I can't call Dreamland Social Club by Tara Alterbrando a "wicked cool overlooked book" because it isn't due out until next month, but I feel like there hasn't been nearly enough pre-publication buzz on this one and it is so good I have to say something now even though my formal review won't run until June.

I loved it. From start to finish Dreamland has to be one of the best rides I've been on in ages and the fact that it is YA really doesn't matter. If you've ever longed to go home again - or for a place where you feel at home - then you will enjoy it. Also if you are the slightest bit nostalgic for amusement parks, seaside towns, first love, deep friendship, CONEY ISLAND!!!! and all things carnival then you must read this one.

The basic story has teens Jane and Marcus returning to Coney Island with their father to live in the house that belonged to their late grandfather. The family has lived all over the world due to Dad's job (he designs roller coasters) and never met their mother's family (she passed away when they were young). This is the chance to see where they came from, grow some roots, get back on their feet financially, etc. That's the set-up and aside from the somewhat exotic setting, there's nothing to think this novel will be anything other than "family comes together" kind of pleasant diversion. But Alterbrando has a lot more in store for her readers than what you expect which is why Dreamland is such a rich reading experience.

There are multiple plot threads at work here. Jane is looking for insight into her mother's life (to be expected) and fascinated by the memorabilia that her grandfather has collected (both grandparents worked at Coney Island). There is a carousel horse in the living room that might really belong to someone else and his grandkids want it back. Coney Island is under threat from developers who have a vision that differs dramatically from it's past and surveying that past shows that not everything was wonderful way back when. Plus there are a ton of kids at Coney Island High that might want to be Jane's friends or not. They include more than one dwarf, a giant, a tattooed bad boy, and a lot of other kids who seem to hearken back to the freaks of old and yet in most cases are way more normal than the physically normal kids (of course). But it's not as easy as just who fits in and why. Dreamland is also about deciding what fitting in means - both to Jane and to the teenager her mother once was. And that all means finding her mother's past at Coney Island which involves lots of travels in what is and what was. What's especially refreshing is that Altebrando doesn't try to be sly about any of this; Jane acknowledges the kids around her, admits her desire to find out about her mom, voices the questions you expect her to be considering and then keeps moving deeper into her new life. There are no tricks to this novel, which frankly was the biggest surprise at all. I'm so used to authors trying to manipulate teen readers (teach us a lesson, please!) that I don't know what to do when it doesn't happen.

Maybe it's the historian in me or maybe it's because I'm going home next week to a different kind of wacky place (Florida) but even though I've never been to Coney Island I fell hard for it while reading Dreamland Social Club. I loved these kids, I loved what they wanted and hoped for (even the ones who are less than sweet) and I loved the life Jane pursues. It made me happy to read this book and boy howdy - do we all ever need a happy book these days. But it's not just that, it's how damn smart and thoughtful it is that made me love it.

I loved it, and I think the rest of the world ought to read it so they can love it too.

[Luna Park at Coney Island circa 1930 - it figures prominently in Dreamland Social Club.]