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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
Oh, Dessen, you got me again. Every read I take away something different and maybe realize something new about myself. *Alllll the feels*
I made this my first Dessen book, just to see for myself what the Dessen buzz is all about. Ok, I get it now! This is very engaging contemporary YA that deals with a "big issue," but isn't too heavy or depressing. Even though some aspects of the plot and characters felt to me unrealistic or forced, in general this book so aptly depicts realistic and natural high school drama, emotions, struggles, and relationships.
Easily one of the best YA books I've read for a long time, and the best Sarah Dessen I've come across. Wonderful, real, flawed teen characters, some hard hitting truths about relationships within families and with friends, and the range of issues it covers - sexual assault, body image, bullying - could have taken it to an unrealistic shrill place, but it doesn't at all. I almost cried while reading this, not because it's a sad book, but because I felt for the characters.
lighthearted
fast-paced
2025 is all about nostalgic rereads so I decided to dig into the archives for these I loved in highschool. This hit just about as well as it did when I first read it, if not better. I appreciate Sarah's way of using serious life events and bringing them to light in a normal, very relatable way. I am glad this is what I was reading when I was 15, I would definitely encourage this next generation to do the same.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was the first book by Dessen I ever read! It was perfect for summer, full of real life struggles and tender moments. I adore this story and have added Dessen to my list of authors who I always buy their books.
I thought this was a fairly good story. But there were a lot of typos. I was reading the kindle edition so maybe the physical version is different but it was so annoying. Misspelled words and missing words so a sentence didn’t quite make sense. If there is one or two typos in a book, it doesn’t bother me too much, but this book didn’t seem like it had been properly editted. There’s a character called Rolly. Doing a search on my kindle, it’s spelt Rolly 75 times and Roily 14 times. How do you misspell a character’s name 14 times and it not get picked up during editing?
I listened to this book back in April, and I LOVED it. I’m a big fan of Sarah Dessen, and this is her best one, maybe just because of Owen.