DREAM GIRL
Lauren Mechling
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Fiction
ISBN: 9780385735216
320 pages

Claire Voyante has had strange visions ever since she was little. They never led to anything but silly stuff, like imagining her brother holding an umbrella with a frog on it and then later actually seeing him with the same umbrella. But that will change very soon.

After spending the summer in France with her family, Claire returns to her hometown of New York City. She doesn't lead a glamorous life. Her father is a French professor at New York University. Her mother ghostwrites celebrity autobiographies and moonlights as a horoscope writer of the Priscilla Pluto column. Henry, her younger brother, has his head in the clouds and often roams the apartment halls in spurts of insomnia.

Claire isn't too thrilled about having to leave her beloved Farmhouse School for sophomore year at Henry Hudson High, "a nerd school on the Lower East Side known for its competitive math and science departments, nationally ranked chess club, and recurring asbestos problem." To make matters worse, she doesn't know anyone at Henry Hudson except Sheila --- her neighbor who she was friends with back in sixth grade until Sheila began hanging out with all the popular kids and pretended Claire was a stranger.

Things aren't much different with Sheila, who now runs with a group that spends all their time scribbling in a BDL (Best Dressed List) book. Sheila and her chums get angry when Claire skips out from one of their gatherings after Sheila's mother forced the invitation on both of the girls. Sheila and the BDLs make Claire's new school life even more miserable.

But for Claire things start to look up --- or at least get interesting -- when her fashonista grandmother Kiki gives her a special black-and-white onyx cameo necklace on her 15th birthday. She asks Claire to promise to wear it at all times and to "pay close attention" because the dreams might "lead you somewhere interesting."

At school, Claire befriends Becca, a tall, pretty girl who dresses in cool clothes and wears an airplane ring. Becca is also a sophomore transfer. During an afternoon of faux shopping at Bergdorf's, Claire wonders if maybe Becca isn't telling her everything. During their shopping trip they meet an obnoxious girl named Rye, who is dating Becca's brother Andy. It's not until a later conversation with Kiki that Claire realizes exactly who her new friend is --- Becca Shuttleworth. The Shuttleworths are described as "American royalty" for manufacturing the famous Soul Sauce condiment.

As Claire becomes closer to Becca and her family, she realizes they are at risk of something dangerous. Claire's dreams become more and more vivid as she tries to unravel such mysterious situations as who is sending Becca all those mean text messages and who burned down the Shuttleworth factory. Claire must determine how to use the images in her dreams to figure out a mystery that will keep her friend out of danger.

DREAM GIRL is a decidedly dreamy read from Lauren Mechling, co-author (with Laura Moser) of the 10th-Grade Social Climber series. This reviewer --- like our book's heroine --- has often been mesmerized by dreams and pondered what they mean, if anything. Despite her abilities, I wondered why Mechling went so far as to name the character the obvious "Claire Voyante," finding it just a tad too unbelievable that her likable parents would give her this fate. Also, the mystery seemed a little slow to start, but once it got on a roll, everything clicked into place and left the reader guessing at every plot twist.

Overall, DREAM GIRL is an enjoyable summer read and a fun adventure set against the diverse backdrop of several New York City neighborhoods. Something tells me (perhaps last night's dream?) that this isn't the last we've seen of Claire Voyante.

    --- Reviewed by Kristi Olson

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