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Young Adult Fiction Suicide

The Dream Where Losers Go

by (author) Beth Goobie

Publisher
Orca Book Publishers
Initial publish date
Mar 2006
Category
Suicide, Sexual Abuse, Magical Realism
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781551434551
    Publish Date
    Mar 2006
    List Price
    $9.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781554697373
    Publish Date
    Mar 2006
    List Price
    $7.99

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Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels

  • Age: 12
  • Grade: 8 to 12
  • Reading age: 12

Description

No one knows why she hurt herself, least of all Skey. After five long months in treatment for self-destructive behavior, Skey continues to dream of dark tunnels with mysterious designs carved into their stone walls, a place where she is safe and alone. Then she encounters another dreamer, a boy her own age, dreaming the same dream, wandering the same tunnels. A boy with secrets much like her own.

While trying desperately to remember what happened that sent her away and who the boy is that she met in the dream tunnels, Skey's life plummets farther out of control. When she realizes her friends do not have her best interests at heart and they may be the reason she is lost, Skey must face her fears and the truth of the dream tunnels, and find her way back to solid reality.

About the author

In high school Beth Goobie studied and taught piano, wrote stories, and was the recipient of academic and citizenship awards. She worked for a year as a nanny in Holland, then moved to Winnipeg where she studied English literature at the University of Winnipeg (receiving the gold medal) and religious studies at the Mennonite Brethren Bible College. She has worked for many years with physically and sexually abused children and is concerned with issues surrounding the anger and powerlessness of those under legal age. Addressing these issues in her writing, she has published several novels for young adults, including Born Ugly, Mission Impossible, The Lottery and Before Wings, as well as poems and short stories for an adult audience in anthologies and magazines such as Fiddlehead, Malahat Review and Quarry. She lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Beth Goobie's profile page

Awards

  • Commended, New York Public Library's Books for the Teen Age
  • Commended, CCBC Our Choice
  • Commended, Tayshas List
  • Long-listed, ALA Best Books for Young Adults
  • Commended, Resource Links "The Year's Best"
  • Commended, PSLA Top Forty

Excerpt: The Dream Where Losers Go (by (author) Beth Goobie)

She began dreaming about him in the dark dream, the one with the endless tunnels, stone walls that slid by cold under her fingertips, invisible because it was too dark to see. Hand outstretched, she would move forward, never knowing if she was progressing toward an exit or if at some point she had turned around and begun moving back toward the place she had come from, a place she could not remember.

Editorial Reviews

"Wow! Wow! Wow! Beth Goobie has written an amazingly hard hitting story that will shake you to your core...A future award winner and a gripping read."

Resource Links

"A richly layered novel that contains elements of both fantasy and hard-edge realism...A wise and compelling book that addresses the traumas of sexual assault and emotional betrayal."

School Library Journal

"Goobie has great skill at creating imperfect characters readers can relate to."

Alan Review

"Goobie's writing is deft and evocative…Will resonate deeply with readers."

VOYA

"[A] frightening story of the power of peer pressure...Goobie's polished prose effectively weaves the dream sequences into this story."

Saskatoon Star-Phoenix

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