Official Review: Sarah's Dream by Eileen Bird

[Standor5865]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Sarah's Dream" by Eileen Bird.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Sarah's Dream by Eileen Bird is a historical fiction story that follows Sarah, who is ready to sacrifice anything to marry the love of her life, William Lewis. Her dreams come true in that regard, and she has two children, Edward and Sally, but William is a troubled man and does not love her. She has to endure emotional abuse, being forced to cut off her close friends, and loneliness through six years of marriage. Eventually, William abandons her, sells their house without her consent, and moves away with another woman. Sarah is forced to take her chances in the streets while caring for her children. She has the chance to experience love again when Joe Micklethwaite takes her in. How different will this be from her previous relationship?

The story is set in England from 1904 to 1918, and the author does well to give readers a good feel of that era. A few details are included to paint pictures of the places, modes of transportation, and events that occur throughout the story. The author is not overly descriptive in her writing, however. The story also explores the discrimination of Jews that was evident around that period, and misspelled words are employed in the dialogues to give readers a feel of the characters' accents. We also get a glimpse of how the war, which affected some of the characters, unfolded in that time. The story's setting is well executed and is my favorite aspect of the book.

The plot is also interesting and explores a few other intriguing themes. Besides emotional abuse, we see how Sarah's son, Edward, picks up on his father's unfair treatment of Sarah and how it affects him negatively. There is also a lot of depth to the characters in the story, especially William, as I could see how his relationship with his family shaped the man he became. Also, Sarah's Dream is an exceptionally well-edited book. I didn't find any errors while reading, and, besides a moment of trying to decipher a misspelled word in the dialogue, my reading flow was maintained throughout.

On a negative note, I would have liked the author to have spent more time narrating the harsh experiences Sarah suffered. Almost throughout the story, it felt like she got the solutions to her problems quite easily. There was a scary twist that involved her son and would have been a difficult situation for her, but besides that, I could not connect to the issues she faced, as I always felt that a solution was nearby. In addition, there are a few unnecessary dialogues that do not advance or add anything to the story, and the author's use of misspelled words in dialogues is not consistent, especially in dialogues involving characters like Caitlin McGuire, Sarah's friend.

All things considered, Sarah's Dream was a light, interesting read, but it wasn't properly executed in some aspects. Therefore, I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. I mentioned a few issues above, and the book's ending was slightly confusing, but the setting and character depth convinced me against rating the book any lower. Readers who enjoy historical fiction novels may enjoy reading this book.

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Sarah's Dream
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[sharon titus]

Very detailed review. I liked the summary part to be precise. I would be looking forward to read the same.

[Laura Britos]

I really enjoyed your point of view in regards narration. I often feel the same way when reading books that want to explote traumatic episodes or experiences but do not dwell much on them. Although it would not be comely to read a book that only deals with pain and suffering for the characters, I believe this aspects are necessary for character development and the overall cohesion of the story. Excellent review!

[ALynnPowers]

I also read and reviewed this book! I can't even remember if I mentioned it in my review, but one of the things I didn't much care for in the book was how Sarah didn't really DO anything to fix her problems. They were just solved for her; someone nice enough came along and made it all better. You kind of pointed that out in your review as well, and I am glad to see that I wasn't alone.

The misspelled words you mentioned were what I considered to be that particular dialect of the character. It was interesting to me, but it did make it really hard to follow. I felt like I had to interpret as I read.

[Serenity2010]

I like th e overview of the story because it is something woman can relate to in everyday life. You mentioned the solutions came to easy for Sarah. this would interrupt my flow if I read this book because it seems to unrealtic. Your review was well written thank you!

[Kristy Khem]

I nearly chose this book to read and review but didn't get around to it. The premise seems interesting because of the trauma that the main characters endured. Sometimes, authors like to protect their characters a bit too much by solving their problems for them, but this hardly contributes to a realistic plot. Thanks for reviewing it honestly!

[Vivian Jabeya]

It is such a shame that William did not reciprocate Sarah's love.

[Smmwallace]

The storyline of this book sounds promising. However, with Sarah's hardships always being solved quickly, it seems like we miss out on a lot of potential sustenance to the story. Thank you for your informative review!

[Nqobile Mashinini Tshabalala]

So Sarah's dream of a perfect family came true but was quickly snatched away? I wonder if she ever managed to bounce back. Great review!