Review: Dear Dylan by Siobhan Curham

Title: Dear Dylan
Author: Siobhan Curham
Published: AuthorHouse (March 24th 2010)
No. of Pages: 196
Grade Rating: B+

Fourteen year old Georgie Harris feels as if the summer holidays are over before they have even begun. Banned from going to the local drama workshop by her bully of a step-dad and her increasingly fragile mum, she is consigned to six long weeks of looking after her tooth-fairy obsessed kid sister. Sick of feeling like the outsider at home and at school, she starts emailing the one person she thinks might understand; Dylan Curtland, star of the popular soap opera Jessop Close. And when Dylan starts emailing back, Georgie finally feels a tiny spark of hope. At last she has someone who really gets her, someone who really wants to help. But in the faceless world of email all is not as it seems...

Dear Dylan is a thought-provoking and equally heart-warming book with wide appeal to both teenagers and adults. Written entirely in emails, I really enjoyed reading this and would reccomend it as the perfect gift for teenage girls!

Full of issues for the modern day teenager, Dear Dylan was quirky, whimsical book. I usually like books written in an email typeface and this certainly was know exception. The events didn't unfold in the way I thought they would which proved to make this a shining star, exploring an unpredictable relationship. When Georgie Harris decides to contact soap-star Dylan, she is beyond thrilled to have received a response. Soon enough realising that these emails are automatic replys to every fan, she is shocked when she finally receives a real email from her favourite actor. Her love for on-screen hunk, Dylan is really sweet and very funny at the beginning of the book when she is in the first stages of email. We think Georgie is going to be an average teen but soon enough dive beneath the surface.

Georgie really brought Dear Dylan to life. She was fantastic and it was fascinating to get a look in on her life and all of her troubles. She experiences every humiliating incident that most teens do such as crushes, toxic friends and family issues. She is extremely likeable and well-written with a personality that shines. As well as being easy-to-relate-to, I felt a lot of empathy for Georgie. At times, I felt so sorry for her and wanted to enter her bubble and be her friend when she had none. As things just start to go right for her, everything that possibly could, goes wrong. Her miserable, bully of a stepdad tries to shatter her world as we take a look into her first love.

I think many people would benefit from reading this. It can be quite a serious story at times but has a spark of light-heartedness around every corner. I found myself cheering for Georgie and willing the plot to go on and on. The structure of emails is fabulous and is really the only way the book should have been written. I'm not sure why I didn't love it, but I certainly did like it! Curham has written a poignant, honest account that I predict, will be loved.