Content Warning: This section discusses physical abuse by a family member, physical abuse by a partner, and the selling and use of marijuana.

The first-person narrator of Dreamland is 16-year-old Caitlin O’Koren, an average teenager who has lived in the shadow of her beloved older sister for her entire life. Caitlin’s voice is central to the novel, and her emotions play out through a range of interpersonal conflicts. Though Caitlin is primarily characterized as a regular teen, her inner thoughts and feelings serve as a fictionalized first-hand look at the nuances of the adolescent experience.

Over the course of the novel, Caitlin’s feelings about her family relationships change dramatically. She goes through a long period of feeling unseen by her parents and abandoned by her sister; in the conclusion of the novel, she is able to find a new way to define her role in her family and begins developing stronger relationships with both of her parents. Caitlin also feels deeply connected to Stewart and Boo, who serve as secondary parental figures to her and often provide guidance that the O’Koren’s are not able to give.

While much of the novel involves her family, Caitlin’s relationships with peers are her primary interest and the source of many conflicts in the novel.