The author of over a dozen young adult books, Sarah Dessen has become an impactful contributor to the genre, including winning several awards and having two of her books adapted into a film. Several of Dessen’s novels have been included in the American Library Association’s “Best Fiction for Young Adults,” including Dreamland. Additionally, Dessen has won the Margaret A. Edwards Award for several novels. Born in Illinois, Dessen often focuses on teenaged characters who experience events similar to those of her own adolescence; this is consistent with interviews about Dreamland in which she references her own troubled youth. Dessen lives in North Carolina with her husband and daughter.

As an author, Dessen is intent on portraying real-life scenarios for teen audiences and supporting them as they make life choices. This is an important contextual piece of Dreamland’s narrative; the purpose of the text is not just to create emotion but also to help readers understand the complexities of teenage dating violence and abuse. The use of the first person and multiple clear examples of abusive patterns shape Dreamland as a text that seeks to make young readers aware of abuse and demonstrate that it is possible for them to escape it.