Many years ago, having just gotten out of college, jewelry maker Daisy Tucker had traveled to the wilderness of the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming in search of inspiration to fuel her art. What she had found was rancher James Tucker, a man with the wilderness inside him. Their life together was as close to paradise as a family could get - until the day their three-year-old son Jake disappeared without a trace. Her heart broken, her marriage in tatters, Daisy returned to Connecticut with Jake's twin sister, Sage.It was just a typical argument, one of hundreds that Daisy had had with her teenage daughter, Sage, over the years. However, this particular argument had ended differently, with Sage gone from their Connecticut home in the morning, leaving behind only a brief note: "I have to go." Daisy tried to stay calm; she tried not to overreact; tried to remind herself that this situation was completely different from what had happened thirteen years earlier to Jake. Yes, this was an entirely different situation from a little boy disappearing into the canyons of Wyoming, never to be found. Sage was sixteen years old and resourceful. She would be found.As Daisy returns to the Tucker ranch to wait and pray for Sage's safe arrival, what she can't know is that Sage has undertaken a dangerous cross-country pilgrimage to find her father. Desperate to find her daughter, Daisy will return to Wyoming, to the place that once took everything she had. She will also learn that you can never close the door on the past, but sometimes, if you step through it, it can lead you home...I found this book to be quite engrossing - filled with lots of intertwined story lines and endearing characters. At 504 pages, I would classify this book as a modern-day family saga; definite summer reading for anyone who likes to read books about families. I give Dream Country by Luanne Rice an A! and look forward to reading more from this author in the future.
Luanne Rice is known for her explorations of family complexities and relationships in general, and this book is no exception. Thirteen years before this book opens, Daisy and James Tucker, a Wyoming ranch couple, are reeling under the sudden kidnapping of their three-year-old son, Jake. So horrific is the tragedy that the marriage ultimately falls apart, and Daisy, highly spiritual and extremely creative, insists that the couple’s remaining child, a daughter named Sage, would be safer if taken off the ranch. Flash forward 13 years; Sage is now 16 and very pregnant. She convinces her teenage boyfriend to run away from home with her, thinking if she can get to Wyoming and to her dad’s ranch, she can find healing and solace in the arms of a dad she never really knew. This, then, is her trek—carried out mostly solitarily, since the boyfriend abandoned her not long after the journey began so he could return to the safety of his home.This is James and Daisy’s journey, too. Daisy has come to Wyoming from the New England home she shared with Sage hoping her daughter will indeed make it there. My biggest problem with this book was its predictability. I figured out how it would end within the first two hours or so, and I was right, sadly enough. I finished it, but it was extremely anticlimactic for me. The subplots were interesting enough, and the description of Alzheimer’s in the life of one of the characters seemed all too real. But this just isn’t a book that did much for me.
What do You think about Dream Country (2002)?
This was one of those books where you wanted to get to the end to find out what happened; and, at the same time, you never wanted it to end.Daisy and James Tucker and their 3 year old twins, Sage and Jake live an idyllic life on a ranch in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming. Then one day Jake is out on the range with his father and disappears without a trace. He is never found and is presumed dead. Both Daisy and James can't cope so broken-hearted Daisy moves back to her home town in Connecticu
—Dyana
Our book club read "Little Night" by Luanne Rice & I really liked her writing style so I picked up another book she had written, "Dream Country". This is a story of love,loss, faith & family. When a 3 year old twin boy disappears without a trace from his family's ranch in Wyoming, his family is ripped apart. His mother goes back east with her daughter, Sage. His father, afraid to leave the ranch just in case Jake comes home stays in Wyoming. Thirteen years pass & Sage returns to Wyoming..what happens because of this decision is a tremendous story!! I highly recommend this book!
—Deb
The short synopsis is that a family broke apart when their little boy was lost. Dad stayed on the ranch to wait, mom ran away with the twin daughter. The story starts with mom and daughter getting into a fight, and the daughter running away to see her daddy. This was one of those books that I really had to hold back at arms length because it just isn't my style. It's infused with Native American themes and spirituality, romance, and hope. It could be really touching to the right person reading it. However, I'm not that person, as I've never been enamoured with the Wild Wild West, Native American anything (except a few classmates who rocked), and I'm far from believing in anything spiritual. That being said, there were parts of this story that were amazingly well written. Just about any part portraying a parent and their love for their children. Then there were other parts that were glossed over, and I don't know if they are just in the Reader's Digest version or in the full story as well. I don't really like the story enough to find out... Alas, these parts were all the more negative things in life, such as abusive people. Either the editor didn't care to write in anything more than a quick gloss over, or the author didn't. ((If anyone has read this full book, I'd love to know which it is.))
—Grace
