"A Heart-Rending Story of Abuse"

Eileen is finally away from home, on her own and starting college. She is excited and thrilled to have some privacy and able to make her own decisions; she is a good student, a psych major. Her roommate Alisa is fun, friendly and boisterous. Everything is going well until Eileen writes her first paper for the psychology class and receives a "C" grade. She starts having nightmares and relives problems from her life when her older brother, Brad, molested her. She has been dating a boy from home who comes to visit her but she has problems with her sexuality and that turns him off so that they eventually break up. She makes friends with Sean who is the resident assistant of their dorm and Patrick who is her psych teacher's assistant. Sean is somewhat of a character but seems to be sympathetic toward Eileen but Eileen goes to see Patrick when she loses her temper in class and feels like she is starting to unravel. Patrick is working at the school's crisis center and they become very good friends with the possibility of something more.

As Eileen talks to Patrick about her past, she is also able to confide in her sister and stand up to her brother. She has always wanted to know why Brad had done this to her and when unexpected things happen to bring it all to the fore, she feels compelled to deal with her past. Patrick and Sean both play a part as she tries to find out about her brother's life.

GOLDFISH DREAMS is a fascinating book -- it is well written with excellent realistic dialog and moves at a very good pace. Eileen has to go through a lot of anguish and trauma as she examines her brother's life and her own. She feels hate and anger, finding it difficult to survive in the world until she has settled things in her mind, as she gets much too obsessive about it. All the secondary characters are equally fascinating -- Alisa wants her to find Jesus, Patrick tries to help her find herself and Sean tries to be a good friend. They are all exciting characters who move the book through Eileen's first year of college. There are a few twists and turns that are surprising as her friends get tangled up in her problems and try to help her solve them. Jim Hines has written a page-turner in GOLDFISH DREAMS and I am looking forward to reading more by this author.

P.S. Goldfish is Sean's cuddly fat cat.

Reviewed by Marilyn Heyman
Posted April 2, 2003

Order here

Summary

Eileen Greenwood's first year at Southern Michigan University means freedom: freedom from the brother who molested her, freedom from the father who refused to believe her, and freedom from the sister who turned her back on it all. Eileen desperately wants to be free of the past and live her life, but nightmares and flashbacks make it impossible to forget what she endured. Instead, she grows obsessed with learning what transformed her brother into a predator.

In the effort to understand, she risks her health, her friendships, and her future. Eileen's quest ultimately leads her to face a monster far worse than her brother... if she can find the strength to confront him.