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papalbina 's review for:
What Happened to Goodbye
by Sarah Dessen
3.5
the book could have had 4 stars because i enjoyed it while reading, but after thinking about it a bit, it doesn't really deserve them...
probably because i didn't have much experience with the author and i didn't have material to compare, i wasn't disappointed with this book like other readers and fans of sarah dessen.
what i really like about this book was dave. he was witty and funny and weird and easy-going. he's not the best-written male character out there, but he has his charm and charmed me.
i did like mclean and i could empathise with her at the beginning, but i couldn't quite understand her quest to find her identity. it was quite chaotic and without much sense, which in the end it is logic because she is a teenager and not everything makes sense in that time of life. i liked the idea that in lakeview even if she wanted to be somebody else her "real" identity rebelled and surfaced. i liked also her relationship with dave, but i didn't see much development in that aspect during the book. it was easier to see how dave felt for her than the other way around.
i did like the whole restaurant scenery and opal as character. the rest of clique felt a bit diffused for me.
what i didn't like in this book were mclean's parents, particularly her mother. her father was ok, but he was too busy to realise that his daughter had some problems derived from the divorce that perhaps needed to be addressed. but her mother... i could not understand her at all. she pulled and pulled and pulled until mclean snapped and told her why she was angry at her and what does she do? she corners her daughter to make her do what she wants... that is a very good strategy, yes #sarcasm... even if she is desperate to "get back" her daughter, how exactly does that get your daughter back? i... i... i can't... it frustrated me quite a bit while reading ¬¬
in the end, this book is a typical sarah dessen book, i think it is a good start for anyone wanting to begin with the author, it is good to spend a rainy afternoon at home or a sunny day at the beach/swimming pool: nice characters, nice coming of age story, nice and easy to read...
the book could have had 4 stars because i enjoyed it while reading, but after thinking about it a bit, it doesn't really deserve them...
probably because i didn't have much experience with the author and i didn't have material to compare, i wasn't disappointed with this book like other readers and fans of sarah dessen.
what i really like about this book was dave. he was witty and funny and weird and easy-going. he's not the best-written male character out there, but he has his charm and charmed me.
i did like mclean and i could empathise with her at the beginning, but i couldn't quite understand her quest to find her identity. it was quite chaotic and without much sense, which in the end it is logic because she is a teenager and not everything makes sense in that time of life. i liked the idea that in lakeview even if she wanted to be somebody else her "real" identity rebelled and surfaced. i liked also her relationship with dave, but i didn't see much development in that aspect during the book. it was easier to see how dave felt for her than the other way around.
i did like the whole restaurant scenery and opal as character. the rest of clique felt a bit diffused for me.
what i didn't like in this book were mclean's parents, particularly her mother. her father was ok, but he was too busy to realise that his daughter had some problems derived from the divorce that perhaps needed to be addressed. but her mother... i could not understand her at all. she pulled and pulled and pulled until mclean snapped and told her why she was angry at her and what does she do? she corners her daughter to make her do what she wants... that is a very good strategy, yes #sarcasm... even if she is desperate to "get back" her daughter, how exactly does that get your daughter back? i... i... i can't... it frustrated me quite a bit while reading ¬¬
in the end, this book is a typical sarah dessen book, i think it is a good start for anyone wanting to begin with the author, it is good to spend a rainy afternoon at home or a sunny day at the beach/swimming pool: nice characters, nice coming of age story, nice and easy to read...