Dreamland is the third installment in the Riley Bloom series by Alyson Noel, which revolves around the life– I mean death of a young Riley Bloom. Riley died in a car accident when she was twelve years old, only to find out that there is something beyond death in a place called Here. The name may be lame, but Riley discovers that her home Here is almost an exact replica of her old life, minus the fact that her friends aren’t there because they aren’t dead, of course. In Dreamland, readers follow Riley as she continues her job as a Soul Catcher with her mentor, Bodhi, and they see her begin to feel the pain that comes with a short life. Riley meets a boy about her age while trying to communicate with her sister, Ever, back on Earth in a place called Dreamland, hence the title of the book. It seems she can never focus on her own afterlife because she has to help others including the new ghost boy who’s sending nightmares to everyone.

Noel touches on the afterlife, a subject that some may not believe in. She shows that life never really ends even in death. We are never truly living because the way she shows the afterlife is an exact replica of the life Riley had before dying. Dreamland also gives the role of the Boogeyman to a young boy, which is a twist in the traditional tales readers learn as children. Throughout the book Riley begins to discover how much she missed out on now that she is dead: she will never grow up, she will probably never experience love, and she will never  turn thirteen, something that she had been dreaming about for so long. The young death of Riley Bloom makes readers truly appreciate how special the life they have is because they get to live. Riley can’t ever go back to the life she had, even if her afterlife tries to imitate it.

Dreamland is hauntingly beautiful, and  deserves appreciation for the topics it discusses. Some of us would like to believe in an afterlife, probably because the idea of life ending, with nothing to go to after, is so terrifying. Riley, as a Soul Catcher, helps lost souls be able to move on from any anger they may be clinging to. The same principle is transferred to people who are still alive. One can not live if they don’t enjoy life, which is one of the messages that I believe Noel is trying to convey. Even though this book was simple, it has a lot of messages that can be interpreted, and the ones I mentioned are only a few that I picked up on. I do suggest this book for anyone who likes finding hidden messages or anyone who wants to believe in something beyond death. Even for those who don’t, this book is a great read.