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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Actual rating: 3.5. Definitely enjoyed it and it was a good Sarah Dessen, however it just felt slow. It felt like it took a long time to get to the meat and bones of the story. I'm not sure if it was because of how occasionally the story would go back and forth between story lines or what. But I did enjoy it. Good Summer read.
Will I be 65 years old and still reading teen novels written by Sarah Dessen? Probably.
Louna is the daughter of a sought after wedding planner. She’s seen her fair share of disappointing loves and she’s experienced a heartbreak unlike any other. When a young person loses the person they call their “epic love,” it is already the end of the world as they know it during that stage in their life. How do they cope when they lose them in a tragic, unimaginable way?
She has become a girl that no longer sees a point in trying to find her true love. She already had one and people don’t get two chances at that. Or do they?
When Louna’s mom hires Ambrose you can tell that something is going to happen. A fire is sparked in Louna (even if it is just an immense annoyance at Ambrose’s presence) that her family and best friend haven’t seen in her for months. The only person who seems to be oblivious to it all is Louna, who you can’t exactly blame after what she’s been through.
Ambrose is a person that didn’t know her tragedy and how it affected her. She is able to focus on moving forward and healing. Once she realizes where her heart is leading her, she has to decide whether she’s willing to put it all on the line again or live in fear of being hurt all over again.
Sarah Dessen wrote this story beautifully, and she was able to make a heartbreaking scenario that has become too common in society feel personal. She’s the best at creating quirky love interests that you can’t help but hope to find for yourself one day. This is yet another book I became consumed with of hers, and I can’t wait to read what she has for us next.
Louna is the daughter of a sought after wedding planner. She’s seen her fair share of disappointing loves and she’s experienced a heartbreak unlike any other. When a young person loses the person they call their “epic love,” it is already the end of the world as they know it during that stage in their life. How do they cope when they lose them in a tragic, unimaginable way?
She has become a girl that no longer sees a point in trying to find her true love. She already had one and people don’t get two chances at that. Or do they?
When Louna’s mom hires Ambrose you can tell that something is going to happen. A fire is sparked in Louna (even if it is just an immense annoyance at Ambrose’s presence) that her family and best friend haven’t seen in her for months. The only person who seems to be oblivious to it all is Louna, who you can’t exactly blame after what she’s been through.
Ambrose is a person that didn’t know her tragedy and how it affected her. She is able to focus on moving forward and healing. Once she realizes where her heart is leading her, she has to decide whether she’s willing to put it all on the line again or live in fear of being hurt all over again.
Sarah Dessen wrote this story beautifully, and she was able to make a heartbreaking scenario that has become too common in society feel personal. She’s the best at creating quirky love interests that you can’t help but hope to find for yourself one day. This is yet another book I became consumed with of hers, and I can’t wait to read what she has for us next.
I love all Sarah Dessen books. This one is very slow moving, but they last 20 pages were my favorite.
A book filled with so much emotion and sadness. I would start reading and all the sudden it was 1 in the morning. I think this is a perfect book for the summer, and a perfect book to give you a little hope about second chances.
This was totally fine. Not my fave of hers, but a pleasant enough read!
Pretty standard Sarah Dessen, maybe a little more memorable than Saint Anything (I read Saint Anything in 2015 and honestly could not tell you a single plot detail or character name). I did not really find Louna's (that name, though) relationships with either of the central love interests' compelling in the least.
On that plot device (spoilers): Mostly, I applaud Dessen for attempting to add something new to her tried-and-true (stale?) formula.
Other than that, Once and for All has the humor and hope of all Dessen books, and while it is not my favorite of her work, it's not my least favorite either.
On that plot device (spoilers):
Spoiler
a lot of people have commented on the use of the school shooting as a plot device here to provide Louna's backstory some meat and explain why she is so apprehensive of love and romance. I thought it was a surprising choice, because most books that include school shootings are 100% about school shootings. I'm not sure how I feel about it being used as background fodder for character backstory. In some ways, maybe it doesn't do justice to the awful and inherently political nature of mass shootings. In others, though, I think maybe it highlights how commonplace school shootings have become that we have come to accept it as a relatively regular occurrence. Louna's says something along those lines in the book, and my guess is that the shooting was Dessen's way of (hamfistedly) incorporating a new dimension to her works.Other than that, Once and for All has the humor and hope of all Dessen books, and while it is not my favorite of her work, it's not my least favorite either.
Idc if SD books are classified as YA or whatever, they always hit all the marks with me
3.5
I'm sad, I didn't like this one as much as some of her other really great books.
I'm sad, I didn't like this one as much as some of her other really great books.
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes