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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Not her best book and the audio book reading was a little problematic??
*SPOILERS*
Man. I really wanted to enjoy this one, as Sarah Dessen was one of the authors that was essential to me growing up. But maybe she's lost her touch. Or maybe I've just outgrown her.
Sarah Dessen has long been criticized for her lack of diversity in the books, and in this one, it was like she was throwing token diverse characters in there without fully developing them or integrating them in the story much. They were still very much background characters, of complete unimportance, and the main character, Louna, was her typical, tired protagonist. Additionally, Louna fell in love with her first boyfriend in literally like three hours and then this was the basis for a large part of the plot. Also, I felt like having a school shooting solely for the purpose of providing tragedy to the main character and making her closed off so the charming (or unbelievably annoying and predictable) Ambrose could save her from her cynical self was pretty messed up, in my opinion.
I was so disappointed in this book and I probably won't be picking up the next one from Dessen. You would think that after a longer absence in between novels, she would have created something a bit more unique, but it just felt like a watered-down version of her other novels.
Man. I really wanted to enjoy this one, as Sarah Dessen was one of the authors that was essential to me growing up. But maybe she's lost her touch. Or maybe I've just outgrown her.
Sarah Dessen has long been criticized for her lack of diversity in the books, and in this one, it was like she was throwing token diverse characters in there without fully developing them or integrating them in the story much. They were still very much background characters, of complete unimportance, and the main character, Louna, was her typical, tired protagonist. Additionally, Louna fell in love with her first boyfriend in literally like three hours and then this was the basis for a large part of the plot. Also, I felt like having a school shooting solely for the purpose of providing tragedy to the main character and making her closed off so the charming (or unbelievably annoying and predictable) Ambrose could save her from her cynical self was pretty messed up, in my opinion.
I was so disappointed in this book and I probably won't be picking up the next one from Dessen. You would think that after a longer absence in between novels, she would have created something a bit more unique, but it just felt like a watered-down version of her other novels.
I’ve liked or loved every Sarah Dessen book I read so far, and while I wasn’t head over heels for Once and for All, I liked it.
I liked Louna and the setting, I thought it was a lot of fun and she was a great character. However, I couldn’t connect to Ambrose at all. Maybe it’s an age thing, but I didn’t think the way he was acting was cute or charming, just annoying (and to be honest, I thought the same of similar characters when I was his age too).
I also didn’t like the back and forth between past and present. It’s a device I usually enjoy, but here I felt it was taking away from the current story. I thought it would have been better if set entirely in the present, with Louna sharing her story through the narration.
I liked Louna and the setting, I thought it was a lot of fun and she was a great character. However, I couldn’t connect to Ambrose at all. Maybe it’s an age thing, but I didn’t think the way he was acting was cute or charming, just annoying (and to be honest, I thought the same of similar characters when I was his age too).
I also didn’t like the back and forth between past and present. It’s a device I usually enjoy, but here I felt it was taking away from the current story. I thought it would have been better if set entirely in the present, with Louna sharing her story through the narration.
Sarah Dessen writes wonderful books. I've loved every story, every character is real. I anxiously await her next book
While Louna had her flaws, I loved Ambrose, overall I thought it was a good book
medium-paced
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
I'm eating up everything Sarah Dessen has ever written. once again the romance in her books don't really get me but I love how she constructs her main characters. I was even less invested in the romance in this one though mostly because Ambrose is a type of guy that would just annoy me in real life. also there were too little romantic moments between the two of them for it to lead up to the confession. I was really invested with her relationship with Ethan. I felt such a loss whenever she talked about him.