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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
Sarah Dessen may be my new go-to-easy-to-read contemporary YA author.
"What happened to goodbye" was the second book of her's that I read in a week. Her style is simple and embracing, dealing with teenage issues and family situations with a tone that lacks condescension, characters that aren't whiney and plots that draw the reader in.
A few factors made Mclean, Dessen's main character in this book, call out to me -
(A) reinventing oneself upon a move to a new town / new county / new country is something that many people have done, not for any nefarious reasons but because a new life is easier without old life baggage.
(b) the fact that nothing in her future is ever certain - that is, basically, how life works; and I like that this is reflected in this book.
Although Dessen seems to like to tie up lose ends she does so in a way that isn't "happily ever after", rather its more of a "this is where we are right now and it's good" sort of way.
A good fun read. I'm sure if Sarah Dessen had been writing when I was a teen I'd have been obsessed.
"What happened to goodbye" was the second book of her's that I read in a week. Her style is simple and embracing, dealing with teenage issues and family situations with a tone that lacks condescension, characters that aren't whiney and plots that draw the reader in.
A few factors made Mclean, Dessen's main character in this book, call out to me -
(A) reinventing oneself upon a move to a new town / new county / new country is something that many people have done, not for any nefarious reasons but because a new life is easier without old life baggage.
(b) the fact that nothing in her future is ever certain - that is, basically, how life works; and I like that this is reflected in this book.
Although Dessen seems to like to tie up lose ends she does so in a way that isn't "happily ever after", rather its more of a "this is where we are right now and it's good" sort of way.
A good fun read. I'm sure if Sarah Dessen had been writing when I was a teen I'd have been obsessed.
I feel like Dessen just recycles her books.
So this was my first Sarah D Book. I remembered reading it and thinking it was okay. I heard that these were legendary. I originally did a review for them two years ago, decided to give it a better go.
Dessen's book is about a Young girl named Mclean, reeling from her parents' bitter divorce. First, I would like to say that Dessen's books all seem to have controlling mothers, or daughters trying to be perfect ( The Truth about Forever) or any tough relationship between mothers and daughters. And though in her previous book, both mother and daughter seemed to reach a medium where they finally began to understand each other, in this novel, Dessen's characters are completely unredeemable.
In plain man's words:
I fucking hate everyone.
Mclean's mom cheated on her dad with her dad's favourite sports coach, and got knocked up with twins. We don't hear her mom really apologizing to McLean, in earnest. McLean is just told to deal
With it By her mother. I was hoping I would reach a point in the book when Mclean's mom would stop playing victim and fucking acknowledge her doings and the effects of her actions on her kid, but she just liked to point fingers at everyone else. Instead this entire story was about McLean apologizing to her mom.
wut?
Now this review seems rageful. It is because the only thing I felt whilst reading was mild rage. The book was boring, and didn't really pick up. I waited paitently for the "BOOM" moment where I couldn't wait to flip the next page, but I ended up dying four times and resurrecting before I finished reading the tenth chapter. This book is very slow paced and thoughtful. There are tiny, seemingly insightful passages littering throughout the novel that may grab people's attention but for me, this book was mediocre.
But no seriously, I hate Mclean's mom. It's one thing to do it and admit your wrongdoings. It's another to act like cheating is okay as long as the ends justify the means.
So this was my first Sarah D Book. I remembered reading it and thinking it was okay. I heard that these were legendary. I originally did a review for them two years ago, decided to give it a better go.
Dessen's book is about a Young girl named Mclean, reeling from her parents' bitter divorce. First, I would like to say that Dessen's books all seem to have controlling mothers, or daughters trying to be perfect ( The Truth about Forever) or any tough relationship between mothers and daughters. And though in her previous book, both mother and daughter seemed to reach a medium where they finally began to understand each other, in this novel, Dessen's characters are completely unredeemable.
In plain man's words:
I fucking hate everyone.
Mclean's mom cheated on her dad with her dad's favourite sports coach, and got knocked up with twins. We don't hear her mom really apologizing to McLean, in earnest. McLean is just told to deal
With it By her mother. I was hoping I would reach a point in the book when Mclean's mom would stop playing victim and fucking acknowledge her doings and the effects of her actions on her kid, but she just liked to point fingers at everyone else. Instead this entire story was about McLean apologizing to her mom.
wut?
Now this review seems rageful. It is because the only thing I felt whilst reading was mild rage. The book was boring, and didn't really pick up. I waited paitently for the "BOOM" moment where I couldn't wait to flip the next page, but I ended up dying four times and resurrecting before I finished reading the tenth chapter. This book is very slow paced and thoughtful. There are tiny, seemingly insightful passages littering throughout the novel that may grab people's attention but for me, this book was mediocre.
But no seriously, I hate Mclean's mom. It's one thing to do it and admit your wrongdoings. It's another to act like cheating is okay as long as the ends justify the means.
Do you know the Sarah Dessen formula? An “everygirl” with an unusual name; a strained parent-daughter relationship full of misunderstandings; narration that at many times has its typical, literal meaning, along with a larger thematic one; and a nice-boy love interest. Despite the predictability of the elements, however, Dessen never, ever, ever fails to deliver a poignant and teen-pleasing read. Her tenth novel, WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE, will satisfy old and new fans.
There is probably no other contemporary YA author that I read as consistently as Sarah Dessen. I was thinking about why this is. Anyone can take the aforementioned elements of the formula and write a novel containing those, but Dessen’s attention to typically overlooked human details is unmatched, and is what makes her books stand out. The narration effortlessly makes note of the quirks that make characters human: the funny way they move their hands before they speak, for example, or their habit of turning on all the lights in the house when they come home. I think it was a passage about doing laundry in WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE that made me realize Dessen’s gift of writing about these details. For most people, laundry is such a part of their life’s routine that we don’t stop to think about how one’s particular attitude towards and approach to doing laundry is very telling of their personality. But Dessen notes this, as well as other details about everyday life, bringing her novels several rungs above other comparable books.
There is little I find that I can say about characterization, plot, pacing, themes, or writing style that is specific to WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE and not just generalizable to all of Dessen’s novels. Instead, let me just list all the things about this book that struck me. The lovable chaos at Mclean’s dad’s restaurant. The community “model of the town” project that the characters work on. Dave’s charming sense of humor. Deb. (Deb, Deb, Deb! Can there be a story focusing on her, pretty please?) The college basketball lifestyle, and Riley’s parents.
Okay, so obviously part of me wishes this story had been more about some of the secondary characters instead of Mclean’s pretty typical Dessen-esque bildungsroman, but hey, that’s not going to stop WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE from becoming a bestseller. Read it if you’re a decade-old Dessen fan like I am. If you’re new to Sarah Dessen’s writings, I’d probably recommend starting with one of her older books, such as This Lullaby or The Truth About Forever, but either way you spin your approach to reading this book, you will finish it feeling very happy and content.
There is probably no other contemporary YA author that I read as consistently as Sarah Dessen. I was thinking about why this is. Anyone can take the aforementioned elements of the formula and write a novel containing those, but Dessen’s attention to typically overlooked human details is unmatched, and is what makes her books stand out. The narration effortlessly makes note of the quirks that make characters human: the funny way they move their hands before they speak, for example, or their habit of turning on all the lights in the house when they come home. I think it was a passage about doing laundry in WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE that made me realize Dessen’s gift of writing about these details. For most people, laundry is such a part of their life’s routine that we don’t stop to think about how one’s particular attitude towards and approach to doing laundry is very telling of their personality. But Dessen notes this, as well as other details about everyday life, bringing her novels several rungs above other comparable books.
There is little I find that I can say about characterization, plot, pacing, themes, or writing style that is specific to WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE and not just generalizable to all of Dessen’s novels. Instead, let me just list all the things about this book that struck me. The lovable chaos at Mclean’s dad’s restaurant. The community “model of the town” project that the characters work on. Dave’s charming sense of humor. Deb. (Deb, Deb, Deb! Can there be a story focusing on her, pretty please?) The college basketball lifestyle, and Riley’s parents.
Okay, so obviously part of me wishes this story had been more about some of the secondary characters instead of Mclean’s pretty typical Dessen-esque bildungsroman, but hey, that’s not going to stop WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE from becoming a bestseller. Read it if you’re a decade-old Dessen fan like I am. If you’re new to Sarah Dessen’s writings, I’d probably recommend starting with one of her older books, such as This Lullaby or The Truth About Forever, but either way you spin your approach to reading this book, you will finish it feeling very happy and content.
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Love the cameos, love Deb (more Deb! Give that girl her own book!), love Dessen's world/city building. This book totally made me want to reread Along for the Ride , which I consider a good thing because I loved that one too. I miiiight have loved AFTR a little bit more, but honestly. It's all Sarah Dessen and it's all so much better than most romancey realistic fare out there so I'm not a complainer about it.
Another day, another Dessen.
This was is pretty much just like the rest. The same formulaic Dessen, although there were some tweaks that I liked, for example Mum was the bad guy this time and that is unusualy for Dessen.
All in all though, this followed the same formula as all the rest. Girl experiences traumatic event, usually a divorce or death in the family. Girl needs to relocate for some reason to a new town and it is the worst thing ever. Girl meets Mr. Weird who might just be Mr Right and so on and so on.
It feels as though the writing is getting worse too and yet I still need to read every single Dessen that there is available. I don't know why, I just do.
So I guess the formula works.
This was is pretty much just like the rest. The same formulaic Dessen, although there were some tweaks that I liked, for example Mum was the bad guy this time and that is unusualy for Dessen.
All in all though, this followed the same formula as all the rest. Girl experiences traumatic event, usually a divorce or death in the family. Girl needs to relocate for some reason to a new town and it is the worst thing ever. Girl meets Mr. Weird who might just be Mr Right and so on and so on.
It feels as though the writing is getting worse too and yet I still need to read every single Dessen that there is available. I don't know why, I just do.
So I guess the formula works.
lighthearted
tense
fast-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:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
I guess I just didn't like this book. None of the characters were anything special, the whole plot wasn't that interesting, and I just felt like there was so much deliberate symbolism that it almost made me want to puke. Then of course the main character learned a valuable lesson and everything was tied up in a nice bow at the end. Just way too predictable and cheesy.