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A review by emmareadstoomuch
Once and for All by Sarah Dessen
2.0
I liked parts of this.
Unfortunately, those parts didn’t include the love story or the love interest or the sub-love story or the setup to the love story or the obstacles to the love story or anything related to the love story (otherwise known as the “plot”) top to bottom.
Can’t win em all.
I do not care for Ambrose, the love interest of this little shindig. He is an attempt at that trope of the Goofy Charming Flirt (who always corresponds to the Uptight Teenage Female With Too Much Responsibility Who Does Not Know How To Let Loose And Also Does Not Know She’s Beautiful), except it...doesn’t work? He doesn’t feel goofy or fun or charming. Just immature and annoying. Am I getting old? No, I’ve always been like this. I can soothe myself with the thought that I was born grumpy and cynical.
I also don’t like cheating as a plotline!! Sorry!! I don’t think love stories are fun when the obstacle preventing the two main characters from getting their love on is another person’s emotions and well-being!!! What is fun about that!!! I don’t understand!!!
Further, I do not like anything about how this book was handled. Sarah Dessen books often contain a Social Issue of some sort - teen pregnancy, drug addiction, body image - and this one is no exception. Except the social issue is, uh, gun violence? Specifically school shootings?
The thing about social issues in Sarah Dessen books is that they’re mostly a thing that is causing Problems for the main character, and then when the main character Comes Of Age they also overcome that social issue. But
Basically, the characters’ problems in this book feel way more dramatic and real than in most contemporaries, but they’re overcome in the same way, in the same two hundred page span. It feels rushed.
Essentially, the plot to this is “here is a bunch of terrible things and everyone is suffering and now 200 pages have passed so they’re in love and completely fine thanks for reading!!!!”
I am not a fan of that.
Bottom line: This did not feel like a Sarah Dessen book. Which wouldn’t even necessarily a bad thing, except in this case it, uh, was.
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pre-review
Can't win em all.
Review to come / 2 stars
---------
currently-reading updates
This book is the only thing standing between me and the feat of having read every Sarah Dessen book in 2018.
Except Dreamland. But that doesn't count.
Let's do this.
Unfortunately, those parts didn’t include the love story or the love interest or the sub-love story or the setup to the love story or the obstacles to the love story or anything related to the love story (otherwise known as the “plot”) top to bottom.
Can’t win em all.
I do not care for Ambrose, the love interest of this little shindig. He is an attempt at that trope of the Goofy Charming Flirt (who always corresponds to the Uptight Teenage Female With Too Much Responsibility Who Does Not Know How To Let Loose And Also Does Not Know She’s Beautiful), except it...doesn’t work? He doesn’t feel goofy or fun or charming. Just immature and annoying. Am I getting old? No, I’ve always been like this. I can soothe myself with the thought that I was born grumpy and cynical.
I also don’t like cheating as a plotline!! Sorry!! I don’t think love stories are fun when the obstacle preventing the two main characters from getting their love on is another person’s emotions and well-being!!! What is fun about that!!! I don’t understand!!!
Further, I do not like anything about how this book was handled. Sarah Dessen books often contain a Social Issue of some sort - teen pregnancy, drug addiction, body image - and this one is no exception. Except the social issue is, uh, gun violence? Specifically school shootings?
The thing about social issues in Sarah Dessen books is that they’re mostly a thing that is causing Problems for the main character, and then when the main character Comes Of Age they also overcome that social issue. But
Spoiler
when that social issue is that the main character’s boyfriend was killed in a school shooting…...it feels weird for that to be overcome in two hundred pages.Basically, the characters’ problems in this book feel way more dramatic and real than in most contemporaries, but they’re overcome in the same way, in the same two hundred page span. It feels rushed.
Essentially, the plot to this is “here is a bunch of terrible things and everyone is suffering and now 200 pages have passed so they’re in love and completely fine thanks for reading!!!!”
I am not a fan of that.
Bottom line: This did not feel like a Sarah Dessen book. Which wouldn’t even necessarily a bad thing, except in this case it, uh, was.
---------
pre-review
Can't win em all.
Review to come / 2 stars
---------
currently-reading updates
This book is the only thing standing between me and the feat of having read every Sarah Dessen book in 2018.
Except Dreamland. But that doesn't count.
Let's do this.