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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
Reading Sarah Dessen brought me back to when I was 15 and staying up until 3am in the summers devouring her books. Her stories definitely don’t hit the same as they did back then, but what do you expect 15 years on? It was fun to revisit this author reading one of her newer books, and to experience a story with an unexpected ending compared to her other ones. Nice and easy summer read for nostalgia’s sake.
How can I not love a Sarah Dessen book? I really enjoyed this one, I loved getting to see Emaline growing & going through such a big change in her life. Seeing real relationships and the struggles everyone goes through is always nice to see & Dessen is so good at portraying them. To be honest I could have used a little more romance (because that's how I am), but it was not the focus of this book and it probably would have taken away from Emaline's journey. To be honest I didn't really care for either of the boys in this book, I thought they were both jerks in their own way. Overall I loved it and am always looking forward to more from Dessen!
Even though I want to scoff at what I've dubbed "The Sarah Dessen Formula," I can't really. It's a formula that usually works. She's very good about building around her themes (location and small towns were big in this book) and interpersonal relationships.
My one complaint is that while she's surprisingly good at creating complex secondary characters, her main characters have been falling short for me recently. I can't really think of anything to distinguish her main characters from her last three books -- and maybe even further back. I wonder if that's because she's writing from the only perspective she knows: her own.
Also, congrats on Sarah Dessen for joining the Club of Author's Whose Names are Bigger Than Their Book Titles.
My one complaint is that while she's surprisingly good at creating complex secondary characters, her main characters have been falling short for me recently. I can't really think of anything to distinguish her main characters from her last three books -- and maybe even further back. I wonder if that's because she's writing from the only perspective she knows: her own.
Also, congrats on Sarah Dessen for joining the Club of Author's Whose Names are Bigger Than Their Book Titles.
DNF at 44%. I cant remember the last time I didn’t finish a book because I hated it. I didn’t want to do it with this one because I like to have the whole experience before making an opinion, but good lord, this book is terrible. I’m not sure if it’s that Dessen’s books no longer hold up now that I’m not reading them in my teens, but I was so unhappy with the writing and cliched plot that by page 191, I couldn’t put myself through it anymore. She relies on cliche and what feels like a templated plot and character development, but even then her writing doesn’t make sense and falls short. She does things like explain the main character’s dislike of her older sister with multiple examples and narrative for PAGES, but then lists ONE interaction between them that’s kind and has the main character comment “say what you want about Margo, but she’s still my sister.” (This actually happened in this book; it’s close to where I stopped) this is just sloppy writing, folks. It’s not creative, it feels pandering, and I couldn’t care less what happens to the main character. So I stopped reading it, which I hate to do, but I realized through the last 30’pages my facial expression was ‘disgusted,’ and I can’t justify it anymore. Oof.
A pretty standard Sarah Dessen novel. Not much else to say besides that.
Honestly, I was SO CLOSE to giving this 5 stars but in the end I had to take off a star because the last 100 pages felt totally out of place and disjointed. It felt like I was reading an entirely different book because the tone of the story shifted so suddenly and unexpectedly.
Overall, I found this book to be a really solid contemporary read. This was my first time reading anything by Sarah Dessen and it definitely won't be the last. If you're looking for a quick and heartwarming summer read then this book is totally up your alley!
Spoiler
It was hard to believe that Theo turn into such a jerk and it was really hard for me to believe that he would have done the things he did. I felt like the author needed someone to be a villain and it seemed unfair to turn Theo's sweet and dorky personality into such a nasty person.Overall, I found this book to be a really solid contemporary read. This was my first time reading anything by Sarah Dessen and it definitely won't be the last. If you're looking for a quick and heartwarming summer read then this book is totally up your alley!
I really enjoyed this book, the perfect chick lit. I love how the whole 'summer romance' didn't work out because the general cliche, is that it does - but I like to think that Luke and Emaline got back together, they seemed perfect. I did think that maybe there were too many characters, that it was difficult to remember who was who and everything, but that did fit with the mood that everyone was friends in Colby. It's definitely a place I'd love to live. I do think I'd have enjoyed this more reading it in summer or on holiday on the poolside, but nevertheless, it was still wonderful.
I have read the majority of Sarah Dessen’s books so far and I have always enjoyed them. She’s a pretty popular author of YA Contemporary and she definitely knows how to create a poignant, realistic story that really brings on the emotions. This book is no different and might even be my favorite of hers so far.
This book is about Emaline, a young girl who has just graduated high school and is getting ready to head off to college in the fall. She works for her family’s realty company renting expensive beach houses to tourists, has a long-time boyfriend, and a nice small group of friends. Her life doesn’t seem too complicated, except for the fact that she has a sometimes-there-sometimes-not biological father who makes a lot of promises that he rarely keeps.
Emaline is such a wonderful, relatable character. She’s smart, kind, and I loved her smart-aleck comments and spunky attitude. I could definitely relate to her family issues. She has a sweet mother, but who sometimes makes irrational decisions. Her step-sisters are bossy and nosy, but I could tell how much she loved them anyway. Her ‘dad’ (step-father) was one of my favorite characters; he was everything her real father wasn’t: supportive, loyal, and strong. I loved seeing the bond that Emaline made with her younger brother Benji when her father does come to visit finally.
Honestly, I was expecting more of a love triangle from this book, as that’s sort of what the summary led me to believe. However, it’s not so much of a love triangle as watching Emaline make her way through growing up and the different relationships that she encounters. There is Luke, her high school boyfriend who is handsome, kind of egotistical, but still a good guy. Then we meet Theo, who is older, artistic, and a little out there.
I will try not to spoil this for anyone, but just be warned. Even though Luke did some things that I was angry at him over, I still couldn’t find myself liking Theo, even from the beginning. As the book went on, I liked him less… and less. A lot less. He was pretentious, way too ambitious, and kind of reminiscent of Dan Humphrey from Gossip Girl minus the cute quirks.
My favorite parts of this book weren’t Emaline’s relationships with the boys, however. I loved Emaline’s family relationships and her relationships with her friends. Watching Emaline deal with her family and discover more about herself was wonderful. Honestly, the relationship between her two best friends, Morris and Daisy, was the sweetest love relationship in the book to me.
So far, I do think this is my favorite Sarah Dessen novel. I really enjoy her books more and more as I get older. She is a master of contemporary and her books always make me feel so many emotions. If you like contemporary, I always highly recommend her, and definitely recommend this book as well.
This book is about Emaline, a young girl who has just graduated high school and is getting ready to head off to college in the fall. She works for her family’s realty company renting expensive beach houses to tourists, has a long-time boyfriend, and a nice small group of friends. Her life doesn’t seem too complicated, except for the fact that she has a sometimes-there-sometimes-not biological father who makes a lot of promises that he rarely keeps.
Emaline is such a wonderful, relatable character. She’s smart, kind, and I loved her smart-aleck comments and spunky attitude. I could definitely relate to her family issues. She has a sweet mother, but who sometimes makes irrational decisions. Her step-sisters are bossy and nosy, but I could tell how much she loved them anyway. Her ‘dad’ (step-father) was one of my favorite characters; he was everything her real father wasn’t: supportive, loyal, and strong. I loved seeing the bond that Emaline made with her younger brother Benji when her father does come to visit finally.
Honestly, I was expecting more of a love triangle from this book, as that’s sort of what the summary led me to believe. However, it’s not so much of a love triangle as watching Emaline make her way through growing up and the different relationships that she encounters. There is Luke, her high school boyfriend who is handsome, kind of egotistical, but still a good guy. Then we meet Theo, who is older, artistic, and a little out there.
I will try not to spoil this for anyone, but just be warned. Even though Luke did some things that I was angry at him over, I still couldn’t find myself liking Theo, even from the beginning. As the book went on, I liked him less… and less. A lot less. He was pretentious, way too ambitious, and kind of reminiscent of Dan Humphrey from Gossip Girl minus the cute quirks.
My favorite parts of this book weren’t Emaline’s relationships with the boys, however. I loved Emaline’s family relationships and her relationships with her friends. Watching Emaline deal with her family and discover more about herself was wonderful. Honestly, the relationship between her two best friends, Morris and Daisy, was the sweetest love relationship in the book to me.
So far, I do think this is my favorite Sarah Dessen novel. I really enjoy her books more and more as I get older. She is a master of contemporary and her books always make me feel so many emotions. If you like contemporary, I always highly recommend her, and definitely recommend this book as well.
Reading [b:The Anthropocene Reviewed|55145261|The Anthropocene Reviewed|John Green|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1616514130l/55145261._SY75_.jpg|85964970] made me think about all the John Green and Sarah Dessen books I used to read and made me pick this one up that I had sitting on my shelf from the last time I went to the library book sale, you know when crowds in the library were a thing.
It was good and easy to fly through. As I remember, there are a few TRUTH nuggets that the main character discovers/expresses and that I like. I don't really remember the others of this author's books so I can't rank or compare, but I liked the book.
It was good and easy to fly through. As I remember, there are a few TRUTH nuggets that the main character discovers/expresses and that I like. I don't really remember the others of this author's books so I can't rank or compare, but I liked the book.