IN YOUR DREAMS
Sierra Jensen Collection: Volume One, Book Two
Robin Jones Gunn
Multnomah Publishers
Fiction
ISBN-10: 1590525884
ISBN-13: 9781590525883
132 pages

In IN YOUR DREAMS, the second book in Robin Jones Gunn’s Sierra Jensen series, Sierra has decided to try to make her new life in Portland a little better. She’s thrilled to have finally heard from mysterious Paul, and even more so when she finds out that he’s currently single.

However, Sierra has plenty of problems to occupy her mind. When a family emergency leaves her alone to care for her grandmother, who has Alzheimer’s, things begin to spin out of control. Sierra has no choice but to stay at the hospital with her grandmother, who claims to need surgery urgently. To make matters worse, Sierra is now sharing a room with her seemingly perfect, neat-freak older sister Tawni, who could not be any more different from her. Their constant bickering certainly hasn’t made Sierra’s adjustment any easier. And then there’s the little matter of having no money. Sierra desperately wants a job but can’t find anything. Add on another chance encounter with Paul --- this time, much less than pleasant --- and her life seems to be a disaster.

However, Sierra once again vows to make things better. Christy and Katie are begging her to spend Easter in California with them. She desperately wants to go, and a new job possibility may allow her to do so. While her California friends are great, Sierra also knows she must make some new ones in Oregon. She would like a fresh start with the students from her new school to whom she initially refused to give a chance and soon finds herself asked on her first date. Randy is perfect --- popular, cute and nice. So why is it that Sierra still can’t get her mind off of Paul, who seems to have been making her life so miserable?

IN YOUR DREAMS is a good follow-up to ONLY YOU, SIERRA, as fans will enjoy seeing the new twists and turns in Sierra’s life. Those who read Gunn’s Christy Miller books will appreciate the brief appearances that old characters make here while at the same time finding that the Sierra Jensen series lacks some of the charm of its predecessors. Still, the books do tackle many issues regarding family and romantic relationships that young teens will relate to, and they begin to add some depth to characters who will continue to be developed in future installments.

   --- Reviewed by Jennifer Crosby

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