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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
This didn't stand out from the pack of Sarah Dessen books, but still made for an enjoyable read, with the expected heartache along the way and happy ending.
Don't get me wrong, I love Sarah Dessen and I liked the book but I wasn't blown away. The plot was fine, the characters were relatable and had interesting twists that made you want to keep reading but it wasn't mind blowing. It was typical boy girl love story plot line with chaos going on around them. The whole moral of the story was a good concept and I will continue to read Sarah Dessen books.
It's been a good long while since I read a Sarah Dessen book. I don't know why. At least now I will have a good three or four books to binge on, now that I've recalled how awesome she can be.
I was bored. I think it's safe to say I'm becoming too old for Sarah Dessen books.
I have my favourite Dessen books, and there's really no competing against that once I've set my mind to it. While this book was the first one that actually made me cry for several pages because of what it's about and my own personal issues, it was also the one I had the hardest getting into. In other of Dessen's books her characters are always so flawed and dealing with problems, and in this it was just anger towards parents and changing personality and name in previous towns. I think it would have been so much better if Mclean had actually had changed all that when moving to Lakeview so the reader could have experienced it with her.
Sarah Dessen is one of the few authors who can write solid YA chick lit without the whole thing coming off as cliche or trite. This books kept me reading, and the characters were likable and real.
Hmm. I listened to this in audio & I'm not sure the audio added anything especially. The narration was fine, but sometimes with audiobooks I feel like the narration can really enhance it? And this was just fine.
I thought the story dragged a bit--if I'd been reading it in print I probably would have skimmed a bit. I also realized that I'm old, because for at least a disc of Mclean's meltdown I was like, "Oh my god, this is not a big deal and it's really not as embarrassing as you're acting" and then I finally remembered how being in high school is all about being constantly embarrassed. How could I forgettt :O
I thought the story dragged a bit--if I'd been reading it in print I probably would have skimmed a bit. I also realized that I'm old, because for at least a disc of Mclean's meltdown I was like, "Oh my god, this is not a big deal and it's really not as embarrassing as you're acting" and then I finally remembered how being in high school is all about being constantly embarrassed. How could I forgettt :O
Sarah Dessen has long been my favorite chick lit author. Books like "This Lullaby" and "The Truth About Forever" are among my favorites. She taps into the human heart with simplicity and a well-used formula, which usually works out quite prettily. So it pains me to give a book of hers-particularly a new one--less than four stars.
Let's start it off this way: WHTG is not a bad book by any means. There's just a very slight emptiness to it, a lacking in comparison to Dessen's other novels. I can feel the writer's block she must have had, the effort, and one of the great things about a Dessen book is that it feels effortless. It's cute. It's fluffy and nice. It just doesn't compare.
The good: the plot is good. Mclean's relationship with her mother and the scandal of her parents' divorce is one of the novel's strong points. Mclean is very easy to relate to, because she is angry, and she is fierce toward her mother, who annoyed me to no end. However, that plot is tied up like we would expect a teen show to. It was kind of Full House. Very neat and tidy, without as much participation from Mclean as I would expect. I feel like she wasn't as much of an adult component as she could have been. She didn't become a player, and the problems seemed to be less of her own, as they often are in a Dessen book, than others'. It made her feel a bit static.
The love story is always a big part of a Dessen novel, and this to wasn't what is should have been. Why didn't I fall in love with Dave? Maybe he wasn't quirky enough, like This Lullaby's Dexter. (My favorite Dessen boy by far.) Maybe he wasn't swoon-ish enough, like The Truth About Forever's Wes. He was just... not there enough. He and Mclean didn't have the relationship that I wanted to see, the romance I was looking for. I didn't know enough about him. He didn't have time to endear himself to me.
Yes, Dessen throws the usual bunch of quirky characters in there, but with the exception of perhaps Opal, they all felt like they were obligatory rather than... actually quirky.
I don't know. Maybe she was distracted while writing this book. But something did not ring true. Again, this isn't a bad book, and Dessen fans should go ahead and read it. I just don't know that they should buy it.
Another thing: please don't read this if it's your first Dessen. It's not her best work. Go for "This Lullaby".
Let's start it off this way: WHTG is not a bad book by any means. There's just a very slight emptiness to it, a lacking in comparison to Dessen's other novels. I can feel the writer's block she must have had, the effort, and one of the great things about a Dessen book is that it feels effortless. It's cute. It's fluffy and nice. It just doesn't compare.
The good: the plot is good. Mclean's relationship with her mother and the scandal of her parents' divorce is one of the novel's strong points. Mclean is very easy to relate to, because she is angry, and she is fierce toward her mother, who annoyed me to no end. However, that plot is tied up like we would expect a teen show to. It was kind of Full House. Very neat and tidy, without as much participation from Mclean as I would expect. I feel like she wasn't as much of an adult component as she could have been. She didn't become a player, and the problems seemed to be less of her own, as they often are in a Dessen book, than others'. It made her feel a bit static.
The love story is always a big part of a Dessen novel, and this to wasn't what is should have been. Why didn't I fall in love with Dave? Maybe he wasn't quirky enough, like This Lullaby's Dexter. (My favorite Dessen boy by far.) Maybe he wasn't swoon-ish enough, like The Truth About Forever's Wes. He was just... not there enough. He and Mclean didn't have the relationship that I wanted to see, the romance I was looking for. I didn't know enough about him. He didn't have time to endear himself to me.
Yes, Dessen throws the usual bunch of quirky characters in there, but with the exception of perhaps Opal, they all felt like they were obligatory rather than... actually quirky.
I don't know. Maybe she was distracted while writing this book. But something did not ring true. Again, this isn't a bad book, and Dessen fans should go ahead and read it. I just don't know that they should buy it.
Another thing: please don't read this if it's your first Dessen. It's not her best work. Go for "This Lullaby".
The ending was not what I remembered but you know what, its a sarah dessen novel and I finished it in 2 days.