This is a dark, dystopian tale with a gorgeous love story which I loved, despite the book being rather bleak.

I’m coming to this novel disgustingly late, but I’m going through NetGalley books I’ve missed through illness and I throughly enjoyed this. That seems an odd thing to say when the content is so worryingly prescient, but it placed relatable characters into a situation most of us only think about hypothetically. It forced me to think about how real life might be only a few decades from now. The world is now coping with the effects of climate change and one of it’s effects mean people need to relocate to other areas of the country. Living in a flat area of the UK which could be underwater as sea levels rise, means this could be a reality for younger members of my family. The author looks at the idea of offering people grants to relocate, in this case to town of Margate.

This is a brutal dystopian future with utilities focused on certain areas of the country leaving outlying towns and villages (particularly in poorer areas) without heat, light and even food. Of course this lack of resources means people are fighting over what’s left with protests, stealing and riots become the norm. Chance and her family take the offer to relocate and move to Margate. She sees this as a fresh start for them all, but is Margate any better than where they are? I could empathise so much with these characters. Everyone behaves differently under life’s pressures and the author shows this through some truly dark characters. Even so, most are in desperate situations and it’s not hard to empathise with almost everyone. The author gives us a wonderfully twisty plot and incredibly tense situations. There is a love start too but thar wasn’t the most compelling part for me. It was the setting and the shock ending that really stayed with me.

Dreamland
by Rosa Rankin-Gee

A very dark story set in the very rundown former seaside town of Margate. Not the book I expected it to be. A bleak and deprived look at what society could become. I personally didn’t really enjoy this book and there should be some trigger warnings of parts of the story of how dark bleak and deprived society could actually become. A very harsh read form but there is a little bit of hope in part. 2.5/5

I was looking forward to this from the blurb but it wasn’t really what I was expecting, it was a lot slower paced than I thought and some parts were quite predictable

Had been looking forward to reading this book. Sadly it wasn’t for me. It just lacked a good plot to get you excited and wanting more. It was very slow paced and never picked up

A moving portrait of poverty and human connection in a prescient plot - really enjoyed this and great for those who have enjoyed other speculative works like CHILDREN OF MEN and NEVER LET ME GO.

I found ‘Dreamland’ quite unsettling because it is technically a dystopian story but the whole premise has its origins in today’s real society. In a lot of ways this book reminded me of ‘How I live now’ by Meg Rosoff because it centers around young people who live a familiar but disjointed world from our own as readers.
Rosa Rankin-Gee really raises up issues that are experienced by many and forces you to recognise the everyday struggles many people face in this approachable but hard-hitting book. The main character, Chance, grows up quickly in difficult circumstances and we see her family’s move out of London under a very intense gaze as she sees the deprivation and shocking reality around her.
I did find this story difficult to read in places but often that just emphasised the sense of helplessness and out of control Chance feels throughout. As a main character Chance is strong and resilient but I cannot help but wonder what happens to her next after a slightly sudden ending. Shocking but well written and brave in its narrative I’m so glad to have read this dystopian novel.

I really enjoyed Rosa Rankin-Gee's dystopian tale set in Margate of the not too distant future. It was certainly a heart stopping page turner, with lots of plot twists! Highly Recommended.

I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, X, and the author Rosa Rankin-Gee.
This was a very entertaining and engaging dystopian story, where the most terrifying element was the fact that it didn't seem far-fetched, with problems that were unsettlingly close to home. Reading the author's footnotes it was clear that this was her intention, and she really highlighted some key issues from climate change, social housing, and the wealth divide.
The open ending leaves space for imagination, but I would loved to have known more about how the main characters ended up. 4 stars.

A few trigger warning would be beneficial to the readers. The writing is wonderful and eye opening for many people but some of the content has triggers for me so I did not finish it

Wow this was intense. Dreamland is an excellent novel set in near future Margate. Unsettling and bleak, it examines what could happen if our politicians continue to lead the country into recession, the housing crisis isn't addressed and, inequality, deprivation and lack of opportunity continue unchecked while the effects of the climate change begin to be seriously felt with rising sea levels and higher temperatures. Chilling.

This was a dark book that has stayed with me. I really enjoyed the storyline but it did take me quite a while to get into the style of writing. The plot was so plausible that I truly did believe this could be the world we might soon be living in - terrifying.

Dreamland is a dystopian look at Britain if climate change remained unchecked and a far right wing government is in charge. It paints a bleak, deprived but scarily plausible near distant future.

The book is told solely from the viewpoint of Chance, a young girl coming of age in hellish circumstances. The temperatures are always hot and there are increasing tidal surges and floods. Chance’s mother accepts some money from the government to relocate from London to Margate when poverty and overcrowding in the capital forces them out.

The book and storyline is so clever and the narrative is dark and bleak, painting such a clear picture of a society in need and desperate. I found a few parts lulled a little and I also wanted a bigger understanding of events that led to where our country found itself. Whenever there were bits of information I lapped them up but really wanted more context. Written in the first person means we only know what Chance knows and experiences.

This is a book I absolutely recommend, it’s cleverness has really stayed with me.

I actually don't even know where to start with this book. Brilliant, terrifying, emotional... the list goes on. Not at all what I expected, but somehow . better than I could have imagined. An absolute must read.

Woah Woah Woah.

Dreamland is dark. Dreamland is INTENSE. Dreamland is actually pretty freaking brilliant. Dreamland is t-e-r-r-i-f-y-i-n-g. Dreamland makes you THINK. Dreamland kinda hurts. Kinda hurts a lot.

Dreamland is not about a Dreamland.

Set in a politically intense future where the world is in utter chaos (the tides are coming in thick and fast and over-population is OUT OF CONTROL. Chance and her family have the roughest of all rough deals, and life is only getting worse.

I really love Chance, you can feel her trying, her struggle, her giving up, the torture, the pain, the strength. Oh my word. You can't put yourself in those shoes, (you don't want to!) and I slightly can't forgive Rankin-Gee for making me feel everything I have felt whilst reading this. The worst part being that it totally all feels *possible*. *Shudders*.

It's a super long book (or felt that way) and only has four chapters throughout, there are opportunities to pause but it's a read with little breath.

This isn't a book to judge by it's cover. Read the blurb, read a few reviews. It is utterly brilliant, shocking, sad.

Content warnings for rape (none graphic), domestic violence and big time substance abuse.

Thanks to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster UK and Rosa Rankin-Gee for an eArc copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I very rarely give up on a book but this one defeated me. I read about 40% and then skimmed lots and finally read the last chapter.

I can see my review does not fit with most peoples but I found this book really hard the read. the writing style is weird and so I found myself rereading sentences at times trying to work out what just happened. There is also a lot of time when nothing really happens and I found my mind drifting and finally I didn't find the character particularly endearing. I actually found Chance a bit vacant and so had not real affinity or care for her.

Chance has lived in Margate since she was 7. Jas, her mum, received a payment of £500 to move her family down there after they’d been living in temporary accommodation in London. A fresh start by the seaside. JD, Chance’s older brother, came too and now there’s baby brother Blue as well. They’ve settled, made friends, Jas has found work and it’s their home now.
But things are gradually changing as Chance grows up and we see it through her eyes as she narrates in the first person. Power cuts, water shortages, winters that are as hot as the summers and rising sea levels bring tsunamis and tidal waves. The schools close and she and her friends explore the abandoned Dreamland amusement park of the book’s title. Riots and looting take place as JD becomes involved with drugs. Now it’s a game of survival.
In the middle of it all, Chance meets Franky, or Francesca. They meet when Chance sees Franky running away from a group of boys and they strike up a conversation. As their affair begins, they meet in the China House, one of the many abandoned houses in the town. People who have left everything they owned behind and never returned. There are rumours of a wall being built to keep the increasing sea levels at bay. But are they the only element that the builders want to repel? It’s going to be sink or swim for some of Margate’s residents. However, as Chance falls deeply in love, Franky tells her that she is an intern at the local Food Bank but she isn’t all that she claims to be….is she connected to the people building the wall?
During a street skirmish in the town, Franky takes Blue, and Chance has no idea where they are. As she realises that nothing is left for her in the place that she once saw as home, she follows with her oldest friend, Davey. She’s going after the one thing that’s left that is truly hers. They travel to the place that’s been built to keep them out. But will it?
This was a remarkable novel. An all too credible dystopian vision of a Britain changed beyond recognition by climate change, lack of housing and an abandonment of people who are deemed to of no value. Sharply observed and with an unflinching portrayal of Chance’s family as they are caught up in events beyond their control. However, it’s not a preachy book. At the end there are author’s notes with links to media articles and book on climate change, the homelessness crisis and rising sea levels. It was a convincing and well crafted world in which Chance lived as they move ever upwards in a 60’s tower block to avoid the rising waves. They are at the mercy of Mother Nature and the fact that they’re stuck there.
I was drawn to this book due to its title and that it’s set in Margate which I know well. I didn’t find it bleak because of the character of Chance who was very likeable and resilient. She’d been dealt a bad hand in life and yet she survived betrayal and tragedy. I really wanted to know what happened to her next.
My thanks to Scribner and Netgalley for an ARC.

Dreamland is an excellent novel set in near future Margate. Unsettling and bleak, it examines what could happen if the housing crisis isn’t addressed and, inequality, deprivation and lack of opportunity continue unchecked while the effects of the climate change begin to be seriously felt with rising sea levels and higher temperatures. It is a state of the nation dystopia where ‘how did we get to this’ is easily imaginable.

At the heart of the novel is Chance, a girl who has been shunted from one temporary accommodation to another, ending up in Margate with her mother and elder brother. We see Chance grow up and form friendships and relationships in a place where everyone is in a similar situation, no jobs, no opportunities and everything gradually getting worse. Yet for all this bleakness, there is hope and love and the characters are wonderfully realised. It is all very relatable and in this, Rankin-Gee’s writing reminded me of John Wyndham.

Great book, that will stay with me for some time. Highly recommended. My thanks to Simon and Schuster, Scribner and Netgalley for the opportunity to read Dreamland.

This is a dark and brutal book that stays with you.

It follows Chance and her family as they relocate from London to Margate after receiving a government-funded grant to leave the city. But, Margate is not a shiny happy seaside resort in this near-future dystopian novel. Climate change means temperatures are soaring, and the town is in constant danger from ever-increasing tidal surges and flooding, plus it has become a place to relocate marginalised groups of people.

Poverty, drugs and crime are part of everyday life, and Chance has found a way to survive and look out for her family, including her baby brother Blue.

Chance steps in to help a girl, Franky, who is being chased in the town, and they form a friendship and then a relationship. However, the two girls couldn't be more different in terms of their backgrounds, and it appears that Franky has not been completely honest about who she is and why she is in town.

I don't want to give too much of the plot away. But when you think things are grim, this book will then take you to an even darker place. Yet even in darkness, some light must shine. This book has moments of real tenderness. The emotional complexity of the relationships between Chance and her mum, Blue, Francesca, and especially Davey is beautifully written, showing that love and friendship prevail even in the worst situations.

Dystopian and claustrophobic in an all too believable and not t0o distant future; the story of Chance and her brothre JD living in Margate, where social need is climbing as quickly as the tide levels. Grim and necessary reading for anyone interested in the effects of social change policies on real lives; even though this was fiction, it was very real indeed and certainly left me thinking for a long time afterwards.