Dream On
by Shannon Hale; illus. by Marcela Cespedes; color by Lark Pien
Intermediate    Roaring Brook    240 pp.
8/25    9781250843067    $22.99
Paper ed.  9781250843074    $14.99
e-book ed.  9781250374226    $9.99

In this 1984-set graphic novel, Cassie feels adrift somewhere in the middle of her family of eight: too old to need supervision at the dining-room table but too young for a spot on the couch at mealtimes. After opening a mail-in sweepstakes letter promising fabulous prizes, she’s swept away by the idea of helping her family and finally being the center of attention. She confides in her best friend, but their closeness is tested when a mean girl inserts herself into the duo. Cassie is also starting to be self-conscious about her daydreams and about her big feelings, wondering if others’ characterization of her as “so sensitive” is valid and, if so, whether that’s such a bad thing to be. Per an appended author’s note, the story is fictional but draws on Hale’s own childhood as someone “born with the highly sensitive trait. We feel things a little more—both the highs and the lows. We notice things a little more.” Busy and colorful panel art reflects Cassie’s shifting emotions and aptly captures the hustle and bustle of a home with six children and two harried parents; a supportive school environment; the protagonist’s flights of fancy; and the abundance of a restaurant buffet.

From the November/December 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.