This was a dreamy and intriguing mystery told as a dual timeline from the same POV, a girl at the beginning of an abusive relationship and a couple of years later, on holiday in Venice with her friends after she finds the courage to leave it.

There's themes of physical abuse, love bombing, coercive control and grooming throughout this story, but there was the comfort of knowing that Hazel did at least get out, as her trip to Venice reunited with her friends shows. However, Venice is not all that it seems, and Hazel finds herself losing time.

I was deeply concerned with where the story would be going when it started becoming apparent that this Venice was not the holiday Hazel expected, and her friends disappear. The ending explained this well with a hopeful note, but I did feel that some sections felt rushed.

At first, I was just really confused, and my confused state lasted 2/3 of the book. What saved this, was the last hundred or so pages, which blew my mind entirely and then suddenly everything made so muchsense. I have hand sold four copies of this book, since finishing the ARC last week, and it has become a book I am trying to keep in stock at all times.

A Girl Can Dream follows Hazel who has gone on holiday with her brother and best friend to Venice after getting out of a bad relationship with an older boyfriend to celebrate becoming herself again. Until it seems like Venice isn’t all it seems and more could be going on than what meets the eye.

I’m not so sure about this book, I was confused for much of it as we jumped timelines frequently and a lot was going on in our ‘current’ timeline. I understand why it was written the way it was and how many could love it but I don’t think it worked for me. I didn’t understand what was happening in Venice and where the story was trying to go. I didn’t feel invested until the last 100 pages and couldn’t really care about where the story was going, nor was I particularly invested in Hazel’s overall story.

Saying this I do understand what message was trying to be told by Emily Barr and I do think it was done in a very powerful way. Books like this share powerful messages and I think they are important but I do think it’s important to share them in many different ways as not every way of telling the story works for everyone. The way that the past section of the story was also done in a really interesting way, how at times Hazel from the present was telling the story, sharing things that you only know when looking back.

There were many characters that I enjoyed reading about including Enzo and Phoebe who Hazel goes to Venice with. I found them interesting people and supported many of their actions, understood what they did and why, along with this I found Hazel an interesting character but I wouldn’t say I loved any characters in the way that I often do when reading. On the other hand there were many characters who I felt indifferent towards or was not a fan of, not many characters have stuck with me and I understood their actions but I didn’t care particularly for them.

Overall this was easily a 3 star read that I understood why it was written in the way it was, and found to be an important book that I could understand why others like but just don’t think was for me. I may recommend this in the future to others however I think I have read books with similar messages before that I preferred and would more readily recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Rarely do you see thriller and romances together but here, in this new story from the brilliant Emily Barr, they are merged excellently!

I actually have no idea how to rate this book.

It was a tough read. I really wanted to DNF it a few times because the grooming and coercion made me feel really uncomfortable.

I kept reading however, because I had hunch about the Venice scenario and I wanted to see if I was right (I was). By that point I could see the value in the book for young girls to read. To recognise the signs of grooming and coercive control.

It reminded me a bit of watching 13 when I was young and knowing this girl was going down a bad path and headed for disaster.

The ending really made me cry.

I do think it’s a good book, but people should take note of trigger warnings and be prepared to be uncomfortable going in.

10/10 no notes - but seriously, a stunning portrayal of the liminal space between life and death, set in stunning Venice, touching on some really harrowing topics. It's a book that shouldn't be relatable but is, that works so well, with incredible characters and a really clear plot. So poignant and just absolutely fantastic, as always.

This was a mindbendingly excellent read.

Seventeen-year-old Hazel wakes up in Venice - she's not quite sure how she got there, but her adopted brother Enzo and best friend Phoebe are there too. She does know she's been through a deeply traumatic time, so it's no wonder she's feeling a bit weird. However, things are set to get weirder. What's real and what isn't? Why does time keep jumping? Why don't their phones work? What's the significance of the glass bird Hazel buys from a street vendor in a Doctor Who T-shirt? It's deeply confusing, but in a good way.

The narrative follows Hazel through her time in Venice, but we concurrently learn about the period leading up to it, beginning when a then fifteen-year-old Hazel meets the man who will, unfortunately, define her life for a long time. It's no spoiler, as it's obvious to everyone except Hazel, to say that Freddie is a creep of the first water, even if he is handsome and in a band. For a start, he's twenty-six to her fifteen, and there's no way that story ends well. She may seem naive, but she's fifteen/sixteen while all this is going on so it's no wonder.

This was a thoroughly engaging and intriguing read - I liked the characters, particularly Enzo and Phoebe (not Freddie, obviously). E. and P. are darlings and exactly the people you want around you. Freddie, you want as far away as possible.

Thank you for the opportunity to read an advance copy- I loved it.

I feel like I start every review for one of her books with stating how much of a big Emily Barr fan I am and that hasn’t changed after reading the latest book, A Girl Can Dream.
This book follows along the lines of her previous book Ghosted, if you didn’t read that, it’s a paranormal YA. Honestly if I just knew that I wouldn’t have read it and I definitely would have missed out. There’s a dual timeline in this book which switches between Venice in the present and Cambridge a few years ago. The main character is Hazel. In Venice, she’s on holiday with her stepbrother Enzo and best friend Phoebe. In the past, she meets Freddie the singer of a band and begins a relationship with him. That’s hugely oversimplifying the plot but to reveal any more would give the whole game away. A Girl Can Dream deals with some heavy themes but Emily Barr as always weaves everything together so well, it’s genuinely a delight to read. Not to mention, stretching my imagination and broadening my reading genres! 100% recommend and looking forward to the next one!

Thank you so much to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for a review copy of this fascinating and intriguing book. I read the synopsis and was instantly interested in the story that lay in the pages of this book.

So, to be quite frank, when I started this book, I struggled a bit to get into it! And then for the next 70% of the book, I really was quite confused - although I was trying very hard to keep up with everything and wracking my brain to try and figure out what could be going on. We constantly move between two perspectives: Cambridge in 2022 and Venice in 2024 and it's really tough to figure out what's real and what's not - as you get a sense early on that some of it can't be real.

We meet Hazel, who is 15 years old, who meets a rock star musician called Freddie, who she falls crazy in love with. But what starts out as a beautiful, happy relationship quickly turns eerie and toxic. See, the problem is that Freddie is 10 years older than Hazel! 🤨 We all know that it's never a good idea for a teen to be in a relationship with a 20-something!

This story definitely had an interesting premise. Despite being pretty confused, I was really intrigued. Once I sat down and gave this book a decent chance, I could not put it down. I needed to know what happens next! I felt really bad for Hazel throughout this book, despite her stupid decisions ❤️‍🩹

There's a very good exploration of how we can damage the rest of our lives in the pursuit of a relationship we know is not good for us. It's captured so incredibly well in this book. I also really appreciated her amazing friends and family who tried to give her her space, while also letting her know they are there for her whenever she needs them ♥️ They never stopped worrying about her.

Overall this is a really tough read, with an interesting concept I've never encountered before in quite this way - the author calls it "the in between" or the "deep down". But I can definitely see how our minds could create this scenario to help us deal with an incredible level of trauma and stress.

Overall, a really intriguing read. I was captivated and moved and horrified and relieved and heartbroken. I will probably think of this book for a while to come. I forgot to mention how Venice is described in such beautiful detail that it's easy to see it in your mind and literally watch the story unfold in UHD 😅

I would recommend this read to those looking for something different that is emotional. But I must just warn that this book does cover many topics that could be triggering, such as death of a loved one, abuse, toxic relationships, alcoholism and eating disorders.

This was so emotional and moving. It deals with trauma and abuse in a very sensitive way. Hazel goes through alot during this book and I’m so glad she had her friends to support her even if it didnt end how anyone could’ve expected.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'A Girl Can Dream' by Emily Barr.

My brain was utterly confused for 80% of this book so sadly that did ruin my reading experience of this book - I'm not big brained enough for the intricate layers this book came with. I've never read a novel by Emily Barr before so I didn't really know what to expect from this but I did enjoy the writing style so I would be willing to give another novel by hers a shot.

I loved The One Memory of Flora Banks and I read it several times so I was super excited for this one. I loved the different places and emotions it tapped into.

A really ambitious book, with lots of complex concepts and plot devices. I found it a bit too ambitious sometimes, with the symbolism being heavy handed, and not really a very good explanation or dive of why and how Hazel fell under the spell of the abusive older partner. However, I understand that the main aspect of the story was the time in "Venice", and how it was the way it was. I found the ending quite satisfying, but a little unbelievable and "I's dotted and T's crossed" - but otherwise, a really gripping book I whizzed through reading and I'm certain a younger generation will really enjoy.

Thank you for the chance to read and review this book.

I've read all of Barr's YA titles so far and have a strong fan base amongst my Yr 8s at school although this is for slightly older readers I would suggest- dealing as it does with coercive relationships, eating disorders and abuse. As others have said, I can't really go into the plot without spoiling the story for others but it follows Ghosted in that it blends elements of magic-realism/fantasy as well as real life drama. The way that Barr blends the scenes in Venice with the flashbacks works very well, it builds up the tension and tells the story in a way that really keeps you turning the pages. There are some very important life lessons about relationships in this book too but they are delivered in a way that is subtle and sympathetic for the readership.

This book took me a bit to settle in to, and I would encourage anyone reading to stick with it.

It’s hard to explain without spoilers, but the book explores many themes including family, friendships, and grief. The author navigated these with grace.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Its very difficult to surmise Emily Barr's new novel without giving too many spoilers, so definitely think this is book that people need to go into with an open mind so that they can experience the story for themselves. The dual timeline of past and present, makes for a very interesting read. I did find that at times it was difficult to follow the storyline due to the various sub stories unfolding however this is no disrespect to the amazing content that it covered.

The novel presents a number of issues and themes such as abuse in a relationships, sexuality, loyalty, eating disorders and Hazel trying to find her true self. The introduction of the topics makes the novel very unique and not something that I've experienced previously. The novel was a mash up of various genres such as romance and thriller, which I really enjoyed.

I did however feel that there were some elements that were missing and would have liked more of an understanding of the characters personal development towards the end. Despite this I would recommend this novel and look forward to reading more of Emily Barr's creations in the future.

Emily Burr’s newest novel is imaginative and keeps you on your toes from the get go. It’s one of the most unique books I’ve read in a long while and it’s really hard to articulate the premise of the book without spoiling and I think people deserve to go in blind. I devoured it in one sitting so I think that’s telling enough ;)

It deals with so many themes within the unique dual timeline setting — abuse in relationships and all the different ways it can look, the fluidity of sexuality and finding yourself, friendship and loyalty. The book just had it all on top of a really unique premise that was slightly thrilling, speculative and romantic. Truly just a genre-mashup of delight.

It’s my first book by Burr but I’d definitely like to dive into her backlist after enjoying this so much :)