Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
Read my full review on my blog, Turning Pages.
The Moon and More is a lovely novel about family, friends, and the big changes that come with entering adulthood. If you picked this novel up for the romance, however, you might be disappointed.
What I love about this book is its focus on family and friends. Emaline has a complicated family tree. Her father wasn’t in her life until she was a teen, and even then their relationship was tense. Her step-dad is her dad, in all the ways that matter. Her step-sisters are her sisters. The family dynamic is real and lovely. They fight, they love each other, and they support each other. I love it. Her biological father is an ass who is honestly a pretty bad parent. He thinks about what he wants for others, not what others want for themselves. I was angry with him for what he did to Emaline and Benji. But at least, like Emaline says, he has time to fix things with Benji. Benji, by the way, is the most sweet and adorable character in this book. He’s mature for his age sometimes. The bond that forms between him and Emaline is so beautiful.
The other aspect I adore about this book is the friendships. Emaline and Daisy are different, and yet know each other so well. They support each other, and they can have comfortable silences. I also adore the quiet and often irresponsible Morris. He may not have a good work ethic, but he’s a great friend. He understands a lot, so he knows what to say (and when to not say anything at all) when someone is upset.
The romances in this book, however, are pretty blah. Emaline’s boyfriend at the beginning of the novel is Luke. At first, I liked him. But then there was the fact that he complained he wasn’t having sex with her every day. She was uncomfortable having sex at her house because her mom walked in on them once. Instead of being understanding, he bullied and complained. Then the fact that he called and went out with another girl while he and Emaline were still dating…and had the balls to be jealous when Emaline was around Theo platonically. Good riddance. The romance with Theo was underwhelming. It didn’t even seem like Emaline liked him, and then they’re kissing and dating? Also, it seemed more like she was along for the ride than an active participant in the relationship. He planned everything. He was pushy, arrogant, and condescending. Again,
Read this for the depiction and family and friends. Skip it if you want a sweet and steamy romance.
The Moon and More is a lovely novel about family, friends, and the big changes that come with entering adulthood. If you picked this novel up for the romance, however, you might be disappointed.
What I love about this book is its focus on family and friends. Emaline has a complicated family tree. Her father wasn’t in her life until she was a teen, and even then their relationship was tense. Her step-dad is her dad, in all the ways that matter. Her step-sisters are her sisters. The family dynamic is real and lovely. They fight, they love each other, and they support each other. I love it. Her biological father is an ass who is honestly a pretty bad parent. He thinks about what he wants for others, not what others want for themselves. I was angry with him for what he did to Emaline and Benji. But at least, like Emaline says, he has time to fix things with Benji. Benji, by the way, is the most sweet and adorable character in this book. He’s mature for his age sometimes. The bond that forms between him and Emaline is so beautiful.
The other aspect I adore about this book is the friendships. Emaline and Daisy are different, and yet know each other so well. They support each other, and they can have comfortable silences. I also adore the quiet and often irresponsible Morris. He may not have a good work ethic, but he’s a great friend. He understands a lot, so he knows what to say (and when to not say anything at all) when someone is upset.
The romances in this book, however, are pretty blah. Emaline’s boyfriend at the beginning of the novel is Luke. At first, I liked him. But then there was the fact that he complained he wasn’t having sex with her every day. She was uncomfortable having sex at her house because her mom walked in on them once. Instead of being understanding, he bullied and complained. Then the fact that he called and went out with another girl while he and Emaline were still dating…and had the balls to be jealous when Emaline was around Theo platonically. Good riddance. The romance with Theo was underwhelming. It didn’t even seem like Emaline liked him, and then they’re kissing and dating? Also, it seemed more like she was along for the ride than an active participant in the relationship. He planned everything. He was pushy, arrogant, and condescending. Again,
Spoiler
good riddance. I’m glad Emaline didn’t end up with those two.Read this for the depiction and family and friends. Skip it if you want a sweet and steamy romance.
While I'm a huge fan of Sarah Dessen and I completely and totally get the point of this story, I didn't gain much joy from reading it. Mostly because 95% of the characters were unlikable. Emaline was semi-redeemed in the end but I still felt eh about it.
3.5.
I love Dessen's work, but this wasn't my favourite of her books. Still good though!
I love Dessen's work, but this wasn't my favourite of her books. Still good though!
I just couldn't like this book. Dating someone you're madly in love with for 3 years and you break up in a 5 minute conversation and you're over it by dinner? I just couldn't with this book. I'd love to give you a nice intelligent review but that's not in me today. I just didn't like this book.
I'm sure anyone who's read a good few of my reviews at this point knows this: I generally hate contemporary literature; it's just not something I feel is often done well. But one thing I've not often spoke of was the soft spot I have for Sarah Dessen, who oddly has always wrote teen books that played the right balance between being appealing to a YA audience but still having a strong focus on some life lesson. She's not exactly the perfect author, for example, her books are pretty formulaic and she writes her books in a clear shared universe, but I generally find a general sort of comfort and appeal in the stories she crafts because she shows that every girl has a story worth telling and everyone's experiences and circumstances and wants can make a similar situation unravel and unfold very differently.
Though I will say, I was kind of shocked at the way things turned out in this book. Almost all of Dessen's other novels end on a very "and I found my true love and all is well" note, but this one kind of says that the people you love and date can be important milestones to understanding who you are and what you want and that change isn't inherently awful or wrong.. It's kind of refreshing that Dessen had a story where the focus is definitely much less on the romance and more on a summer of experiences that help a young woman understand herself and what she wants, and that the ending isn't absorbed with the romantic aspect as much. Emeline chooses herself in this story; not Luke or Theo.
Although outside of just general Dessen nostalgia, I wasn't floored by this book or anything. In fact, I probably should have read it when I bought it in 2013 (whoops) because I was 18 and the things Emeline deals with were a little more relateable, but I overall found the writing nice and the story more character driven than anything else. Dessen's books don't usually have a very clear goal, but just sort of allow a character's life to blossom; we learn about their wants and dreams, their love, their family, how they handle growing up and changing. They're very much coming-of-age tales.
This definietly hasn't knocked my favorite Dessen novels from their place (which I should reread and review; it's been like 6 years since I last read one I believe. Maybe longer.) but it was a good addition overall. Outside of a few little nitpicks, I don't have any real complaints. 3.5 stars overall.
Though I will say, I was kind of shocked at the way things turned out in this book. Almost all of Dessen's other novels end on a very "and I found my true love and all is well" note, but this one kind of says that the people you love and date can be important milestones to understanding who you are and what you want and that change isn't inherently awful or wrong.. It's kind of refreshing that Dessen had a story where the focus is definitely much less on the romance and more on a summer of experiences that help a young woman understand herself and what she wants, and that the ending isn't absorbed with the romantic aspect as much. Emeline chooses herself in this story; not Luke or Theo.
Although outside of just general Dessen nostalgia, I wasn't floored by this book or anything. In fact, I probably should have read it when I bought it in 2013 (whoops) because I was 18 and the things Emeline deals with were a little more relateable, but I overall found the writing nice and the story more character driven than anything else. Dessen's books don't usually have a very clear goal, but just sort of allow a character's life to blossom; we learn about their wants and dreams, their love, their family, how they handle growing up and changing. They're very much coming-of-age tales.
This definietly hasn't knocked my favorite Dessen novels from their place (which I should reread and review; it's been like 6 years since I last read one I believe. Maybe longer.) but it was a good addition overall. Outside of a few little nitpicks, I don't have any real complaints. 3.5 stars overall.
This was not my favorite Sarah Dessen novel. It rambled too much in the middle. I enjoyed the very end, but the main character was flat and boring.
I can never read a Sarah Dessen book without wanting to climb inside of it.
At first I was dissapointed that there wasn't really an all together romantic plot but all together it was an amazing book! The last thing stated as I remember is that things will never be the best but they will just be and when they "be" everything will fall into place. This is only the second Sarah Dessen book and just the like the first it was also great. In both books it seemed like the girls were trying to cope with their own lives and how to deal with things they really didn't quite understand but in the end everything was just as should be. I can't wait to dive into the world of Sarah Dessen.
Coming of age story of a girl trying to find contentment in a small town world when the big city comes knocking. Great summer read!
PG - references to casual sex
PG - references to casual sex
This book fell flat for me compared to some of her others.