Title: Dakota Son
Author: Mary Ramsey
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 978-1-5462-3307-7
Pages: 246
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Reviewed by: Ella Vincent

Read Book Review

Dakota Son is an uplifting and emotional novel from Mary Ramsey about love, heartbreak, and perseverance. Ramsey’s novel is a great addition to the young adult fiction category.

Dakota Son tells the story of Sean Foster, a North Dakota teenager who lives with cystic fibrosis, a disease which damages the lungs. He copes with his illness and constant hospital visits with the help of his sister, Sara, and his girlfriend, Jen. Sean is devastated when his true love, Jen, and her veteran father, Diego, move to California. Sean decides to defy his mother and follow Jen to California, which changes Sean’s life in ways he couldn’t imagine.

The characters in the novel are so complex and a refreshing change from one-dimensional characters in other teen novels. While Sean battles with cystic fibrosis and is a heroic figure, he is also very flawed and fights against the self-pity that consumes him as he copes with his illness and the aftermath of being bullied at school. Sara is a supportive sister, but also challenges Sean to try to live his life as a “normal” teenager who can still have fun. Jen is not just a passive love interest in Dakota Sun. She must be a caregiver to not only Sean, but her father who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. The character development is very rich throughout the novel.

Ramsey’s writing in Dakota Sun is witty, heartfelt, and relatable. The dialogue sounds exactly how teenagers talk, with a mixture of teasing between Sara and Sean, and innocent expressions of love between Sean and Jen. The novel’s themes of faith and persistence are driven home through the spiritual aspects of Christianity that Sean welcomes into his life. In another refreshing contrast from other novels, even though Sean is a Christian, he is open-minded towards his bisexual massage therapist. While Dakota Son has a spiritual theme, the characters also embrace alternative medicine like reiki massage to help ease Sean’s pain.

Dakota Sun would be best for fans of realistic young adult fiction, like John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars. The book would also be ideal for readers that are coping with chronic illness or have loved ones coping with illness. Though the book is about teenagers, adult readers will love Dakota Sun and the ways the characters confront complicated adult issues. Dakota Sun is a novel that will make readers, laugh, cry, and encouraged to do more for the people they love.