jesse alvarez is tired of being the new kid every time his dad takes a job on another ranch it doesnt help that cade savage the bosss son is a bully who has everything jesse wantsmoney a permanent home horses and most of all a mother who lives with his family then jesse meets aaron little elk who lives on the wind river reservation steals scraps of yarn from the art room to make dreamcatchers and never stops talking about his older brother reuben despite that they become friends and when aaron stops coming to school jesse worriesand learns of a secret aaron has been harboring as he tries to find out whats happened to his friend jesse must unravel the mystery of aarons dreamcatchers and their connection to the wild paint mustang only aaron can handle part contemporary western part ghost story dreamcatcher is ultimately a novel about friendship the pain of letting go and the importance of holding on to what remains behind