Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I may be 41, but I still ❤️ to read YA too! Sarah Dessen books never disappoint. This one had it all: divorce/family drama, finding yourself, young love, and finding your home/family. Highly recommend!
I wish Sarah Dessen was writing when I was 16. My life may have been different. Then again, maybe not.
Sarah easly picks up the voice of a 17 year old girl and tells an interesting yet relatable tale from her point of view.
I have never been dissapointed by Ms. Dessen's ability to capture the reader and was very happy to still feel that way when most other chick lit and teen fiction books are just not capturing me.
As an added bonus, I love how Sarah will slip in characters and locations from past books giving me the feeling I just ran into an old friend.
I look forward to her next novel.
Sarah easly picks up the voice of a 17 year old girl and tells an interesting yet relatable tale from her point of view.
I have never been dissapointed by Ms. Dessen's ability to capture the reader and was very happy to still feel that way when most other chick lit and teen fiction books are just not capturing me.
As an added bonus, I love how Sarah will slip in characters and locations from past books giving me the feeling I just ran into an old friend.
I look forward to her next novel.
I love Sarah Dessen. This isn't my favorite of hers, but it's still so far superior to most of the realistic teen fiction out there.
This book screams true Sarah Dessen at her finest!
It has everything I love about her books wrapped up into one. A heroine that has a story I can relate to, with interests that are more in depth that most books. It also has friends who are the type of people we all wish we could be friends with. It's not a huge group, but they are close. Which is what matters. And then of course what I believe Dessen does best. Her heroes, really just male characters in general. They have so much character and life to them while also being real enough you surely know someone like them.
This book has it all. Summer, the beach, a close group of friends, and of course... all the Easter eggs my Dessen loving heart can handle.
Mclean might be in the top 3 for favorite heroines of Dessen's. She's upfront and honest with what she wants (Or at least the opportunity to find out what she wants) even if that comes with upsetting people she loves. Like her mom. She also communicated things! While she kept parts hidden, she didn't just EXPECT everyone to know why she was upset. And she didn't want to be upset. I think sometimes heroines in any book can fall under their own spell and almost come across as though they've just accepted that they are upset and that the past will define them and don't bother helping or telling me otherwise. Mclean doesn't! She is constantly wanting to change. And she knows she wants to be happy. She wants to find herself.
What an amazing quote. Home isn't a place, but a feeling. It's people. For Mclean, she finally found home... or almost it found her. She found it in all the moments Dave recreates in the model. He took her moments and showed her the home she found.
While Dave may be a *bit* extreme going from it's cold to bailed out of jail. It still makes a great point. Everyone needs that ride or die, call about anything and everything person. And I just loved the moment of her realizing he was her 2 a.m. person.
Overall absolutely loved this book! Rereading Sarah Dessen books in 2021 is exactly what I needed after the 2020 we had.
It has everything I love about her books wrapped up into one. A heroine that has a story I can relate to, with interests that are more in depth that most books. It also has friends who are the type of people we all wish we could be friends with. It's not a huge group, but they are close. Which is what matters. And then of course what I believe Dessen does best. Her heroes, really just male characters in general. They have so much character and life to them while also being real enough you surely know someone like them.
This book has it all. Summer, the beach, a close group of friends, and of course... all the Easter eggs my Dessen loving heart can handle.
Mclean might be in the top 3 for favorite heroines of Dessen's. She's upfront and honest with what she wants (Or at least the opportunity to find out what she wants) even if that comes with upsetting people she loves. Like her mom. She also communicated things! While she kept parts hidden, she didn't just EXPECT everyone to know why she was upset. And she didn't want to be upset. I think sometimes heroines in any book can fall under their own spell and almost come across as though they've just accepted that they are upset and that the past will define them and don't bother helping or telling me otherwise. Mclean doesn't! She is constantly wanting to change. And she knows she wants to be happy. She wants to find herself.
Spoiler
“Home wasn't a set house, or a single town on a map. It was wherever the people who loved you were, whenever you were together. Not a place, but a moment, and then another, building on each other like bricks to create a solid shelter that you take with you for your entire life, wherever you may go.”
What an amazing quote. Home isn't a place, but a feeling. It's people. For Mclean, she finally found home... or almost it found her. She found it in all the moments Dave recreates in the model. He took her moments and showed her the home she found.
"You know, the person you can call at 2 a.m. and, no matter what, you can count on them. Even if they're asleep or it's cold or you need bailed out of jail... they'll come for you. It's like, the highest level of friendship."
While Dave may be a *bit* extreme going from it's cold to bailed out of jail. It still makes a great point. Everyone needs that ride or die, call about anything and everything person. And I just loved the moment of her realizing he was her 2 a.m. person.
Overall absolutely loved this book! Rereading Sarah Dessen books in 2021 is exactly what I needed after the 2020 we had.
emotional
hopeful
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
I'll definitely update this later with a proper review and some more articulated thoughts, but it seems everything I loved about this book is what most people dislike: I love how the family and friendships are bigger and more pressing than romance, I enjoy McLean's search for herself, I like the underlying pressure and tension between her and her mother, and I actually like the basketball. (Contrary to popular belief, sports and literature CAN go together.) I was endeared to Dave who played off as refreshingly normal - esp where Dessen has written a wealth of swoony males.
I do have a few issues/nitpicks with the story, esp with regards to McLean's parents, but over all, I was far more pleased with this than anticipated, and frankly feel that people complaining of this book's lack of swooning grand romance have heavily missed the point. Certainly Dessen is known for the males she writes and the romances she builds, but that all is heavily second to the true issues at the heart of this book: who is McLean and how does she figure it out after all her different personas, and her resentment over her parents' divorce. Every time family and friendship trumps romance, I'm more than delighted to accept it.
I do have a few issues/nitpicks with the story, esp with regards to McLean's parents, but over all, I was far more pleased with this than anticipated, and frankly feel that people complaining of this book's lack of swooning grand romance have heavily missed the point. Certainly Dessen is known for the males she writes and the romances she builds, but that all is heavily second to the true issues at the heart of this book: who is McLean and how does she figure it out after all her different personas, and her resentment over her parents' divorce. Every time family and friendship trumps romance, I'm more than delighted to accept it.