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karalyndawn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy
wuthrinheights's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
It was almost dragging. A medium sized book could've taken me a shorter time to read but I couldn't connect to any of the characters and I was just waiting for things to turn around. Not one of the best YA books I've read so far.
Minor: Death, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
baronvonfancy's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Fatphobia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Abortion, and Pregnancy
Minor: Body shaming, Drug use, and Alcohol
lavieboheme215's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Pregnancy
Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, and Alcohol
Minor: Fatphobia and Sexual content
heytherekaity's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Stalking, and Abortion
katsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
“You can't just plan a moment when things get back on track, just as you can't plan the moment you lose your way in the first place.”
“If you have just one person believe in you, you'll always find your way”
This was never one of my favorite Sarah Dessen novels and it's quite obvious it was one of her firsts. She didn't quite have her normal tropes down quite as well in her later novels but, arguably, made it a little more refreshing. What was interesting about this story is that the main character kind of felt like she took a backseat to the secondary story about her best friend. It almost felt like Scarlett should have been the main character and not Halley. I was much more intrigued by Scarlett's life. Her boyfriend dies right after having sex for the first time and a couple months later finds out she's pregnant. She has a non-traditional relationship with her mom who starts dating a Renaissance Fair cosplayer (or whatever that would be called). And! she even finds a cute, sweet boyfriend while pregnant! What a good story!
There were some things I liked about Halley's story, too. I liked the conversation on consent and waiting to have sex until you're ready. (Although, sometimes it got a little preachy.) I also appreciated that Macon wasn't this idealized boy. It was refreshing to see less of a romance and more of a girl finding her self-worth. Other than that, the story was kind of boring and the relationship between the mother and the main character was a major conflict... until it weirdly wasn't. I'm still not entirely sure how it happened, to be honest. My other major dislike was the fact that the book read like it was 20 years old, which of course, it is, so it almost feels like an unfair critique. However, there were several references that would not fly today. For example, there was one mention of a Black person who was also described as "huge." There was one minor glimpse of a Hispanic woman, who was a maid, naturally. There was a reference to how exhausting it was to help a couple of 250 pound women take glamor shots. And during the prom scene there was a completely unnecessary reference that I just have to quote here because I found it so gross, "And Regina Little, one of the fattest girls in school, in a huge white dress with a hoop, dancing with a guy in a military uniform who looked at least thirty." This was literally the only mention of this character in the whole book. Dessen's early work definitely has a lot of blatant fatphobia that serves absolutely no purpose which I hate. So overall, not the best of her work but a very quick, fluffy read.
Graphic: Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Car accident, and Pregnancy
Minor: Drug use, Vomit, Dementia, Abortion, and Alcohol