We are big Shannon Hale fans in my house. My daughter even dressed up as The Princess in Black for favorite character day at school this year. So, when I saw that she had a new book coming out, I couldn’t wait to read it. And wow! Let me tell you, I read it twice! The graphic novel is friendly and easy to read. I would hand this book to kids from 3rd grade to adult (truly).
The story follows Cassie, a fourth-grade girl, who can’t quite figure out how she fits into the world. She still loves to play pretend, make up games and plays, and dream big. Some of her siblings and peers, though, are feeling like those are babyish, and they are more interested in talking and listening to music. To make matters worse, she and her best friend Vali are trying out a trio friendship instead of just their duo. And it feels tricky when its two against 1…poor Cassie is usually the 1.
At home, Cassie is a true middle child. She’s not quite old enough to enjoy the things her older siblings like. And while she has the imagination to play with her younger siblings, she worries, again, about being too babyish. All she wants is some alone time with her mom, a little attention just for her. When she finally gets this moment, it’s so lovely to see their relationship blook (a kind reminder to parents for making this time to listen and talk with your kids!).
Reading this book, I was immediately transported back to memories of elementary and middle school. I related so easily to Cassie’s confusion about where she fits because she’s not quite an adult but also feeling less like a little kid. Cassie also feels big/deeply. Hale offers the good and bad of this, thus offering moments of introspection about coping with sadness, loneliness, and frustration.
I opted to read this book a second time to really focus on a parent and teacher lens. It really just made me love it even more. I found key excerpts that I would want to carry into a classroom and passages that I know I could use to talk through emotions with my own children. This will absolutely be a book I recommend to my students, my friends, and kids.
The book releases August 26, 2025, and it’s already getting some buzz with starred reviews!!! Pre-order this one from your local bookstore now. Gift it to kiddos in your life. Read it yourself.
Kudos, Shannon Hale. Thanks for continuously putting beautiful work into the world for kids of all ages.

Read this in one sitting and enjoyed it. Hale's graphic novels have a bit of an instant genre classic feel to them and Dream On didn't disappoint in that area. I really liked:
-Being overly sensitive is a trait rarely discussed, Dream On dealt with it in a very tangible and relatable way.
-The big family portrayal was so realistic. It was cute to seek out the little siblings' antics in each panel they featured in.
-I love the siblings talking and banding together in the end! A point I didn't enjoy in Hale's Real Friends trilogy was the lack of connection between the protagonist and her older siblings so that tied everything in a happy bow for me.
-I dislike mean girl plots, but the friendship plot had surprising depth. I was glad that Cassie's bossiness and her best friend Vali's being a pushover were both addressed.

Shannon Hale's graphic novels are on my 'always buy' list for a reason. They are sweet, funny, and relatable - my students love them! This character is very sensitive and not always understood by her loved ones, which I haven't really seen in children's lit before!

Dream on is about Cassie, a fourth grade girl. Cassie has several siblings which means sometimes she feels like she’s being overlooked. One day Cassie gets a mail piece that says she’s won a sweepstakes. All she needs to do is mail in her form and subscribe to some magazines. Cassie spends the rest of the novel day dreaming about what she will do with the cool prizes from the sweepstakes as she grapples with complexities of childhood friendship, what it means to be ‘too sensitive’, and the struggles of being one of 5 siblings. I feel like this is a really relatable story that will be a hit amongst middle grade readers.

A sweet graphic novel that perfectly captures the struggles of a creative--and sensitive--fourth grade girl. I wish I'd had this book when I was younger.

Fans of Shannon Hale's graphic memoirs will find more to love here, as this story pulls heavily from her own childhood (mentioned in the author's note at the end). The art suits the story, especially the spreads of Cassie's big emotions.

Firstly, a thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Here is the thing: Shannon Hale has another hit on her hands. I know it will fly off the shelves of the library and I won't be able to keep it stoked. Because it is Shannon Hale. She has a reputation for fantastic graphic novels that center around growing up and friendship. It's relatable and has funny moments so of course it is what you would expect.

(Side note, I so resonated with the hoped for sweepstakes drawing. I remember thinking I had been a winner once. lolol I never did get to the purchasing magazines part though.)

but I will be a little nitpicky. While Dream On is good, I found myself comparing it to the Real Friends trilogy. Perhaps I liked that better because I love LeUyen Pham's illustrations more.....perhaps it's because nothing fully set Dream On apart from other friendship graphic novels....that does not mean it is bad. But is it my immediate go to? not necessarily

Cassie has a big family, a very big family. She dreams of ways to help her family and plans to enter a sweepstakes. Bright, colorful graphics and a heartwarming story. Perfect for fans of Guts.

The story was a slow start for me, but did pick up in the end. I enjoyed Cassie’s character development, and how her friendships changed throughout the book.

“Dream On”tells the story of Cassie, a girl from a big family who often feels invisible and "too sensitive" for the world around her. At school, things get even more difficult when another girl tries to come between her and her best friend. The book follows Cassie as she tries to cope with feeling left out and misunderstood by Eve people around her.

The art style is very cute and adds charm to the story, but the book felt a bit longer than it needed to be. While it wasn’t exactly a fun or lighthearted read, I really felt for Cassie and the struggles she went through.

This might be a good book for kids who deal with similar feelings of insecurity, but it’s more emotional than entertaining.

Cassie comes from a large family and sometimes doesn't know where she fits in. She often feels left out or overlooked. Val is Cassie's best friend, but 4th grade is hard and their friendship is tested.
A book about friendship, being true to yourself and learning. Definitely would recommend

Dream On by Shannon Hale is a graphic novel for the younger girl crowd. Cassie Carpenter the main character is in fourth grade. She is the middle child in a large family, but has a best friend at school who is being lured away by the mean girl. Hale does an excellent job of demonstrating all the problems and insecurities of the middle child who feels invisible and ignored in her large family. Hale is also right on the mark with the difficult dynamics of friendship for girls in that age group. It is hard being an intelligent, outspoken and sensitive girl at that age. Strongly recommended for girls in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades.

Fourth grader Cassie Carpenter is part of a close but large family that includes her and five siblings, some younger and some older. She is very talkative and anxious, and doesn't get as much attention from her mother as she needs. She has a good friend in Vali, but not that Stesha, a rather mean girl in their class, has lost her best friend, Stesha is playing Vali and Cassie against each other. It's even worse when her teacher, Mrs. Farmer, separates the girls during class, even though Cassie does start to talk to Tomas. Cassie occasionally hangs out with neighbor Trinh, but since she's a year younger, she's afraid people will make fun of her. She's tired of being called sensitive. When she sees an envelope in the mail that says she has won fabulous prizes, she fills it out, complete with stickers for three magazines, even though her mother says they can't afford the $19.95 to pay for them. She carries around the flyer and envisions what she will do with the money and trips, hoping that it will make things better around her house. The friend drama with Vali ramps up, and Cassie even calls Mrs. Farmer "weird" when talking to Vali and Stesha, which she regrets. She does apologize to her teacher, who is retiring at the end of the year and was once married to a prince! Cassie also starts to plan a retirement party, since she'll have the money from her prize. Even though there are some bright spots in her life, like going to the local buffett, there are so many sad things 9like her father being out of work and Vali's grandmother dying) that sometimes Cassie feels that there is no joy in life at all. Eventually, the guilt of the magazines and the friend drama overwhelm her, and she stays home from school and finally has a heart-to-heart with her mother.
Strengths: This is based on Hale's personal experiences, including having a teacher who was married to a prince, so the story really rings true. Not many tweens come from families this large, and it's always interesting to see what that would be like. Friend drama is always a popular topic, and fourth grade can be particularly brutal. This was set sometime in the 1980s, I think, so there are some historical elements that will appeal to readers. The illustrations are bright and colorful, so this will fly off the shelves.
Weaknesses: Middle school drama is slightly different from elementary school drama, so this will be more popular in lower grades, while this author's Best Friends and Real Friends more accurately capture the reality of friend drama for 11-14 year olds.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like graphic novels about anxiety and interpersonal relationships like Libenson's Invisible Emmie or Vivat's Frazzled.

As a fellow "too sensitive" kid I found this books so relatable. Feeling everything can be such a double edged sword, because while it makes you more empathic, and often kind, it also hurts a lot until you learn how to filter things a little. Cassie is such a strong girl going through the awkward and at times heartbreaking "4th grade curse" where friendships starting to change, while also juggling her place in a large family that is struggling financially. Her coping mechanism of daydreaming helps her find the wonder and joy in her world.

Another great graphic novel by Shannon Hale! She’s a favorite author at our house and this one was just so relatable.

This book touches topics like high sensitivity, navigating friendships as a sensitive person, and growing up and embracing ourselves and our creativity. Cassie reminded me of my daughter. My daughter relates so much to this character and can relate to embrace our sensitivity, and learning how to open ourselves up to new experiences and people but also finding your people that will accept you for who you are, especially as someone who is sensitive and has big feelings. Sometimes there’s anxiety and fear in our sensitivity but also it’s a super power that teaches us creativity, empathy, and friendship! For example, I enjoyed the sweepstakes part of the story to show how much Cassie cared about those around her—so much that she wanted to give all her “prizes” away to her loved ones.

*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for the eARC!*

More mature or advanced young readers will be interested in this story. The themes are universal, the illustrations are cheerful, and the characters are likable. Graphic novels always do well in my collection, so I"m excited to purchase for my library.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Shannon Hale consistently does an excellent job of representing the challenges of adolescence in an accessible way for the young reader. In Dream On Cassie navigates grade school social dynamics with a tested friendship and a mean girl. She also daydreams about possibilities (think: winning Publisher’s Clearinghouse- trigger nostalgia for the older reader!). She craves her mother’s attention but feels brushed aside and often criticizes for being too sensitive or emotional. Her fanciful and fabulous teacher Mrs. Farmer is a bright light in this book. While I can relate to a lot in this book, it also made me cringe at the struggle. I thought the illustrations by Marcela Cespedes were playful and well suited for the book, amplified with brilliant coloring. This is a great addition to the young reader graphic novel section, and I look forward to book 2 (Dream Big) in Aug 2026. I’m grateful to NetGalley for a digital ARC of this book.

For a younger kid like Cassie, emotions are a lot to deal with, but, when you're as empathetic and sensitive as she is, they can also sometimes be debilitating. This graphic novel does a great job exploring kids being exposed to deep emotions for the first time and not knowing how to handle them. This is also the age where their brains shift to being more self conscious and putting in more of an effort to fit in. How, if you're not one who puts in the effort, then you're the odd, weird one out. Cassie's social life is suddenly something far more complicated than she's dealt with before and twisting all of that confusing drama with her chaotic family and fluctuating friendship dynamics, it all becomes too much. I am so excited to see more of these characters in the next installment. The art is so colorful, expressive, and stunning.

Shannon Hale already has the hearts of millions of kids with her graphic novel trilogy of "Real Friends," but I think this book just might cement that. Cassie as a character is just trying to figure out how to be a kid. She's not old enough t cross the street alone but she's too old to be playing fairy games, and she loves fairy games! Throughout the story Cassie realizes her magic; her sensitive heart that can find wonder in anything. I think kids are going to really feel seen with Dream On. Between wanting to be seen by her mom when she has so many siblings around, to not understanding why her best friend is friends with someone who is so mean, Hale has really touched on what Fourth Grade feels like.

This story touches on some of the same themes found in Shannon Hale’s Real Friends series but is aimed at a younger audience. It may have resonated more with me if I hadn’t already read the Real Friends books, as I found myself less invested in this one. That said, I would still recommend it to younger readers.