Other editions of book A Dream Come True

Brenda Randazzo Manley’s Young Adult novel, A Dream Come True, takes the concept of teenage love and develops it into a meaningful and very moving story of trust and hope. Her protagonists, Haley McGuire and Clarkson Kent, become playmates at the age of five. As the years progress, they prove themselves to be intelligent, caring, and, finally, resourceful young adults. Manley weaves their story into a modernized Romeo and Juliet. In the case of Haley and Clark, however, the barrier to their love is not their parents, but an aggressive cancer that strikes Haley down at age sixteen and threatens to end her dreams of college, athletics, marriage, and a family with Clark. No matter how protective her mother is, nor how positive her father tries to be, the reality is grim: Haley’s cancer is terminal. Driven by love and a lifetime of friendship, Clark decides to give Haley a seventeenth birthday she will never forget...no matter how long she lives. And in so doing, he creates for her a veritable dream come true. This is a novel that every teenager should read. It is more than a testimony to love and friendship; it also teaches children about compassion, commitment, setting goals, and believing in themselves to attain those goals. How perfect it would be if all children and their parents shared this story. There is much to be learned in every page.

Haley McGuire and Clarkson Kent are five years old when Clark moves into the house next door. From that first meeting, their friendship grows into a meaningful love. Committed fully to one another, they enter their teenage years with plans for a future together. Clark is a top student and leading athlete, Haley a scholar and track star. He hopes to go into medicine, and she, into law. But no one can predict the aggressive cancer that strikes Haley, nor can anyone expect young Clark to remain at her side. But stay he does, and plans a seventeenth birthday surprise the likes of which their town has never seen. With the help of school and friends, Clark is determined to make this a birthday to remember...even if it proves to be Haley’s last. Brenda Randazzo Manley ’s A Dream Come True is an inspiration for every teenager. Parents must read this, too, lest they forget how caring and loving their children can be, when given the chance.