1.46k reviews for:

Once and for All

Sarah Dessen

3.68 AVERAGE

lighthearted slow-paced
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No

I adore Sarah Dessen's books. They are a great way to sneak into a book that doesn't have high stakes but feels like a "girl's read." If you catch my drift. But this one... it didn't feel true to form for a Sarah Dessen novel. Something was off and I couldn't get into it. Have I grown out of her books? Was there a change in quality? There didn't feel like there was a plot or some emotional growth or change in the characters. It was just... a book?

I got bored halfway through, which doesn't happen with her books. I felt like I could have given up easily and not even wanted to jump back in. So, I'm sad. I wouldn't recommend this read if you enjoy Sarah's other books. It's very... different. Something is off. 

One out of five stars.

This was a nice, cute little contemporary. Not my favorite Sarah Dessen book, but it did remind me of my favorite which was kinda nice (This Lullaby). I was in the mood for this since I'm going to a wedding this weekend and the main character works for a wedding planner. Now I'm gonna be super paranoid at the wedding at all the things that could go wrong though haha!

I wasn't too crazy about Ambrose's confession towards the end because it just didn't really fit what had happened. I mean it was definitely cute and it pulled all the right strings but it just felt like the book was going through the motions. So yeah.

If you like Sarah Dessen, or want a summery cute read, I would say give this a go. Just a warning though, there's a bit of school shooting stuff in here which I was not expecting at all but it did add more depth to this than I was expecting.

This was a sweet book, and I definitely recommend it for a light summer read. Louna is very likable as a main character, and I liked how the story of Ethan was revealed piece by piece. As always with Sarah Dessen, I loved the little quirks she put into the supporting characters, and the backdrop of cynical wedding planners was fun to read.
emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Fua, que movida hablar de este libro. Es que está bastante bien en general, pero el final me ha parecido lo más anticlimático del mundo.

Los secundarios me han parecido geniales, hay mucha química entre todos y las situaciones son bastante únicas.
La alteración entre pasado y presente está bien, me intuía la movida desde el primer capítulo con flashback, no sé si es aposta que lo supiese o no. En parte la gracia de alternar líneas temporales es que pese a que sabes cómo está el personaje en la actualidad no sabes cómo ha llegado a ese punto y las zonas de pasado son para esos descubrimientos. Aquí no me ha parecido eso, lo sabía y ha tenido mucho menos impacto.
Ahora bien el final:
SpoilerMe parece un cagarro por dos motivos muy sencillos, es forzado y no he sentido el viaje de la pareja.
La parte del coche y el atropello me parece terriblemente conveniente, claramente se quería emular lo mismo de "accidente trágico" de Ethan que con Ambrosse. Lo cual pues me jode porque Louna no habría actuado es pos de su "amor" si no llega a ser que cree que la palma. Que se quitase las chanclas me dejó loco. Es que tremenda gilipollez.
Y bueno, ya sé que es un libro de romántica ergo espero un final feliz de pareja, pero de verdad que en este no he sentido que se lo merezcan. De verdad creía que iban a acabar cada uno por su lado, era lo más lógico y lo más adecuado. Siento que los han juntado porque si.


Y bueno, que no lo recomiendo. Que en general está guay para pasar el rato, pero de verdad que el final me ha jodido la experiencia global.

kmckittrick's review

3.0

I'm sad to say that I was a bit disappointed in this book. My main issues were the choices Louna made and things said within hours of meeting a boy. I also was very surprised that Sarah had her character checking her phone at red lights, almost condoning that behavior. Overall, this won't stop me from reading any of Sarah's future books.

I love me a good Sarah Dessen book! She is one of my favorite authors and doesn't ever disappoint. This book was cute but it's not one of my favorites. I don't want to give too much away (in case I reread it in the future) but Louna and Ambrose weren't my favorite. The book kept mentioning chemistry between the two but while reading it, I felt absolutely nothing. When there is chemistry between characters I can usually feel it. I also didn't really get Ambrose's character. I know he's supposed to be a guy that doesn't really care is dates a bunch of girls and doesn't commit but I just got goofy dork vibes from him. I definitely didn't get experienced dater that knows how to charm women. It was a good story but I just didn't feel what I should have felt.
emotional reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

This book would be a lot better if Ethan had been the shooter. Like WAY better.

I find the character's youth off putting. They don't act like 17 year olds.

Too much melodrama surrounding Ethan. It's super horrible and all but come on...

Ambrose is pretty adorable though. Louna is 17 going on 30. And why do I not yet know where she's going to college?

The mom's story of ultra-hippie to workaholic is dumb.

Audiobook narrator is very good

(Written with about 1.5 hours left on the audiobook)

This book was so cute! I loved every minute of it