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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
actual rating: 3,5 star
akhirnya berhasil membaca satu lagi karya sarah dessen. aku nih lucu kadang-kadang, sudah ngumpulin sekian buku dari satu pengarang tapi belum satu pun dibaca. nah, aku sedang mencoba membaca stau demi satu buku-buku karya sarah dessen yang sudah kubeli.
suka sih, meski nggak yang wow banget. plotnya menarik dan bahkan cukup intriguing dari sejak mula. lumayan menyenangkan membaca novel ini.
akhirnya berhasil membaca satu lagi karya sarah dessen. aku nih lucu kadang-kadang, sudah ngumpulin sekian buku dari satu pengarang tapi belum satu pun dibaca. nah, aku sedang mencoba membaca stau demi satu buku-buku karya sarah dessen yang sudah kubeli.
suka sih, meski nggak yang wow banget. plotnya menarik dan bahkan cukup intriguing dari sejak mula. lumayan menyenangkan membaca novel ini.
This definitely follows the typical Sarah Dessen pattern we know, but at times she seems to copy and paste character traits from other books. Ambrose seems like a Dexter and Louna is a combo of a few of the female leads. I liked the wedding business storyline - and William was a great character I hadn't seen before. I also wasn't as bothered by others about the I happened to read few reviews before reading the book and assumed the whole book would be about that event, based on how others have felt.
I think what irritated me the most is how lazy the whole thing felt. It seems like Dessen is running out of steam. The ending comes together way too perfectly (and is VERY similar to The Truth About Forever). I also don't know what teenagers Dessen is hanging out with, but she seems to think they are casually dating the way 30 year olds do. Louna gets asked out by every guy she runs into which, even if she's supposed to be gorgeous, teenage boys typically don't have the confidence to do.
Overall, it's a quick read without much of a plot or new character development. When you finish you'll probably go back and read This Lullaby to remember the good times, like I did.
Spoiler
school shooting subplot.I think what irritated me the most is how lazy the whole thing felt. It seems like Dessen is running out of steam. The ending comes together way too perfectly (and is VERY similar to The Truth About Forever). I also don't know what teenagers Dessen is hanging out with, but she seems to think they are casually dating the way 30 year olds do. Louna gets asked out by every guy she runs into which, even if she's supposed to be gorgeous, teenage boys typically don't have the confidence to do.
Overall, it's a quick read without much of a plot or new character development. When you finish you'll probably go back and read This Lullaby to remember the good times, like I did.
4.5 stars. This book started out a little bit slow for me compared to her other books but in the end I was totally smitten with Ambrose. He's the typical player type of guy who likes to have one girl one day and another the next but the fact that he changes for Louna is so cute. All the chapters about Ethan made me cry hence why this went from four stars to 4.5 stars. The fact that what happened to Ethan could happen in real life is what made this all the more heartbreaking and me cry so much over what happened to him. I also am a sucker for weddings so the fact that this is all about wedding planning made it all the more interesting to me because I have a Pinterest board all about my future wedding just like any other typical teenage girl who's a total romantic! This was such a nice, cute, fun, and lighthearted (along with some heartbreaking) book! If you want a quick summer read definitely pick this one up but don't say I didn't warn you about the tear jerking!
not her best by any means, but it was interesting to see her branch out into the cultural issues of today
My favorite part about Sarah Dessen’s books is that they’re teen romances set against the backdrop of the weightier matters of life. This is another great example of that pattern!
Review to come when I'm not falling asleep!
Updated: 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.
Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC.
I was super excited to get this book as I am a fan of Dessen. Counting this book, I have read 12 out of 13 of her books and the rating breakdown is as follows: 1 star=0, 2=3, 3=4, 4=1, 5=4. So averaging out to 3.5 total or liked to really liked on the Goodreads scale. Unfortunately, I would say this one was more okay to liked.
It followed the usual elements of a Dessen story; a young girl struggling with something meets a boy who she doesn't necessarily like at first but through various somewhat unrealistic experiences learns he has a heart of gold and is the one for her. As usual, I liked the dynamics of the female relationships and seeing the interplay of our MC and her family. I especially liked Louna's family and found her mother and godfather to be great. I liked the incorporation of wedding planning and thought it was interesting seeing how that played out into Louna's beliefs about love.
Criticisms would be that something very serious and very bad happened to Louna's first love and it never felt like it was properly addressed. Like she was just basic heartbroken but if she'd been that devastated wouldn't they have done more to help her? As a counselor, I have to advocate for counselor's on this one. I think Louna needed to be seeing a therapist (or would recommend that if someone was in her position) but on the other hand I also think the level of devastation she did have was unrealistic. The insta-love with BF 1 was pretty hard-core, going to far as to. That definitely bothered me. The fact that that twitter-pation was set up to be the ideal love that every other relationship in her life would have to live up to was CRAZY. Love...real love...is NOT like that. It is not the butterflies, hormones, insanity that you, admittedly, will have with someone at first. It is seeing that person at their very worst, physically, mentally and emotionally and STILL loving them, and the same for them with you. Yes, you should have chemistry but....love lived out on a day to day basis is way more than just sharing pie with a boy one night in a diner.
Speaking of chemistry...I wasn't feeling this one. Yes, Ambrose was charming but it seemed so forced and I never could get a sense of the spark between the two of them. I think the love relationship was sacrificed at the cost of keeping the meat of the story on Louna's development. However, if the focus was to have been on Louna growing and healing, then that could have been handled better. Like I said before, she only seemed to show some indication of change right at the very end and it didn't seem appropriate.
Overall, I was thrilled to get this ARC and pleased that Dessen had tackled some hard subjects while including more diversity. Compared to my 5 star rating on her last book though, this one just didn't cut it for me.
Updated: 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.
Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC.
I was super excited to get this book as I am a fan of Dessen. Counting this book, I have read 12 out of 13 of her books and the rating breakdown is as follows: 1 star=0, 2=3, 3=4, 4=1, 5=4. So averaging out to 3.5 total or liked to really liked on the Goodreads scale. Unfortunately, I would say this one was more okay to liked.
It followed the usual elements of a Dessen story; a young girl struggling with something meets a boy who she doesn't necessarily like at first but through various somewhat unrealistic experiences learns he has a heart of gold and is the one for her. As usual, I liked the dynamics of the female relationships and seeing the interplay of our MC and her family. I especially liked Louna's family and found her mother and godfather to be great. I liked the incorporation of wedding planning and thought it was interesting seeing how that played out into Louna's beliefs about love.
Criticisms would be that something very serious and very bad happened to Louna's first love and it never felt like it was properly addressed. Like she was just basic heartbroken but if she'd been that devastated wouldn't they have done more to help her? As a counselor, I have to advocate for counselor's on this one. I think Louna needed to be seeing a therapist (or would recommend that if someone was in her position) but on the other hand I also think the level of devastation she did have was unrealistic. The insta-love with BF 1 was pretty hard-core, going to far as to
Spoiler
lose her virginity to him on the very first night she meets him (which is also the only time they were actually together in person)Speaking of chemistry...I wasn't feeling this one. Yes, Ambrose was charming but it seemed so forced and I never could get a sense of the spark between the two of them. I think the love relationship was sacrificed at the cost of keeping the meat of the story on Louna's development. However, if the focus was to have been on Louna growing and healing, then that could have been handled better. Like I said before, she only seemed to show some indication of change right at the very end and it didn't seem appropriate.
Overall, I was thrilled to get this ARC and pleased that Dessen had tackled some hard subjects while including more diversity. Compared to my 5 star rating on her last book though, this one just didn't cut it for me.
This is the first book I've read by Sarah Dessen and now I need to read more! This book was beautiful and I read the whole thing in just two days (only in three sittings - I read past the halfway mark when I first picked it up and read it in the bath). It was a romantic YA story but it had tragedy at it's core. It wasn't a character being sceptical about love for no reason or because she'd heard stories about others who have had bad relationship experiences. It was all on Louna, and I love the way we got to hear about her first love and how everything unfolded. I also liked that part of her wanted to talk about Ethan but there was also that part of her that didn't and couldn't. Ambrose was that classic character of you should hate him but you love him the moment you meet him, because I just anticipated what would happen. I loved the characters, their interactions and the way they were with each other, and the idea of this being based around a wedding business too was very interesting. There was lots going on but it didn't feel too busy. I just really enjoyed this book.
I love Sarah Dessen, and I'm always surprised that she manages to surprise me. I don't know why I always go into her books so doubtful and so braced for cheesiness. I think it's the marketing. But with that being said, I always come out absolutely adoring her work, loving the subtlety and poignancy, and this story is no exception.
I think this was her most relevant and inclusive work to date, given the subject matter and the background characters that come up in this book. You can tell that she's matured as a writer from some of her earlier works. I love the fun little worlds she creates. Every book is like a movie. This one was so sweet, and Ambrose is one of my favorite characters she's presented since The Truth About Forever--real, flawed, clumsy, unconditionally kind. I read this in one sitting and will happily do it again and again.
As always, this isn't just a fun love story; it deals with grief and unconventional families and emotional growth. Any student looking for a thoughtfully written female lead will enjoy this one; anyone who knows the pain of losing someone, breakup or otherwise, will likely enjoy it too.
I think this was her most relevant and inclusive work to date, given the subject matter and the background characters that come up in this book. You can tell that she's matured as a writer from some of her earlier works. I love the fun little worlds she creates. Every book is like a movie. This one was so sweet, and Ambrose is one of my favorite characters she's presented since The Truth About Forever--real, flawed, clumsy, unconditionally kind. I read this in one sitting and will happily do it again and again.
As always, this isn't just a fun love story; it deals with grief and unconventional families and emotional growth. Any student looking for a thoughtfully written female lead will enjoy this one; anyone who knows the pain of losing someone, breakup or otherwise, will likely enjoy it too.
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mass/school shootings