on the case.

Full of mystery, danger, romance, and normal high school moments, the plot rotates between fast-paced and mildly interesting and really speeds up at the end. The fantastic elements of the novel are minor and scattered, and it's easy to forget that Dream Girl is a contemporary fantasy as well as a mystery. Dream Girl is the first in a series and feels like an introductory novel, but not in a bad way: the cameo slowly becomes a part of Claire's life as the characters are introduced and the world of the novel (which is fascinating, by the way) is set up.

Along the way the reader gets to spend time with Mechling's delightful cast of characters, who are stronger and more sparkling than the plot. I enjoyed getting to know Claire's lovably odd family, and--small parts or starring roles--all the characters are entertaining and well-developed.

Dream Girl also possesses a definite sense of setting and place, with the story's principal setting in New York City. I don't know how someone who actually knows NYC would feel, but I found the descriptions of NYC interesting and lovingly executed; the city is enmeshed in the story.

Moreover, magic cameo or not, Mechling is adept at making the novel feel like real life: Claire has parents who actually get to be involved in their daughter's life as well as the story, a wacky brother, and *le gasp* homework! Claire isn't with her friends 24/7 because they all have lives, and as a result people have secrets and Claire doesn't know everything about her new friend within two days of meeting her.

As far as PG-13 elements go, Dream Girl is refreshingly clean. The swear words that make their way into the book serve a purpose, and there aren't any words that can't be heard in most high school hallways or on prime time television.

Dream Girl is a feel-good book and I can honestly say I've never read anything like it. Claire Voyante is a character worth rooting for, and while I wasn't always glued to the pages I was always interested in the story. I recommend Dream Girl to anyone who enjoys fashion (with characters like the Shuttleworths a few forays into NYC's high society hangouts are a given), mysteries, and laughing. I'm excited to see what adventures await Claire in Dream Life (January 2010), the sequel to Dream Girl.